Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2015 U.S. Open

The Sleeper Report: Fantasy Golf Sleepers, Long Shots, and Undervalued Picks for the 2015 U.S. Open from Chambers Bay

Event Preview

One of the most anticipated golf events of the year is on deck as the top players in the world converge on the Pacific Northwest and Chambers Bay Golf Course for the U.S. Open.

This year’s U.S. Open also marks a lot of “firsts” for the event, including the first time it’s taken place in the Pacific Northwest as well as the first time this par-70, 7,742-yard course is hosting the open—after being developed just eight years ago with hosting an Open in mind.  A ton of other courses have seen this event come and go as fifty different venues have been used since the U.S. Open started back in 1895.  History buffs will note that Oakmont Country Club is the most popular venue with the U.S. Open being held there eight times; most recently in 2007 and once again next year.

The field as usual will be tremendous as the major is bringing in each of the top-60 players in the world and will certainly be headlined by five-time major champion and 2011 U.S. Open winner, world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, as he attempts to outshine Masters winner Jordan Speith.  There will be 13 past U.S. Open champions also joining the field, with each of the past nine victors in attendance, including three-time U.S. Open winner Tiger Woods (2000, 2002, 2008).

The past half decade of this event has been dominated by Europe with the only the American winner over that time being Webb Simpson’s one stroke victory with a score of one-over-par in 2012.  Other than that, Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, and most recently Martin Kaymer have gone home with the trophy.

When Kaymer hit the course last year, he started hot and never lifted his foot off the pedal with consecutive 65s to start out the tournament.  Kaymer ended up taking a huge eight-stroke win with Erik Compton and Rickie Fowler being the only other two players in red numbers.

Most of this week’s field sat it out at Memphis last week, instead deciding to prepare with plenty of practice and rest, but a few players did make their way to the FedEx St. Jude Classic and two names, Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka, finished in the top-three and are expected to have a solid chance at winning at Chambers Bay.  Mickelson, the winner of 42 career PGA events, including five major championships, would complete the career major grand slam with a win this week and is coming off a Sunday 65 that bumped him into a tie for third last week.  The U.S. Open trophy has alluded him plenty as he been the runner-up in the tournament an astonishing six times, with the most recent coming in 2013.

With a ton of amateurs and players looking to take their game to the next level with a major victory, there are plenty of sleepers to look at this week and below are five that have the best chance to be in contention come Sunday afternoon.

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The U.S. Open Fantasy Sleeper Report

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The Fantasy Sleeper Report

Mix and match these players with your usual rosters (or play them separately) to get the most out of your picks this week.

• Keegan Bradley – 66/1: Bradley is a former major championship winner (2011 PGA Championship) and owns two other TOUR victories since winning Rookie of the Year in 2011.  He showed what he can do on the rough terrain of a U.S. Open last year, ranking fourth after four rounds of 69 or better, but was ultimately done in by a Saturday 76.  In the 2014 U.S. Open he hit 67% of GIR and 68% of fairways and shot five-under over the week on the par-fives.  In 2015, Bradley has made 13-of-15 cuts, including three top-10s, and has finished in the top-25 at five of his last seven events.  Last week, his score of 11-under-par was good enough for eighth place and he was once again done in by one poor round—a Friday 74.  Bradley lacks consistency, but has one of the longest drives (301.9 yards per, 16th on TOUR) and has great ball-striking as evidenced by his 1.200 strokes gained from tee to green (12th on TOUR).  If he can get that one blowup round off of his card, Bradley could be celebrating his second career major win this Sunday.
• Kevin Na – 80/1: Na is another one of the most consistent players on TOUR and through his 17 tournaments he has been able to make all but two cuts—with one being a withdrawal from the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open to start the year.  He has six top-10s and just missed grabbing his second PGA win when he found the runner-up spot at the CIMB Classic.  His short game should keep him from taking on any unnecessary strokes over the week as he ranks fifth in sand save percentage (65.6%) and is 21st in scrambling (64.2%).  Na has improved his standing at the U.S. Open each time since missing the cut in his first two attempts (2010, 2111) and is coming off a very solid performance last year when he tied for 12th.  He can keep up with the best in the sport and will likely do so again at Chambers Bay.
• Danny Willet – 80/1: Willet has been tearing up the scene across the pond this year and sits only behind Rory McIlroy in the Race for Dubai.  He won the Nedbank Golf Challenge to kick off the season and was really able to burst onto the American scene with a third-place showing at the Match Play Championship back in early March.  Willet has risen to 36th in the World with his play, but besides his solid effort at the WGC match play event, he has not been able to do much in the United States.  Overall in 2015, he has played in six events, including the Masters where he actually played quite well with three rounds under par, but was undone by a 76 on Saturday.  The 27-year-old should be getting more used to the competition and feel of these big events and is poised to perform well.
• Francesco Molinari – 100/1: Molinari hasn’t done all that much on the PGA TOUR this year, making 8-of-11 cuts with two top-10s, but comes into this event with some solid play in recent weeks.  He tied for third at the Memorial Tournament in his last PGA appearance and ranked in the top-five at two of the past three European Tour events played—one being a fifth place finish at the BMW Championship.  At the Memorial Tournament, Molinari put up some ridiculous stats, accurately driving 91.1% of fairways and getting on the green in regulation a whopping 77.8% of the time as he scored a mark of eight-under-par on the par-fours.  He has yet to win a PGA event and has just two top-10s in major championships, but is riding a hot last month and could open some eyes this week in Washington.
• Tony Finau – 150/1: Finau will laugh at this outrageously long course with his amazing club head speed (123.95 MPH, best on TOUR) which has led to drives averaging 307.2 yard per (3rd on TOUR).  He has used his massive advantage off the tee to put up some great showings in the past month as he has ranked in the top-20 at each of the last four tournaments played and has carded a 68 or better in six of his last eight rounds.  This will be the TOUR rookie’s first taste of a major championship, so it’s unclear how his emotions will react, but with his ability to put the ball further than almost anyone else in the event, he will give himself a chance to make history or at least get another top-20 showing at Chambers Bay.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions?  Check out our full fantasy preview for the 2015 U.S. Open here.

Cover photo by Gord Montgomery