US Open @ Chambers Bay Preview
This year’s edition of the US Open is taking place at one of the most unique courses ever seen in US Open history. This course has not been played in major competition, save the US Amateur event back in 2010. Some players in the field this year did play in that event which is important to note. But for the purposes of this preview, highlighting how the course will play will be paramount in helping you make decisions about your Daily Fantasy rosters.
How important I past US Open experience?
My main message this week to Daily Fantasy Players is that past US Open history should be thrown out the window. This is simply not a traditional US Open course and really should not be viewed as such. There’s no narrow fairways, no knee high rough (although there is fescue, more on that later) and the greens are large and likely going to play slower than normal. There’s also no trees on this course making it in essence a pure links test and a very long and challenging one at that. While fairways are wide and greens large there are huge undulations on and around the green which will make putting tough. Like any links course, bad bounces will occur this week and some perfect looking tee shots will likely end up landing in one of the massive bunkers or fields of tall fescue grass that line the fairways. The course is also extraordinarily long and will be played at around 7740 yards when played as a par 70 (some days it will be played as a par 71 and even longer). While past major championship success is undoubtedly a huge plus, I am not eliminating any player from consideration for use in daily fantasy due to past US Open failures. The test this week is quite simply so much different than any past US Open course that looking at past US Open results offers no real benefit except to possibly lead you off the scent of some decent fantasy plays.
What cues can we use to predict performance?
I think players who have good records at the Open championship (that’s British, not US open) should be looked on very favourably this week. A strong links background is going to serve players very well and emphasizing players with good links records is a good way to start paring down your fantasy player pool. Additionally, there’s no denying the length of this course. Brooks Koepka (himself a long hitter) referred to the course as a “bombers paradise” and the wideness of the greens and fairways seem to support that notion. The fact that the winner of the 2010 USGA amateur was Peter Uihlein, who himself is a big hitter, obviously also supports this theory.
As far as what other events we should consider to help us get a feel for who might have success this week there’s a few courses and events I would emphasize. As I already mentioned Open championship results is probably a decent place to start and one particular course I think may have some similarities to this week is the site of the next major championship, St. Andrews. St. Andrews may not carry some of the massive bunkering and fescue that Chambers Bay does but it does carry massive greens and fairways and is also a course that has been popular with big hitters. Looking at the results from the Open Championship in 2010 (which was played at St. Andrews) may be telling of who can or can’t have success this coming week at Chambers Bay, and a decent place to look for clues as to who to roster this week for daily fantasy.
Additionally, another popular European event, the Alfred Dunhill championship is played on a course that looks very similar to Chambers Bay and one that players have been on record as saying looks quite similar to this week’s test. With a lot of European players in this week’s event who carry strong links records, I think many will end up being fantastic fantasy plays and are much more reliable than they would be in a traditional US Open setup. Looking to past Alfred Dunhill results, and possibly even other European events with links setups, might be a good way to find those non-traditional daily fantasy plays of whom most recreational players will not be familiar with.
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