If you love watching professional golfers struggle and hack around in almost impossible conditions, this is the week for you! The U.S. Open is back at Oakmont Country Club, which is billed as the toughest course in golf, and will do all it can to live up to that reputation this week. As you build your fantasy golf lineup to tame “The Beast,” there are many elite options to consider. If you’re looking to gain some leverage with some off-the-radar picks, check out my top three fantasy golf pivot plays for the week. I think all three of these players will be able to outperform their relatively low ownership. My top three fantasy golf pivot plays for the week are Ludvig Aberg ($9,600), Denny McCarthy ($6,600) and Marc Leishman ($6,000).
To make sure we’re all trying to reach the same green, a “fantasy golf pivot play” is a golfer with lower ownership but similar upside to more popular options available around the same DFS salary. Often, golfers with lower ownership bring extra risk factors, but they can be worth that added risk since their lower ownership improves your chance of finishing near the top of tournaments. Even though they’re NOT the safest plays in their price range, they have enough potential upside to be worth the sweat. Be sure to check out my picks for cash lineups if you’re looking for safer options that raise the floor of your lineup.
Let’s break down why I like each of my top three pivot plays this week.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $3M Fantasy Golf Millionaire [$1M to 1st, Birdie Throne Eligible]
Ludvig Aberg ($9,600)
The top five players in the field are over $10,000 and should all get plenty of attention since they bring plenty of win equity. The slightly cheaper options around $8,000 are also getting lots of attention, but there’s a little window where some leverage is available. Aberg and Collin Morikawa ($9,800) both come in a little off the radar but with lots of upside if they play their best. For GPPs, it’s worth taking a shot on Aberg, since his upside is apparent and his ownership pretty low due to his volatility.
Earlier this season, the 25-year-old from Sweden earned his second PGA TOUR title by winning the Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines. Since it was a Signature Event, it was an elite field at a tough course, similar to what he’ll face this week.
After a quiet stretch, he burst back onto the scene with a T7 at the Masters on another tough track with an elite field. He couldn’t continue that pattern at the PGA Championpship, though, missing the cut at Quail Hollow.
Since that missed cut, he has looked very sharp, though, with a T16 at the Memorial and a T13 at the RBC Canadian Open. Last weekend he finished with red-hot rounds of 65 and 66. His ball strking is elite when he’s at his best, and that was how he looked over the weekend at TPC Toronto.
Last year in his U.S. Open debut, Aberg finished T12 and held the lead at the half-way point. He has the style and quality of play needed in these difficult conditions, and his past success at majors seems to indicate he’ll start stocking his trophy case with them soon.
While Aberg isn’t a “safe” play because of his inconsistency and shorter track record, he has the kind of “boom-or-bust” upside that makes him perfect to be one of the top fantasy golf pivot plays of the week.
Denny McCarthy ($6,600)
I really like Corey Conners ($7,300), Harris English ($6,700) and Daniel Berger ($6,800) in this salary range, they are all getting lot of attention. One fantasy golf option that’s very affordable but flying under the radar is Denny McCarthy.
McCarthy has been steady this season, making the cut in each of his 14 events this season with seven top-25 finishes. Despite all those made cuts, he only has a pair of top-10 finishes this season. His most recent top-10 was at the PGA Championship, where he finished T8 after a strong showing at Quail Hollow. In the other major this year, he had a solid T29 finish after three rounds under par at Augusta.
Typically, McCarthy is at his best when the course is at its toughest. In his 15 career majors, he has made the cut 11 times, including each of his last three appearances at the U.S. Open, highlighted by a T7 in 2022.
Most of McCarthy’s success is due to his consistent ability to make pars and do great work with the flat stick. He ranks third in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting over all rounds in the last six months. On a course where grinding out pars will be key to success, his skillset should be a good fit this week, and he definitely has the potential to contend.
Marc Leishman ($6,000)
Leishman is back in the majors after a two-year hiatus. He joined LIV Golf as part of the Ripper GC team in August of 2022 and missed all the majors in the last two years and the first two this year.
The 41-year-old Aussie qualified for this year’s tournament through a qualifying tournament at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Maryland. On June 2, he was part of “Golf’s Longest Day,” playing 36 holes and then landing in a tie for third place that required a play-in for the final two spots. He made a par to oust Sebastian Munoz and earn his spot in this week’s field.
I don’t expect him to just be happy to be here, though, and he has been playing some solid golf so far this season. He claimed his first LIV Golf victory in April at LIV Golf Miami, and he also finished in the top 10 last week at LIV Golf Virginia. Overall, he has four top-12 finishes in his eight events this season.
He was in contention at major championships earlier in his career. Over his 12 U.S. Open appearances, he made seven cuts, including six of his last seven. He finished T18 at Oakmont in 2016 and posted his best career finish at a U.S. Open in his last visit to the tournament in 2022 when he finished T14. In his 44 career majors, he has six top-10 finishes, including a runner-up in 2015 at The Open Championship, when he lost to Zach Johnson in a playoff.
One way he could be assured of continuing to get invited to majors is with a high finish this week. He definitely should be motivated to post a strong showing, and I like taking a flier on him at this ultra-low salary. There always seems to be one surprise name on the leaderboard that everyone has forgotten about but grinds his way to a good week. Leishman could be that guy this week, and I live that he leaves so much salary for other options.
