Value Report: U.S. Open

A single-digit, under-par winner does good for the soul, and Jack’s Place continued to provide not just a physical but a mental preparation for all who head to Pinehurst No. 2 this week. The tee-to-green excellence required at Muirfield Village was the perfect recipe for Scottie Scheffler to continue his rampant run, and pairing him with the popping Collin Morikawa was the 1-2 punch that paid off again across the DFS industry. With DraftKings using $6,000 as the floor in the signature event, it really emphasized how difficult it was to get the correct Scheffler/Morikawa combination, and the flagship MME contest-winning lineup had Cameron Davis in it, who finished 50th at $6,300. With just a handful of value options playing well, GPP-winning lineups didn’t always require the runner-up, which really will bring up an interesting discussion the next time DraftKings rolls out the higher floor for salaries.

It was an overall frustrating week for the group, as exposure on the top end was quite correct, but landing the correct pair of value options was not in my portfolio. The most startling fact of the group was just how many landed on Will Zalatoris, as his ownership nearly came in double what was expected despite not projecting well. He continues to be a player that the field wants to get correct, and the lowest price tag of 2024 suckered way more in than I anticipated. He was a top-20 player for a decent chunk of the week, but now he has jumped $800 more expensive as the major narrative kicks in for Willy Z. Justin Rose looked to never have a chance from the start and Kurt Kitayama threw away a decent opening nine for his second missed cut of 2024, both coming in signature events that seemed like amazing course fits. The bounce-back efforts of Austin Eckroat and Davis Thompson felt like very strong clicks at their prices with the latter landing a top-20 fantasy scoring output on the week. But a lot of my focus for the event was on the young stud, Jackson Koivun.