Daily Fantasy Golf: FanDuel Picks – The 2019 U.S. Open

Welcome to this Daily Fantasy Golf piece from FantasyCPR.com. Here you will find players to target on FanDuel, for this weeks 119th U.S. Open, taking place at Pebble Beach Golf Links, in Monterey, California.

In this article, I will present to you some picks to consider from each price tier for Daily Fantasy Golf on FanDuel. Some plays will be geared toward cash games, and some for GPP tournaments. Some of course will also technically qualify as both. As we break each play down, I will be sure to specify which type of contests I am targeting that player in.

I will give two players to target from $11K up to the top salary, two targets from the $10K-$11K range, and two from the $9-10K range. After that will come my top value plays from the $8-9K range, along with a couple of GPP flyers to consider for tournament play. Last but certainly not least, I will end the article the ever popular sample lineup we like to do here at FantasyCPR.

I used to give a quick recap here from the previous week, but with MLB in full go, I am forced to scrap that portion of this article in an attempt to shorten things up. If you are ever curious as to how things worked out, my picks along with the other top experts in the field are tracked at Daily Overlay.

Daily Fantasy Golf: FanDuel PGA – Top Tier Picks: ($11,000+)

Dustin Johnson – $12,200 – (Cash/GPP)

As I dig into these prices on FanDuel, I think for the most part they got it right. My 1A/1B combo of Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson will be used heavily in GPP’s this week, as there is plenty of value here obviously, with the depth of the field. Johnson gets the nod for me for cash games, for the simple fact that he is the best Poa Annua putter in the world, and he has played this course better than anyone else over the last ten years.

Of course this range is loaded this week, and there are only one or two golfers that I would absolutely fade. After the win at the RBC Canadian Open, McIlroy will get more love than he maybe would have originally gotten, and for me, that works out perfect. I had planned on fading McIlroy and still continue to do so. His expected ownership bump here should take some ownership away from DJ and Koepka, as well as others at the top like Tiger Woods.

In the long run, most DFS players will know Johnson is the best option here for cash games, as a top-five at the very least is expected. But in my opinion, if you are a one lineup guy that only plays tournaments, it is certainly a toss-up with what Koepka has done in majors over the last couple of years. However, for me, for my cash lineup this week, I am starting with D.J.

Jordan Spieth – $11,500 – (GPP)

It is time to embrace the fact that Spieth is playing really well again lately, and for the first time in a very long time, he will be in my GPP player pool for the 2019 U.S. Open. I expected his price to be a little lower, but it his to argue against after his T-3 at the PGA Championship, and the fact that he is coming into Pebble Beach with three straight top-tens.

On top of finally getting over the top-ten hump, and doing it for three straight events, Spieth has also made seven cuts in a row as well. It seems as if out of all guys struggling a bit, he seems to be the one breaking out. Spieth also has great history here at Pebble Beach, and if he is not too errant off the tee this week, he could easily be in contention.

From what I have gathered, most people are still not playing him in DFS, and I love the fact that we can get him at roughly 10-15% in large field GPP’s. I won’t have a lot of shares as I like Patrick Cantlay a bit more for the price, but I will have some Spieth this week.

***Also Consider: Brooks Koepka $12,300 – Patrick Cantlay $11,300***

Daily Fantasy Golf: FanDuel PGA – Mid Tier Picks ($10,000-$11,000)

Hideki Matsuyama – $10,400 – (Cash)

Another cash game lock for me, I am convinced now after his solo 6th place finish at the Memorial that Matsuyama is dialed-in, and this salary is way too low. Hideki-Bot T-16 at the PGA Championship prior to the Memorial, and the only thing that has held him back has been poor Sundays. If Matsuyama can put it together for four days instead of just three this week, he could very easily improve on his finish from last week, as he has done in each of his last five tournaments.

Matsuyama has not missed a cut in over a year, so him making the weekend and giving us all four rounds seems like a lock. Along with Matt Kuchar at $200 less, I think starting my cash lineup with these three is very doable. Kuchar is just as safe as Matusuyama here in my opinion if you cannot make both work with your build, but I think Hideki has the higher finish this week.

Paul Casey – $10,000 – (GPP)

Casey right at the average price may sound off alarms for some, as this price seems way to low for a player of this caliber. While I like him here and will have some exposure in GPP play, this is not the cash lock it looks like at first glance in my opinion. While he has had some big finishes in his last five events, including his win at the Valspar Championship, the missed cut at the Masters, and his overall history in major tournaments is what is turning me off.

In his last action at the Charles Schwab Challenge, Casey came down with the flu and was forced to withdraw, but should be ready to go for this week after a couple of weeks off. Despite the shaky recent form sort of made worse by an illness in his last action, Casey has played well here at Pebble Beach as of late. He finished runner-up to Phil Mickelson at this years AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and the T-8 in 2018. Kind of like with Spieth I think I will have a couple of shares, but with Casey it is mostly out of FOMO.

***Also Consider: Xander Schauffele $10,900 – Matt Kuchar $10,200***

Daily Fantasy Golf: FanDuel PGA – Low Tier Picks ($9,000-$10,000)

Brandt Snedeker – $9,400 – (Cash)

For this price, give me all of the Sneds! Seriously this is my favorite play on every site this week, as I can always get behind a guy who has been playing well for a month straight, and who also has course history like Snedeker has here at Pebble Beach. After a 10-under 60 on Friday at Hamilton Golf Club to soar up to the top of the leaderboard at the RBC Canadian Open, Snedeker shot 69,69 on the weekend to end up T-4, at 13-under par for the tournament.

That finish gave him three straight top-20’s, and the T-4 was his best of the season, besting his T-5 at the Players Championship. On top of coming in on fire, Snedeker is a two-time winner of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, in which two of four rounds are played here at Pebble Beach every year. 2010 was the last time Pebble Beach hosted a U.S. Open, and Sneds T-8 that year. This course fits his game, and I believe in this guy when he is playing well. I will be overweight on ownership here, and I am guessing he ends pretty chalky as well.

Shane Lowry – $9,000 – (GPP)

Almost in the same sense as Sneds, Lowry got hot at just the right time, and the windy Golf Links of Pebble Beach with nine ocean side holes fit right in to what Lowry does well. I think Lowry will end up more of a GPP play this week, but he is borderline cash game safe enough for me to roll him out at this price.

Lowry had been struggling through most of 2019, and his missed cut at the Masters was his third straight MC at that time, but boy did something click since then. He T-3 at the RBC Heritage, then carried that momentum into Bethpage for the PGA Championship where he T-8. Lowry stayed hot last week at the RBC Canadian Open, as he finished 15-under par with his worst round being a 68, and T-2 with Webb Simpson.

Because he missed those three cuts in a row, I feel like this isn’t quite cash safe, but I am rolling it out for other reasons. There are some GREAT options even cheaper than Lowry this week, and you can certainly make a case to fade him in cash games, however, I am not listening. As you can see, I have a thing for guys with three straight top-tens this week who play great in the wind, and Lowry fits the bill.

***Also Consider: Webb Simpson $9,600 – Henrik Stenson $9,500***

Daily Fantasy Golf: FanDuel PGA – Top Value Picks (Below $9,000)

Graeme McDowell – $8,800 – (Cash)

If you missed it, you missed one of the best finishes of the year as far as drama goes. McDowell was around 30 feet out and needed to sink a birdie putt to gain his spot at Portrush for this years Open Championship, and he buried it. From the sounds of it by all of the congrats he received on social media, there really isn’t a better guy to cheer for. McDowell has missed just one cut in 2019, and his long birdie putt at 18 on Sunday moved him into a T-8 finish.

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McDowell is another links fit at Pebble Beach. He has only played three Pebble Beach Pro Am’s, and his best finish was a T-7 in 2014, but at the 2010 U.S. Open, Graeme McDowell captured his only major championship of his career. With the fact he makes cuts, is hot, and is a fit here at Pebble, this is another cash lock for me.

Jimmy Walker – $8,500 – (GPP)

I sort of have the same feelings with Jimmy Walker as I do with Lowry. The price is right here, and this almost seems cash safe, but is just not quite to the point where I can recommend it. I have been recommending Walker for a couple of weeks straight now as he continues his run of solid play.

Even though I know he is not a scorer, and not necessarily the greatest DFS play just because he makes cuts week in and week out, I know he won’t take unnecessary chances here and he will limit his mistakes. I think he is a great source of salary relief for GPP play to allow us to stack up Brooks and DJ at the top, and that will be my plan of attack with Walker this week.

Looking at recent form, Walker has missed just one cut in his last nine events. On the negative side of him being a consistent cut-maker, we know he does not score enough to win lately, with just one top-20 finish in that span. However, solid and consistent is good enough for me at this price, as Walker also has great history here at Pebble Beach.

It has been a while, but it is still worth noting that Walker had a run of four straight top-tens at the Pebble Beach Pro Am from 2011-2014, that ended with a victory in that final year. More recently, Walker T-8 in 2018, but he did miss his first cut this year at Pebble Beach since 2010. I will likely spread out my ownership in this range between guys I deem safe, and a couple I think carry some risk.

Tyrrell Hatton and Chez Reavie below will likely be no more than 5-10% owned guys in large field GPP’s, and my GPP Flyer this week Danny Willett is actually way too cheap, but I do not want to get too excited. I know how that worked out with Nate Lashley last week…

***Also Consider: Tyrrell Hatton $8,800 – Chez Reavie $8,300***

***Bonus GPP Flyer: Danny Willett – $8,100***

Daily Fantasy Golf: FanDuel PGA – The 2019 U.S. Open – Sample Cash Lineup:

The line-up below is meant to be illustrative only to further back-up the logic laid out in previous slides. It is not an optimal line-up. It is in fact, just a “Sample Lineup.” 

G – Matt Kuchar – $10,200
G – Hideki Matsuyama – $10,400
G – Dustin Johnson – $12,200
G – Brandt Snedeker – $9,400
G – Shane Lowry – $9,000
G – Graeme McDowell – $8,800

That is all for this weeks Daily Fantasy Golf FanDuel Picks for the 2019 U.S. Open. If you have any questions, give me a follow on Twitter with the link at the top of the article and fire away.

You can also leave a question right here in the comments, and I will do my best to respond before lock Thursday morning. Thank you for reading this weeks FanDuel PGA preview. Time to go make some lineups, and may your golf tilt be minimal this weekend!