The U.S. Open is back at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club this year, as the wind-swept, links-style course on Long Island hosts the tournament for the sixth time. The course is an extremely difficult setup, and the par 70 will offer an extremely tough test this week for the top golfers in the world. It’s the third major championship of the season, and all the big names will be on the board looking to claim the U.S. Open championship trophy.
The last time the PGA TOUR visited this venue was in 2018, when Brooks Koepka won the U.S. Open with a +1 score over four rounds. With windy conditions, especially on Thursday, extremely thick rough, and constantly changing conditions, this week will be one of the toughest tests of the season. For more info on the field, the format, and the course, check out this First Look from RotoGrinders.
Especially in large-field tournaments, you’ll want to make sure to target players who have lower ownership projections than their potential performance suggests. Finding high-leverage plays is critical for tournament success, so the picks here go against the grain, looking for under-owned options.
Usually, I rely heavily on the Strokes Gained Model in FantasyLabs, which is very predictive of results. I also tend to lean toward players who excel in Strokes Gained: Approach, which is more sustainable week to week than a hot putter.
Since these are tournament picks, we can accept more risk in exchange for getting a higher ceiling. High-risk, high-reward options with low ownership create the “boom-or-bust” style lineups that often lead to large-field success. To find guidance for all contest types, check out our full Daily Fantasy Golf coverage each week.
No matter what type of format you prefer, be sure to use the FantasyLabs PGA Models to help you make the best choices. These models use stats and simulations to highlight different players’ strengths and weaknesses. A few critical new stats for tournament play are Perfect% and SimLeverage, which are further explained here.
As you dig into the numbers, you can enjoy the many tools FantasyLabs offers, including the Lineup Optimizer, which effortlessly creates up to 300 lineups. Alternatively, you can use the Lineup Builder if you prefer a more hands-on approach.
Check out my top picks in each price range listed below.
Editor’s note: SimLeverage and Perfect% numbers may change after this piece is published. Be sure to check the PGA Models for any updates to the sims.
High-Priced PGA DFS Picks
Scottie Scheffler $14,900
Scottie Scheffler has the highest salary on the board this week by a wide margin. He hasn’t won since his first tournament of 2026, and the public is building their rosters without him for the most part. With his ownership dipping under 25% as a result of his hefty price tag and lack of wins lately, he becomes a nice spot for pay-up leverage since he has still been playing well and has a great chance to contend this week if he can put his best game together.
Since his ownership projection is lower, Scheffler has the highest SimLeverage of all players over $8,500 this week. He has the second-highest Perfect% in the field and the highest median, ceiling, and floor projection.
Even though he hasn’t been winning, Scheffler continues to post consistently high finishes. He has finished in the top 25 of every one of his 12 events this season with seven top-five finishes. Any other player would be thrilled with his results, but Scheffler’s standard over the past few years has been so much higher since he has been collecting multiple wins. He finished runner-up this year at the Masters, the RBC Heritage, and the Cadillac Championship, and he was T14 at the PGA Championship as well.
Scheffler leads the field in SG:T2G and Total Strokes Gained over the last six months and ranks third in SG:APP over the last three months. His putter has been solid as well, but some bad bounces and a few mistakes at bad times have kept him from winning since January.
He will be looking to complete his career grand slam this week since the U.S. Open is the only major he has yet to win. He finished T7 last year and has four top-10 finishes in the last five years at the U.S. Open.
It is tricky to build around his hefty salary, but if you find the right value plays to partner with him, he could end up delivering another big week and posting a high enough finish to be worth his high price tag that comes with low ownership.
Cameron Young $10,500
Young is the only player with a higher Perfect% than Scheffler this week, since he leaves so much more salary to spend in other spots. Young has the second-highest SimLeverage of the players over $8,500, and he has the second-highest median, ceiling, and floor projections in the entire field.
The native New Yorker will have plenty of crowd support this week, and he has proven he has the ability to win in difficult conditions against a stacked field. The 29-year-old was close to winning multiple times throughout the last few seasons and has now started to rack up wins after finally breaking through for his first PGA TOUR victory last summer at the Wyndham Championship. He kept rolling after that win with five straight top-12 finishes to end 2025, highlighted by a T4 at the TOUR Championship.
In 2026, he has already picked up big wins at THE PLAYERS Championship and the Cadillac Championship, both of which are played on difficult courses with strong fields. Overall, he has an impressive six top-10 finishes in 12 events this year. He made the cut at both of the majors this year as well, posting a T3 at the Masters and a T26 at the PGA Championship. He has made the cut in each of the last three U.S. Opens as well, finishing T4 last year at Oakmont.
His game is in great form coming to Shinnecock, and he ranks second in Total Strokes Gained, fifth in SG:T2G, and 10th in SG:APP in this elite field over the last three months.
He did stumble a little bit in his most recent event with a T46 at the Memorial, where his putter was off most of the week. That helps keep his ownership lower, though, and he definitely has the skill to contend if he’s in top form this week.
Now available: our PGA DFS SimLabs Lineup Generator that creates advanced DFS lineups using the power of simulation.
Mid-Priced PGA DFS Picks
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