It feels very weird to say in mid-September, but the U.S. Open is this week! It turns out this does NOT mean we get an extra Fathers Day celebration on Sunday (which, you know, kind of sucks) but at least we are having this championship, and it’s at a world class course.
This article is part of an ongoing series where I point out who I have chosen in DraftKings for a given week, and recommend you veer otherwise, because history shows I’m … not good at this. With apologies, I skipped last week at the Safeway Open. In fairness, I have several excuses:
- I was fairly sure they were going to cancel it due to the wretched air quality in the area (I live fairly nearby and haven’t seen a blue sky in over a week, and I wish that was a joke)
- I was still basking in the throes of the riveting Tour Championship that I didn’t watch
- I forgot.
I’ll let you decide which one of those was the real reason, but … yeah. Anyway, I can tell you with certainty that I would NOT have chosen 47-year old Stewart Cink (and his regrettably named son, Reagan, on the bag) so consider it money saved.
Let’s head to Winged Foot. I’m not going to re-litigate the past and talk about how Phil Mickelson choked away a lead to Geoff Ogilvy because I think it’s both mean to Ogilvy, a hell of a player in his own right, and also because I wish I remembered it more. Not sure what I was doing in 2006 but apparently I was busy on the final round. I know it happened, I just never saw it in person, and pretending otherwise is not what we’re about here at Talking To A Fade.
I will say – I’m not investing in Phil Mickelson this week. He barely made the cut at the Safeway Open. He’s 50 years old. If he wins the U.S. Open I will be thrilled. But I wouldn’t invest even $5 in it happening.
Here’s who I did bet on this week:
Dustin Johnson ($11,500): He’s the most expensive player for a reason. He’s the #1 player in the world, utterly torched the field in East Lake and I can’t see a good reason he won’t do exceptionally well this week.
Justin Thomas ($10,700): Yep, we’re going stars and scrubs and taking one of the other two guys who are in that no-doubt easy pick (the other being Jon Rahm who I can’t afford with these two guys on the roster). JT had as good a year as anyone, including DJ, and should be a favorite to notch his 2nd major.
Joaquin Niemann ($7,400): Do I think Joaquin is going to win? No, but he’s been in a lot of tournaments this year and his game is fairly complete. I’m excited.
Erik van Rooyen ($6,900): I promise, if EVR wins I will stop yelling about his stupid joggers. (Note: I’m now a proud owner of very similar sweatpants but I wouldn’t wear them on the course.)
Corey Conners ($6,900) The big hitting Canadian hasn’t been too loud this season but he’s got a well rounded game and it feels like a good place for him to shine.
Lanto Griffin ($6,500) Lanto has been incredibly solid for a full year and I think I’ve barely bet on him. He’s super affordable this week and I think a very sneaky pick to not only make the cut but to make some noise.
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