Ancer penalized 2 shots for misstep in bunker

The 121st U.S. Open is on deck this week at Torrey Pines, South Course, in San Diego, California. The course will play as a par 71, measuring 7,643 yards and the greens will be poa annua this week. There are 156 golfers and the top 65 and ties will make the weekend for the season’s third major. The last and only time Torrey Pines hosted the U.S. Open was in 2008, where Tiger Woods beat Rocco Mediate in a playoff. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: $2.5M Fantasy Golf Millionaire [$1M to 1st + ToC Entry] STRATEGY Torrey Pines is a regular stop on the PGA TOUR for the Farmers Insurance Open, where Patrick Reed (+2500, $9,000) won by five strokes. Bryson DeChambeau (+1900, $10,400) is the defending U.S. Open champion, winning at Winged Foot last season. Similar to last week, Torrey Pines (South) will be another long, par 71 and that’s where the similarities stop. The course hugs the San Diego coastline, featuring undulating fairways, thick rough and small greens. Torrey Pines also has deep bunkering guarding the greens — 14 of 18 holes have bunkers that sit on the left and right side of the putting surface, making sure the golfers don’t have an easy bailout away from danger. There’s no secret what you need to do well at a U.S. Open and here at Torrey Pines. Of course, ball-striking is king, but golfers who are efficient in distance and accuracy Off-the-Tee will have an easier path to success. The last four winners of the U.S. Open are all elite drivers. Bryson finished first in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee at the end of the season last year, while Gary Woodland (+8000, $7,500), Brooks Koepka (+1600, $10,100) and Dustin Johnson (+1600, $10,700) finished inside the top 20 in driving at the end of the season they won the U.S. Open. The top five in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee over the previous 24 rounds coming into this week is Bryson, Jon Rahm (+850, $11,200), Matt Fitzpatrick (+5500, $7,800), Abraham Ancer (+5000, $7,900) and Cameron Champ (+18000, $7,000). Hitting it well Off-the-Tee won’t amount to anything this week if the golfers don’t have a hot putting week. Most of the greens pitch back to front and have a lot of slope and undulation. The past winners at the Farmers Insurance Open, dating back to Jason Day, gained an average of 4.125 strokes on the greens. Putting is too variant to predict but leaning toward golfers who’ve shown success putting on poa annua should also be considered. With the elevated greens and bunkers in specific landing areas, golfers who rate out nicely in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green and sand saves as well should warrant roster considerations this week. Like all major weeks, pricing is soft, which means there’s value to be mined in each price range. Historically, winning this tournament usually goes to one of the top-ranked golfers heading into the week. The past six winners had an average world ranking of 12.5 leading into their U.S Open victories, with the lowest being Woodland at No. 24 in 2019 and the highest being Jordan Spieth (+1700, $10,900) at No. 2 in 2015. Over the previous three years at the U.S. Open, a balanced lineup approach has been successful. In 2018, the average salary of the top six in DraftKings scoring was $8,650, with the cheapest being Tony Finau at $7,500 and the most expensive being Johnson at $11,700. In 2019, the average salary was $9,183, with the cheapest being Louis Oosthuizen at $7,900 and the most expensive being Koepka at $11,600. Last season, the average was $8,783, with Will Zalatoris being the cheapest at $6,700 and Justin Thomas being the most expensive at $10,700. GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Brooks Koepka (+1600 to Win, $10,100 on DraftKings) The fact that he’s won two out of the last four U.S. Opens and just finished runner-up at the PGA Championship last month should be reason enough to consider Brooks this week. Koepka missed the cut last weekend at Congaree, but it was all due to his short game, losing 1.66 strokes around-the-greens and 2.85 putting. His ball-striking was superb in South Carolina, and he’s now gained over six strokes through approach in three of his previous five measured events. Poa annua isn’t his best surface; he usually skips the California Swing during the regular season. Still, this is Koepka at a major, which should suffice if you’re looking to roster a golfer in this range. Collin Morikawa (+2200 to Win, $9,500 on DraftKings) The fourth-ranked golfer in the world is elite with his irons, ranking first in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green over the previous 50 rounds. Over his past five tournaments, he’s gained an average of just under seven strokes with his irons. Morikawa’s finishes hinge on how well he’s putting that week, and he’s lost strokes with his putter in three of his past four measured tournaments. Still, his worst finish in those four events was a 14th at the Charles Schwab; he finished T7 at the RBC Heritage and T8 at the PGA Championship. The last two times he’s gained strokes putting this season, he finished second at The Memorial presented by Nationwide and won the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession. He’s got a top 25 at the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open and should be used to the poa annua growing up in California. Shane Lowry (+4500 to Win, $7,600 on DraftKings) Three top 10s and a top 5 in his last four starts, including the Memorial Tournament and the PGA Championship, should give the reigning “Championship Golfer of the World” a boost of confidence heading into this week. Lowry has three made cuts at Torrey Pines during the Farmers Insurance Open, finishing seventh in 2015 and 13th the following year. Few players are hitting it as well as Lowry Tee-to-Green (T2G). Lowry gained an average of 5.9 strokes T2G over his previous five tournaments and comes in with a good swath of U.S. Open experience and success. In 2016 at Oakmont, Lowry was the 54-hole leader with a four-shot lead heading into the final round. His Sunday wasn’t ideal, shooting a 76, but his first three days were near perfection. Adam Scott (+8000, $7,400) should also be considered this week with how well his game sets up for a U.S. Open and how well he’s played at Torrey Pines during the Farmers Insurance Open. Scott finished top 10 at Torrey Pines earlier this season and was runner-up back in 2019. He also has three top 10s at the U.S. Open since 2014. Poa annua greens are his preferred surface, ranking 16th in Strokes Gained: Putting over the previous 50 rounds. Justin Suh (+30000 to Win, $6,600 on DraftKings) If you’re looking for a punt play, one to consider is the former University of Southern California standout. The California native qualified for the U.S. Open at a Monday qualifier last week and gets to tee it up at Torrey Pines, a course he’s very familiar with. Suh has two professional starts at the Farmers Insurance Open, where he finished 37th earlier this season. He’s also mentioned that he’s played Torrey Pines about 20 times in his life during junior and collegiate golf. The former World No. 1 ranked amateur turned pro with Morikawa, Viktor Hovland (+2200, $9,200) and Matthew Wolff (+15000, $7,200) back in 2019 and should have a ton of confidence this week at a course he knows and loves. Refer a friend and get $20 DK Dollars! Head to the DraftKings Playbook Promo page for more details! Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: $2.5M Fantasy Golf Millionaire [$1M to 1st + ToC Entry] Put your knowledge to the test. 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Winner – Quicken Loans National (Last 5 Years) Bill Haas Billy Hurley III Troy Merritt Winner – THE PLAYERS Championship (Last 4 Yrs Plus Year of Win) Rickie Fowler Si Woo Kim Winner – PGA Championship (Last 5 Yrs) Jimmy Walker Winner – THE TOUR Championship (Last three years) Billy Horschel Winners of the Arnold Palmer Inv. & the Memorial (Last 3 Years) Matt Every Marc Leishman David Lingmerth Winner – Tournament Winner in the Past Year Aaron Baddeley Jonas Blixt Wesley Bryan Greg Chalmers Kevin Chappell Cody Gribble Adam Hadwin Russell Henley Mackenzie Hughes Rod Pampling D.A. Points Patrick Reed Brendan Steele Hudson Swafford Justin Thomas Jhonattan Vegas Winner – Prior Year U.S. Amateur Championship Curtis Luck Member of Last Named U.S. Ryder Cup Team J.B. Holmes Member of Last Named U.S.Presidents Cup Team Chris Kirk Member of Last Named International Presidents Cup Team Danny Lee Top 125 on Prior Year’s FedExCup Points List Gary Woodland Roberto Castro Kevin Na Jason Kokrak James Hahn Fabian Gomez Jim Herman Smylie Kaufman Tony Finau Harris English Charles Howell III David Hearn Kevin Streelman Kyle Reifers Vaughn Taylor Daniel Summerhays Ben Martin Ricky Barnes Patrick Rodgers Harold Varner III Martin Laird Johnson Wagner Patton Kizzire Alex Cejka Bryce Molder K.J. Choi Spencer Levin John Huh Sung Kang Jason Bohn Tyrone Van Aswegen Derek Fathauer Blayne Barber Keegan Bradley Peter Malnati Robert Streb Lucas Glover Brett Stegmaier Robert Garrigus Zac Blair Cameron Tringale Andrew Loupe Boo Weekley Kyle Stanley Ben Crane Michael Kim Graham DeLaet Luke List Shawn Stefani Seung-Yul Noh Top 125 (Medical) Brian Gay Sponsors Exemptions – Web.com Tour Finals Ryan Brehm Jonathan Randolph Sponsors Exemptions – Members not otherwise exempt Arjun Atwal Jason Gore Sponsors Exemptions – Unrestricted Wyndham Clark Gavin Kyle Green Sam Horsfield Ryan Ruffels Players below 10th – FedExCup Points List Bud Cauley Ollie Schniederjans Kelly Kraft Kevin Tway Whee Kim Morgan Hoffmann Nick Taylor J.J. Spaun Byeong Hun An Cheng Tsung Pan Dominic Bozzelli Camilo Villegas J.T. Poston Xander Schauffele Nick Watney Ryan Blaum Michael Thompson Geoff Ogilvy Grayson Murray Trey Mullinax Scott Stallings J.J. Henry Brandon Hagy Matt Jones Sam Saunders Cameron Percy Seamus Power Bryson DeChambeau Greg Owen Martin Flores Julian Etulain

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The U.S. Team is staging a comeback in the Sunday Singles at the Presidents Cup. Check back here for recaps after each match finishes. The International Team, seeking its second win in Presidents Cup history, started the day with a 10-8 lead. The U.S. Team is making things tough, though. PRESIDENTS CUP: Scoring | Quiz: Which team should you support? DAY 4 SINGLES MATCH 19: U.S. WINS 3&2 Tiger Woods (U.S.) def. Abraham Ancer (International) Holes won: U.S. 7, International 4 Holes led: U.S. 11, International 0 Recap: Ancer hung tough, keeping the match all square through eight holes. Woods was too much, though. made back-to-back birdies at 9 and 10 to take a 2-up lead. Ancer cut into the lead by holing a 10-foot birdie putt to win the 13th. He gave it back with a bogey at the next hole, though. Woods birdied the next two holes to close out the match. He executed an incredible lag putt from well short of the green on the par-5 15th, then closed it out with a 20-footer for birdie. “I knew the match was over with 6 feet remaining,â€� Woods said. This was his seventh Singles win, the most in Presidents Cup history. Woods finished 3-0-0 this week. This is just the second time he’s gone undefeated in nine Presidents Cup appearances. MATCH 20: TIED Hideki Matsyuama (International) tied Tony Finau (U.S.) Holes won: International 6, U.S. 6 Holes led: International 13, U.S. 0 Recap: This one stung for the International Team. Matsuyama was 4 up after 10 holes. Finau won Nos. 11-14, three of them with birdies, to tie the match. Matsuyama regained his lead with a birdie on 16, but he three-putted to lose the 17th. They both parred the final hole. MATCH 21: U.S. WINS 4&2 Patrick Reed (U.S.) def. C.T. Pan (International) Holes won: U.S. 8, International 4 Holes led: U.S. 16, International 0 Recap: Reed came out on fire. He won six of the first seven holes, five of them with birdies. Pan won the next three holes, but Reed staved off the comeback by holing a 10-footer to halve the 11th hole. Pan birdied the 13th to pull within 2 down, but it didn’t get any closer. Reed closed it out with wins on 15 and 16. “You make birdies, you don’t hear much (from the fans),â€� Reed said about his hot start. MATCH 22: U.S. WINS 4&3 Dustin Johnson (U.S.) def. Haotong Li (International) Holes won: U.S. 7, International 3 Holes led: U.S. 13, International 0 Recap: Johnson took the early lead by winning Nos. 3-5, two of them with pars. He never led by fewer than three holes after that. Another par earned him a win on the seventh hole. Johnson was 5 up after 11 holes, and while Li won Nos. 12 and 14, it was never close. The match ended with Johnson’s birdie on the 15th hole. “I played really well today. I hit the ball great,â€� Johnson said. “obviously he struggled just a little bit. I definitely put lot of pressure on him because I hit some great shots today.â€� MATCH 23 Adam Hadwin (International) vs. Bryson DeChambeau (U.S.) MATCH 24 Sungjae Im (International) vs. Gary Woodland (U.S.) MATCH 25 Joaquin Niemann (International) vs. Patrick Cantlay (U.S.) MATCH 26 Adam Scott (International) vs. Patrick Cantlay (U.S.) MATCH 27 Byeong Hun An (International) vs. Webb Simpson (U.S.) MATCH 28 Cameron Smith (International) vs. Justin Thomas (U.S.) MATCH 29 Louis Oosthuizen (International) vs. Matt Kuchar (U.S.) MATCH 30 Marc Leishman (International) vs. Rickie Fowler (U.S.)

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