Best Draftkings plays for the 2019 US Open: Will Tiger rebound?

Here are all the tips and advice daily fantasy players need to know in advance of this week’s U.S. Open.

Brooks Koepka is looking for his third straight U.S. Open victory, Tiger is returning to the course that he dominated in 2000, will Phil Mickelson finally get his U.S. Open victory and Rory McIlroy is coming off a dominant performance at the RBC Canadian Open.

Pebble Beach hosted the AT&T Pro-Am early this year where Phil Mickelson bested Paul Casey for the victory. However, the course is not going to look as it did earlier in the season.

The U.S. Open has a history of being one of the toughest tests in golf, which makes Brooks Koepka winning it back-to-back even more impressive. This is not a long course, but it is critical to hitting fairways, as the rough is thick and penal.

In addition to thick rough, the greens are small and fast. Being such, they are hit less frequently than the tour average. Another factor to watch out for is the weather and while the forecast doesn’t look terrible right now, that could flip in a second because it is a coastal course.

Some of the key stats I’m looking at:

• Strokes gained: Approach
• Strokes gained: Ball striking
• Opportunities gained
• Strokes gained: Around the green
• Greens in regulation gained

Those are the stats, now let’s look at some of the players I will be targeting from each range.

$10,000 and up:

Tiger Woods ($10,700): These greens are going to be tough to hit. Almost no one is hitting greens in regulation more frequently in the last 24 rounds than Tiger, as he ranks second in the field (Jim Furyk is first). He is also one of the best ever to think his way around a golf course and that is going to be needed this week.

Jordan Spieth: ($10,300): My pick to win the event this week. No one is coming in with a hotter putter (first in the field in the last 24 rounds). He is also eighth in the field in strokes gained around the green. This is going to be a major factor with the greens being so hard to it.

$9,000-$9,900:

Justin Thomas ($9,300): Thomas has battled back through a wrist injury and is starting to get back into form. He is coming in ranked sixth in opportunities gained and fifth in strokes gained around the green in the field in the last 24 rounds.

Jason Day ($9,100): The course being much shorter will allow him to club down and hit more fairways off the tee. His world class putting and around the green game will be able to keep him hanging around. If his putter gets hot he could easily end up on top of the leader board on Sunday.

$8,900-$8,000:

Hideki Matsuyama ($8,800): Fourth in my overall model. Second in the field in the last 24 rounds in opportunities gained. Eighth in approach and ninth in around the green. It all comes down to putting. If he putts decent he will be in the mix.

Xander Schauffele ($8,700): Always seems to be in the mix in the big tourneys (16th at the PGA Championship, second at the Masters). He is just outside the top ten in greens in regulation gained in the field in the last 24 rounds.

$7,500-$7,900:

Patrick Reed ($7,900): Doesn’t need to be in great form to win. Usually not highly owned because people just don’t like to play Patrick Reed. Reed can grind and scramble with the best of them. Seems like a guy I wouldn’t be surprised to see in the mix on Sunday.

Webb Simpson ($7,700): Coming off a good finish last weekend at the RBC Canadian Open. Not a long hitter, but that won’t matter this week. He is accurate off the tee, has a solid around the green game and is one of the best putters in the field with Poa being his preferred surface.

$7,000-$7,800:

Jim Furyk ($7,200): First in the field in the last 24 rounds for greens in regulation gained, ninth in the field in strokes gained approach and can grind with the best of them. Furyk is a solid play for his price.

Billy Horschel ($7,200): Horschel has gained strokes in four straight events, including gaining 6.1 on approach at the Memorial tournament. He has a solid all-around game and has three straight finishes inside the top 25.

$6,900 and below:

Jason Dufner ($6,900): He withdrew from last week’s event. However, if healthy, he is someone I Will look too. His around the green game and putting is terrifying, but his inside the top 10 in the field in the last 24 rounds in greens in regulation gained and fairways gained. He is also coming off a seventh-place finish at the Memorial.

Brian Stuard ($6,600): He has gained strokes on approach in six of his last seven events and gained strokes around the green in his last four events. He has also made five straight cuts, which at this price, is all you can really ask for.

This golf course is going to be a great test for every golfer in the field. That coupled with so many of the top golfers in the world playing at such a high level right now should make for a great tournament. Let’s get some 6/6 lineups and lots of green screens this weekend. Good luck everyone!