Top DraftKings PGA DFS Plays for The US Open 2022

Top DraftKings PGA DFS Plays for The US Open 2022

After a loop through Toronto at the riveting RBC Canadian Open, the best golfers in the world descend upon Boston for the season’s third major. On behalf of Team Rise or Fall’s PGA DFS team, I must exclaim that we are hitting US Open week at The Country Club in Brookline on a smoldering hot streak. Six of the top-10 at the RBC were in my 20-man player pool last week, including all of the top-4! It was a perfect bankroll-building precursor to what I would consider the most daunting PGA DFS slate of the season.

The Country Club in Brookline is a throwback classic. Memories of Francis Ouimet’s cinematic triumph as an unknown amateur at the 1913 US Open still echo through the narrow fairways and wispy fescue. The USGA has once again put their stamp on this 7,200-yard par-70 track. The greens will be like putting on a dance floor. The fairways are as narrow as a two-lane highway (and will roll just as fast too).

The rough…ohhhhh, it will be rough. Four to five inches of over-seeded rye and Kentucky bluegrass will swallow any errant shot, grabbing and twisting any and all clubs that attempt to embark in a recovery extraction with anything less than a firm wrist. The US Open is a brutal test of golf. It is also a daunting proposition for DFS players.

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Brookline is a tricky test of golf that will require the keenest expertise of a golfer’s full repertoire. Key statistics to maximize DFS scoring will be centered around the ability to accept par as a good score on most of these holes. My most heavily-weighted metrics to build out a widened player pool this week are Strokes Gained Around the Green (SG: ATG), Scrambling, Proximity on Approach, and Bogey Avoidance.

Additional consideration will be centered around Strokes Gained Off the Tee (SG: OTT), but this stat does not separate the good plays from the bad very well this week. It is still important enough to use as a second-tier stat for tie-breaking purposes. I trust the Rise or Fall PGA Study Hub as a one-stop shop to find every important tidbit to confirm my leanings and enlighten me on some of the stealthier leverage plays on the board. Pour yourself a Boston Lager and let’s tee off.

Stick It Close: Studs to Target

Rory McIlroy (DK: $10,500; FD: $11,700; Y!: $45)

When one of the best golfers in the history of the sport is on fire, you take notice. Rory’s final round 62 was punctuated with consecutive birdies on the 71st and 72nd holes to slam the door on the RBC Canadian Open last week. The Northern Irishman is as accurate as he is long and consistent on an around the greens. Not many golfers are talented enough to make a US Open venue look easy, but McIlroy is at the top of that list.

Patrick Cantlay (DK: $9,200; FD: $10,800; Y!: $47)

Cantlay just has the exact temperament and style of play that wins majors. He is a throwback player, sort of like a younger version of Adam Scott who can putt the lights out. Cantlay is a short game wizard, but might not need to be as often as the rest of the field. He is a wonderful approach player by proximity and can certainly take down Brookline if he can succeed adequately from the tee box.

Joaquin Niemann (DK: $8,900; FD: $10,100; Y!: $38)

The young Chilean will be joined by his countryman in my pool this week. The reasoning is simple: Niemann is an ace with his irons and around the green. In fact, he is one of the best options in this grandiose field in SG: T2G. Add in his putting prowess on Poa Annua greens and modest projected rostership and there aren’t many reasons to fade Niemann this week at $8.9k.

Other Studs in My Pool: Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Cameron Smith, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth, Shane Lowry, Cameron Young, Billy Horschel, Sam Burns, Tony Finau

No Gimme: Tap-In Values

Aaron Wise (DK: $7,800; FD: $9,000; Y!: $30)

A wise man once told me to play Wise. I have been a fan ever since. We’re not getting as great a value on his DK salary as the other two sites, but Wise has been money this season as a weekly value play (under-$8k). He is a fantastic ball striker (more than 1.00 SG: T2G per round) and holds his own around the green. One little bugaboo is that he doesn’t putt as well on Poa as other surfaces. For a golfer with such great recent form, his sub-7% projected rostership is a huge leverage spot on DraftKings.

Sungjae Im (DK: $7,600; FD: $9,800; Y!: $36)

Someone at DraftKings should lose their job over this salary. I added Im to my US Open player pool sight unseen, due to his polished ball-striking and short game expertise. When I discovered that he was only $7.6k on DraftKings, I panicked. My ace in the hole is going to be ultra-chalky. As unfortunate as that is, I’m still playing him. Carve it into my tombstone if I go down with the masses on the young star Korean this week at Brookline. He’s a can’t-miss play.

Russell Henley (DK: $7,300; FD: $8,900; Y!: $29)

I have all but deleted Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick from pool eligibility. He simply is a stat filler with nothing to show for it in DFS. Henley is putting up nearly identical ball-striking statistics as the do-nothing Fitz, except he’s $1,200 cheaper this week. Not only will I have a lot of Henley, I am predicting he finishes better than Fitz at Brookline. He is similar to Cantlay in that he can put on a ball-striking show if he can hit quality tee shots. I will be avoiding the sub-$7k tier on DraftKings as much as possible, making way for a group of guys in the low $7k range I’ll be taking shots with.

Other Values in My Pool: Keegan Bradley, Mito Pereira, Webb Simpson, Davis Riley, Patrick Reed, Justin Rose, Luke List, Alexander Noren, Adam Hadwin, Kevin Kisner, Wyndham Clark, Joel Dahmen, Ryan Fox