Draftkings Best U.S. Open First Round Showdown Picks 6/6/24

This Thursday, Draftkings Golf fans will be presented with the first round of the 2024 U.S. Open. Let’s take a look at the first round of this event from a DFS perspective.

Before I discuss my Draftkings player selections, let’s review where the first round of the 2024 U.S. Open will be played.

The first round of the 2024 U.S. Open will be played at the the Pinehurst Resort (Pinehurst Number 2) in Pinehurst Village, North Carolina. The Golf course is a par 70 that measures approximately 7,548 yards.

*It is noteworthy that 12 of the last 15 winners of the U.S. Open were first time major winners.

I wanted to emphasize that the purpose of this article is not to provide an exact DFS lineup.

Having stated that, this article will provide multiple player options in an effort to assist the reader in generating a unique lineup that will hopefully have the potential to win a DraftKings GPP (guaranteed prize pool) contest!

For those readers who are not aware, the rules and scoring for DraftKings single round showdown contests are vastly different than the traditional classic contests offered by the platform.

If you need to review the specific rules for the single round showdown contests feel free to check out the DraftKings website.

Here are my DraftKings player selections for the first round of the 2024 U.S. Open.

Draftkings First Round Showdown Picks

Rory McIlroy $11,800

Rory McIlroy arrives at this week’s major championship in rather good form. McIlroy has accumulated four consecutive 15 finishes on the PGA Tour, including an impressive win at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship five weeks ago.

In relation to this week’s 2024 U.S. Open field, in the last 50 rounds played on the PGA Tour, Rory McIlroy ranks 13th in GIR (greens in regulation), third in strokes gained tee to green, third in strokes gained off the tee, fourth in bogey avoidance, and sixth in birdie or better percentage.

Rory McIlroy also checks the box for me when it comes to previous event History. Since 2019, McIlroy has comPeted in the U.S. Open five times. In those five events just noted, McIlroy has accumulated a robust five consecutive top nine finishes, including a second-place result at the 2023 U.S. Open.

Tommy Fleetwood $8,500

Since the beginning of April, Tommy Fleetwood has played seven events on the PGA Tour. In those seven tournaments just mentioned, Fleetwood accumulated six top 26 finishes, including a 13th place result at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.

In relation to this week’s 2024 U.S. Open field, in the last 24 rounds played on the PGA Tour, Tommy Fleetwood ranks 15th in GIR (greens in regulation), sixth in strokes gained around the green, fourth in bogey avoidance, and seventh in strokes gained on par fours.

Additionally, Tommy Fleetwood has played well at the U.S. Open in the past. Fleetwood finished fifth at the 2023 U.S. Open.

Tony Finau $8,100

The talented American has accumulated five top 18 finishes in his last seven tournaments played on the PGA Tour, including a second-place result at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open in April.

In relation to this week’s 2024 U.S. Open field, in the last 50 rounds played on the PGA Tour, Tony Finau ranks sixth in strokes gained approach, fourth in GIR (greens in regulation), 12th in strokes gained tee to green, and 12th in strokes gained on par fives.

Similar to McIlroy and Fleetwood, Tony Finau has posted a quality result at the U.S. Open previously. More specifically, Tony Finau finished eighth at the 2020 U.S. Open.

Additional Golfers I like to play well in the first round (Draftkings price noted): Collin Morikawa $9,800: Sepp Straka $7,400: Brooks Koepka $10,000: Ryan Fox $7,100.