The 125th U.S. Open is the second stop of 12 in Segment 3 in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by PGA TOUR Superstore, and it’s a major boasting a dynamic field. But before we consider strategies, it’s worth a moment to digest what happened at the RBC Canadian Open. No, it’s not to applaud the three percent of gamers who owned champion Ryan Fox, although that was clutch. It’s to apply a little bedside manners to the 49.2 percent for whom Rory McIlroy occupied a roster spot.

In what was the lid-lifter of the final phase of the fantasy season, McIlroy spit the bit and missed the cut by 12 shots. If there’s an opposite of achieving the career Grand Slam at the Masters, the result on the North course of TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley isn’t far from it, but that it occurred not even a full two months separated from history at Augusta National is jarring. Still, there’s almost always something good to be gained from an outcome like that.

Because Scottie Scheffler didn’t play, the FedExCup points leader is available to all gamers for all three tournaments that comprise the FedExCup Playoffs. With FedExCup bonus points quadrupled in the series and designated captains in the fantasy game credited for twice that, he’s insurance for all.

Furthermore, as advised in this space in advance of the RBC Canadian, the plan was to save all three starts for both McIlroy and Scheffler and then determine which will be captain each week when the postseason arrives. So, worst case, McIlroy would have been rostered but not designated as a captain in any, but suddenly now he needs to prove that he’s even worthy of burning as many as two more starts. (He is, but be patient.)

In the meantime, because McIlroy’s value has taken a hit, he’s unlikely to do as much damage in the fantasy macro because ownership should drop. (It was 33.2 percent for the U.S. Open at last check.) In a vacuum, he’s suddenly a contrarian, but that angle should be left to DFS for which the season format of the fantasy game has no influence.

There’s another potentially valuable wrinkle that benefits gamers who have only two starts remaining for McIlroy.

Although time always tells, it remains to be seen if McIlroy will even play in both of the first two posteason events. It’s not required. And with FedExCup Starting Strokes removed from the TOUR Championship this year, his long-range goal will be to retain position inside the top 30 to qualify for the field at East Lake Golf Club. He’s currently second with 2,666 FedExCup points. Using last year’s ranking at the conclusion of the BMW Championship as a comp, he’d already easily qualify for this year’s finale. Because time is on his side, it’s on yours, too.

Centering attention to Oakmont Country Club now – and remembering everything you know about how end-loaded Segment 3 sets up – the advice remains to invest in charges other than McIlroy and Scheffler. For one, fantasy scoring at the U.S. Open could wind up being the lowest of any tournament all season, but even if you hit with either guy as your captain and the winner, that’s only 150 FedExCup bonus points (75 x 2). Hit on one of them as a winner in a postseason event (where fantasy scoring will be higher than Oakmont) and he will yield 400 FedExCup bonus points (200 x 2). And if neither wins when designated as your captain, it’ll still be a key defensive tactic. After all, it’s a team game.

Meanwhile, as was the narrative in the first two majors, lean heavily and other elite PGA TOUR talent at Oakmont and non-members. Still at this moment in time, only McIlroy and Scheffler deserve the respect to holster all three starts for the FedExCup Playoffs.

Captain

• Bryson DeChambeau … With my plan to save Scheffler, this role defaults to the No. 2 in my Power Rankings, who just so happens to be the defending champion and two-time winner of the U.S. Open. Nuff said.

Other considerations

• Jon Rahm ... No. 4 in my Power Rankings. Setting aside McIlroy and Scheffler, the Spaniard is as strong an alternative as DeChambeau, and we won’t need more than two starts from either guy in Segment 3.
• Scottie Scheffler … I’ve been preaching forever that the Rule No. 1 of playing fantasy golf is to have fun. So, far be it from me to tell you not to hitch your wagon to the strongest horse in the field.

Rounding out the roster

Loyalists are keenly aware that my Rule No. 3 of playing fantasy golf is to remain fluid, so consider parts of this whole as a work in progress as we gather more intel from the entrants pre-tournament. It’s likely that Xander Schauffele will stick because he’s cashed in 65 consecutive starts and 13 straight majors, all but one of the latter of which was a top 20.

My starters

• Ludvig Åberg
• Bryson DeChambeau (C)
• Shane Lowry
• Jon Rahm

My bench

• Sepp Straka (1)
• Xander Schauffele (2)

Careful

For almost every tournament, a usually impressive subset of the field warrants avoiding, and it might be represented in my Power Rankings, which is not written in the context of any fantasy golf format. In this section, I single out those who demand a pause and why.

• Justin Thomas ... Unless it’s the Masters, I don’t put a ton of stock into a set of results specific to another major because they migrate. Instead, because dynamics are heightened for history, I’ve always espoused that it’s more telling to review the series as a whole. He’s a two-time major champion, so he’s succeeded under the brightest of lights and heaviest of pressure, but he has only one top 30 in his last dozen starts in the majors (T8, 2024 PGA Championship). So, invest elsewhere but pencil him in for next week’s Travelers Championship, where he’s likely to populate the Power Rankings on recent course history alone.
• Collin Morikawa ... The granular data that you can review on glowing rectangles supports him for days, but it’s still a results-based activity, and his results have been too inconsistent for the projections. I heralded his recent decision to hire a new caddie, but its dark side is that he felt that he needed a change of scenery. Still, while there are at least six others who deserve a roster spot, I acknowledge that he presents as a reliable contrarian. The problem is, you’d have to be in the most discerning of leagues for it to pay off, because on name alone, he’ll be a popular pick. It’s the same phenomenon that inflates salary value in DFS, and you know it when you see it.
• Brooks Koepka ... This is a recurring theme. He landed in this section for the PGA Championship and missed the cut, so this serves to merely update the accounting. He’s now gone seven straight majors without a top 25.
• Hideki Matsuyama ... Although he’s on just 5.1 percent of the rosters at last check, that’s still 20th-most in the field of 156 and a couple of clicks above Koepka. At his best, few can hang with Matsuyama from tee to green, but he’s been erratic for most of the season since he opened it with a victory at The Sentry. Just two top-35 finishes in his last seven starts, and neither of those went for a top 15.

Returning to competition

• Jason Day ... When he’s not able to peg it at Muirfield Village, you know that something is amiss. In fact, a sore wrist thwarted what would have been his 16th appearance in a de facto home game for the Ohio resident. He finished T8 at Oakmont in 2016, but that was at a career peak of form. While the Aussie has been contributing often enough to warrant consideration in DFS, employ him fractionally if you can’t help yourself, but you’re taking on the risk of his recovery in potentially unforgiving rough.
• Brian Campbell ... Alternates might be bird-dogging his ability to give it a go after a shoulder injury forced him out of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday during his second round. He had completed 32 holes in 15 over at Muirfield Village. He’s also been quiet since his breakthrough victory at the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld in February with zero top 30s among five paydays in 11 starts.

Notable W/Ds

• Billy Horschel ... He qualified for all of the majors, but he’ll likely go into the books having played only the Masters (where he missed the cut) after surgery on his right hip in the second week of May. The 38-year-old is fully exempt on the PGA TOUR as a winner through 2026.
• Sahith Theegala ... This is his second straight early withdrawal from a major and third of his last four commitments overall due to an injured neck. It’s apparently egregious because he was compelled to notify his followers on Instagram on June 4 that his doctors have advised him to “put the clubs away for a little while.” He’s exempt into The Open Championship, but at 124th in the FedExCup and his card is secure as a winner through next season, there is no urgency to return sooner than later.

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