U.S. Open PGA DFS Stats Preview: Course Fits, GPP Picks, and Values

The PGA TOUR season has reached the third major of the year as the U.S. Open heads to Los Angeles Country Club.

Los Angeles Country Club is par 70, measuring 7,530 yards. The course features Bermudagrass rough, Bermudagrass fairways, and Bentgrass greens. LACC has relatively wide fairways with plenty of hills and run-off areas. George C. Thomas Jr. designed the course in 1921, and it was renovated by Gil Hanse in 2010. The course hosted the 2017 Walker Cup, which was won by the United States team.

The U.S. Open field will feature 156 of the best players in the world, with only the top 60 and ties making it through to the weekend.

For GPP contests on DraftKings, I will be breaking down the key stats (past 24 rounds) and selecting golfers from different price tiers to provide flexibility for a DFS lineup.

And if you missed it, we added two new metrics in our models — Perfect% and SimLeverage. You can find an explainer on those metrics here.

The cliff notes version is that you can use SimLeverage to quickly find leverage plays in tournaments, while Perfect% is great for finding the best price-considered plays for cash games.

For large-field tournaments, you can utilize our Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 150 lineups, or use our Lineup Builder if you like to hand-build your lineups.

This analysis may reference Strokes Gained, a set of proprietary metrics generated by the PGA TOUR using millions of data points to calculate how many shots on average it takes a player to get the ball in the hole from every distance and situation.

Strokes Gained is now available in the FantasyLabs PGA Models.

Strokes Gained: Approach

As usual, Strokes Gained: Approach will be a major factor at the U.S. Open. The greens at Los Angeles Country Club are relatively large by TOUR standards but have multiple levels where finding the correct spot is extremely important. Considering that many of the approach shots are going to come from greater than 175 yards with a lower trajectory, the best iron players will have a chance to separate themselves from the field.

High-end target: Scottie Scheffler — $11,400 (1st in Strokes Gained: Approach)
Mid-range target: Hideki Matsuyama — $8,600 (7th in Strokes Gained: Approach)
Value target: Sepp Straka — $7,100 (8th in Strokes Gained: Approach)

Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee

The fairways are relatively wide, but it’ll be important to have control of the golf ball as it’ll be tough to keep the ball on the green on long approach shots from the Bermuda rough. Distance will absolutely be a factor as the course will play brutally long. Great drivers of the golf ball will have a major advantage at LACC.

High-end target: Scottie Scheffler — $11,400 (2nd Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee)
Mid-range target: Sungjae Im — $8,400 (10th Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee)
Value target: Bryson DeChambeau — $7,600 (3rd Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee)

Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green

With long and difficult approach shots, players will undoubtedly miss plenty of greens. LACC has plenty of ways to challenge golfers. Some greens will have shaven run-off areas, while others are protected by rough. The bunkers around the green will also cause some trouble. Players will have to have a crafty short game to get out of trouble this week.

High-end target: Scottie Scheffler — $11,400 (1st Strokes Gained: Around the Green)
Mid-range target: Tommy Fleetwood — $7,900 (5th Strokes Gained: Around the Green)
Value target: Matt Kuchar — $6,900 (2nd Strokes Gained: Around the Green)

Strokes Gained: Total (Par 70 over 7,400 Yards)

LACC is extremely long, especially for a par 70. Many of the par 4s and three of the four par 3s will be daunting due to their length, and shorter hitters will have to play flawlessly to compete. This stat will highlight players who’ve been successful on these types of tracks.

High-end target: Brooks Koepka — $10,800 (1st Strokes Gained: Total (Par 70 over 7,400 Yards))
Mid-range target: Dustin Johnson — $8,300 (2nd Strokes Gained: Total (Par 70 over 7,400 Yards)
Value target: Russell Henley — $7,100 (9th Strokes Gained: Total (Par 70 over 7,400 Yards)

Proximity 175+

Many of the approach shots this week will come from 175 yards or greater. The best long iron players will have a sizeable advantage at LACC.

High-end target: Scottie Scheffler — $11,400 (1st Proximity 175+)
Mid-range target: Hideki Matsuyama — $8,600 (4th Proximity 175+)
Value target: Abraham Ancer — $7,400 (7th Proximity 175+)

Be sure to check out all the pick’ems PrizePicks has to offer with PrizePicks promo code LABS for a $100 deposit match.