2020 U.S. Open Championship Preview
U.S. Open
September 17 – September 20
Winged Foot GC | Mamaroneck, NY
Par 70 – 7,477 Yards
Defending Champion 2018-2019: Gary Woodland (-13) def. Brookes Koepka (-10) at Pebble Beach
47-year old Stewart Cink showed he still has some juice left in the tank firing a final round 65 to finish at -21 and hold off elite athlete Harry Higgs (-19) to win the Safeway Open. Doc Redman, Chez Reavie, Kevin Streelman, and Brian Stuard all finished at -18 to tie for third place. Notables Jordan Spieth, Sergio Garcia and Shane Lowry all missed the cut at the Safeway Open so they’ll look to have bounce back weeks at the U.S. Open.
This year’s U.S. Open Championship will be played at Winged Foot Golf Club outside of New York City to get the new season going with a major! The early story of the week is how thick the rough will play if you miss the fairways or the greens so expect a grind it out type of tournament. Last time the U.S. Open was played at Winged Foot in 2006, Geoff Ogilvy won shooting +5 to hold off Jim Furyk (+6), Phil Mickelson (+6) and Colin Montgomerie (+6). Beyond a match play US Amateur Championship won by Ryan Moore in 2004, the last championship at Winged Foot was the PGA Championship in 1997 where Davis Love (-11) won by 5 strokes over Justin Leonard. Overall, not a ton of course history here, and changes to the course over the years will make it tough to look at past results.
The favorites this week are Dustin Johnson (+800), Jon Rahm (+1000), Justin Thomas (+1200), Rory McIlroy (+1400) and Xander Schauffele (+1600). Of course, Tiger (+4000) is back in the field this week. He’s had some good rounds here and there but the consistency just hasn’t been there since returning to golf in July (37th at PGA Championship top finish after break). Take note that Scottie Scheffler has withdrawn from the tournament due to a positive COVID test, and Koepka is out with a knee injury, so those bets and DFS ownership will have to go elsewhere. Other notables in the field this week include Colin Morikawa (+1800), Bryson DeChambeau (+2500), Patrick Cantlay (+2500), Webb Simpson (+2500), and Daniel Berger (+2800).
The Course
Winged Foot GC | Mamaroneck, NY
Par 70 – 7,477 Yards
Par 3’s: 243, 162, 214, 212
Par 4’s: 451, 484, 467, 502, 321, 490, 384, 452, 426, 498, 504, 469
Par 5’s: 565, 633
The first thing that stands out with hole composition this week is the twelve par 4’s but, more specifically, the seven par 4’s 450-500 yards. So, let’s stick with par 4 scoring and 450-500 yard par 4 scoring as our key hole types this week.
Beyond the deep rough mentioned above (and all over the internet), Winged Foot features narrow landing areas, deep greenside bunkers and fast, sloping greens with some false fronts making for tough putting and scrambling. The par 70 course plays long at almost 7,500 yards but a lot of reports are highlighting the speed of the greens as a bigger factor. This makes three key stats pop out right off the bat: Strokes Gained Putting, Driving Accuracy and Driving Distance (as long as they can hit it straight, otherwise could get themselves in trouble).
In a tournament that’s going to challenge every part of your game, total strokes gained is a stat that takes everything into consideration. Even something like greens in regulation could play a big role as avoiding the big numbers will be key. Lastly, and like most tournaments, birdie or better percentage will separate the top guys from the bums this week.
Overall, you can expect the best players on tour to rise to the top in majors and that’s no different this week. Look into the mentally tough, grind it out, tough condition golfers this week to gain an edge gambling and in the DFS world.
Scoring Holes: The 321 yard par 4 6th hole will get the blood flowing for guys who can let it rip, and should be a good birdie chance for shorter hitters as well. The 384 yard par 4 11th is the next shortest par 4 where players will need to take advantage. As always, the two par 5’s will play easier than the rest of the course, but still some work to do on the 633 yard 12th.
Problem Holes: The 243 yard par 3 3rd hole will certainly give players trouble this week, and I’d even expect a few shorter hitters to lay up (seriously, see below) rather than taking on the greenside bunkers. Holes #5 and #17 are par 4’s that both play over 500 yards, so expect some bogeys or worse there.
Past U.S. Open Champions
2019 – Gary Woodland (-13) def. Brooks Koepka (-10) at Pebble Beach
2018 – Brooks Koepka (+1) def. Tommy Fleetwood (+2) at Shinnecock
2017 – Brooks Koepka (-16) def. Hideki Matsuyama and Brian Harman (-12) at Erin Hills
2016 – Dustin Johnson (-4) def. Jim Furyk, Shane Lowry and Scott Piercy (-1) at Oakmont
2015 – Jordan Spieth (-5) def. Dustin Johnson and Louis Oosthuizen (-4) at Chambers Bay
2014 – Martin Kaymer (-9) def. Erik Compton and Rickie Fowler (-1) at Pinehurst
2013 – Justin Rose (+1) def. Jason Day and Phil Mickelson (+3) at Merion
2012 – Webb Simpson (+1) def. Graeme McDowell and Michael Thompson (+2) at Olympic Club
2011 – Rory McIlroy (-16) def. Jason Day (-8) at Congressional
2010 – Graeme McDowell (E) def. Gregory Havret (+1) at Pebble Beach