The second major of the year is upon us! This year the 115th edition of the U.S. Open will be held in the Pacific Northwest (for the first time ever) at Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington. The Robert Trent Jones, Jr. course is a links-style layout and is only 8 years-old. The par-70 course should play around 7,700 yards although it could be maxed out at a whopping 7,906 yards.

 

There has been some debate and controversy over this year’s U.S. Open course selection and some of the alterations made to Chambers Bay by USGA Executive Director Mike Davis. To make the course more difficult, Davis decided to grow out the rough of a links course that is traditionally protected primarily by the elements, uneven fairways and undulating greens. Another peculiar aspect of the course this week will be that the pars for holes 1 and 18 may be flipped from 4 to 5, or vice versa, on certain days. At the very least, these changes should make for an interesting twist as Davis attempts to keep the leaders around par.

 

The best players in the world have arrived in Washington this week. There are many story lines coming into this week, but in the end, the winner will be the man who was best able to withstand the toughest test in golf!

 

Feel free to contact us with suggestions on fantasy content and enjoy the weekend!

 

How it works:

  • My Guy: If I’m picking in a one-golfer league, and had to just pick one…he’s the guy.
  • Stripes: “Man, I was striping it today” as the big guy (TW) likes to say. Call these guys my “favorites” each week.
  • Wildcard: All in the name. Enough said.
  • Shank: I hate to even say this word, especially on a golf course, so as you can imagine these are guys to avoid.

 

My Guy:

Phil Mickelson

  • Three top-5 finishes in his last five events
  • T3 last week at the FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis
  • Publicly stated that he likes Chambers Bay
  • Six runner-up finishes at the U.S. Open – Phil is eager for his first win this Father’s Day

 

Stripes:

Justin Rose

  • Finished runner-up at Augusta in this season’s first major
  • Won the Zurich Classic and took 2nd place at the Memorial Tournament earlier this month
  • 2nd on the PGA Tour in birdie average per round (4.56) and 12th in the all-around ranking

Rory McIlroy

  • Winner of six events in the past year
  • Won the matchplay event at TPC Harding Park and at Quail Hallow more recently
  • 1st on the Tour in strokes gained tee-to-green, 2nd in scoring average, and 1st in the all-around ranking
  • Looks for his second U.S. Open championship after winning at Congressional in 2011

Rickie Fowler

  • Loves big events – won the PLAYERS in May
  • Top 15s in his last five majors and four WGCs
  • 5th on the PGA Tour in overall putting average

 

 

Wildcard:

Francesco Molinari

  • Top-5 finishes in three of his last four events
  • Leads PGA Tour in fairways hit (78.5% driving accuracy) and 5th in GIR

 

Shank:

Martin Kaymer                  

  • Defending champion has not been able to get it going this year at all – 160th in the FedEx Cup standings
  • Missed the cut in three of his last five tournaments
  • Best finish in 2015 was T31 at the Cadillac Championship that had a much smaller field