Geoff Ulrich shares his top fantasy golf picks to help you build your DraftKings Pick6 pick sets for the 2026 US Open.
We’re in the heart of the PGA season, with the third major of the year on the horizon. The US Open tees off this week at Shinnecock Hills in Long Island, and DraftKings users can play in DraftKings PGA Pick6 contests for all four rounds. If you’re new, Pick6 is a single-user daily fantasy game where you select players to go over or under the totals.
Players teeing off at Shinnecock Hills this week will face a longer course with wide, rolling fairways, dramatic elevation changes, and some of the most treacherous greens in the world. The open venue will also be assaulted by wind all week, likely resulting in a winning score near even par (or worse).
Shinnecock is a long Par 70 that has already hosted the US Open on three occasions. The best a winner has ever gone at this venue is -4, back in 2004, when Retief Goosen won. Brooks Koepka won the last U.S. Open at Shinnecock in 2018 at +1.
I reviewed additional statistics and course dynamics in the US Open PGA Cheat Sheet and included some notes on the course below for Pick6 research.
“Shinnecock Hills is one of the purest U.S. Open tests in golf. The course plays as a Par 70 at roughly 7,440 yards, featuring 12 par 4s, four par 3s, and just two par 5s. While it’s not a links course per se, it is one of the closest championship venues in America to a true Scottish links course, as the property is open and exposed almost everywhere.
Fairways are wide, but players still must traverse sandy, rolling terrain with significant elevation changes, and the fairways are firm and guarded by thick rough and native fescue. There is also constant exposure to the wind coming off the Atlantic Ocean and Peconic Bay, along with severe runoffs around the greens, which are among the toughest in major championship golf.
The par 4s include several that stretch beyond 490 yards, including the brutal 520-yard 14th and the 490-yard finishing hole. The longest hole on the course is the 614-yard 16th, one of only two par 5s available for scoring…
The greens are generally classified as Poa annua/Bentgrass mixes, though they’ll likely play more like traditional Northeast Poa surfaces during U.S. Open week, thanks to how short they’ll be cut. Fast, firm and heavily contoured greens have historically been a defining feature of Shinnecock, including the infamous 2004 setup, in which final-round scoring averaged nearly 79 strokes.
Additionally, long-iron proximity stats (175 yards+) and bogey avoidance are features that often perform well among U.S. Open winners. For recent form, I prefer a player with a strong approach play who has also demonstrated improvement or flashes of skill in around-the-green shots, enabling him to manage some of the challenging spots when off target.
When in doubt, lean toward complete tee-to-green players rather than volatile birdie-makers. Shinnecock has historically rewarded golfers who can survive four difficult rounds rather than those who rely on hot putting weeks.”
As of now, we have Round 1 totals up on the Pick6 site for play, so that’s where we’ll be focusing this week. The players out first are expected to have slightly better conditions with winds picking up throughout the day. Still, conditions are going to be rough for the entire field, so keep that in mind.
I’ve focused on a few of my favorite plays for the US Open in Round 1 below.
Gotterup is a great young player who should thrive in this tougher East Coast setup this week. A New Jersey native who grew up playing golf for Rutgers, he’s not only familiar with the types of setups in this region but has already shown an inclination toward coastal-type setups. Wins at the Sony Open and the Scottish Open demonstrate that his low, powerful ball flight plays best when the wind is up (and creating havoc for the field), and his form this year has been brilliant, almost from start to finish.
I have no doubt that conditions in Round 1 will be brutal; at the same time, Gotterup is certainly among the best equipped to handle them. Overall, even with heavy wind, I don’t see any issue with playing for a score of +2 or better in the opener for a player you’re bullish on, as I am with Gotterup. If he’s going to go well this week, he’ll almost certainly deliver a decent opener.
We have extremely low totals this week across birdie or better markets. While some players will have trouble finding even a single BoB in Round 1, I’m still confident the PGA’s best will find a few cracks at Shinnecock. Of all the players at 2.0 for Round 1, Kim stood out the most. He’s been top 10 in strokes gained tee-to-green stats all season and is also fifth in birdie average.
He’s typically struggled at this event, but the aggressiveness here should help him take better advantage of opportunities when they arise. Either way, with us getting a push at two birdies and two par 5s still on this venue, it’s a hard one to pass up.
Morikawa enters the week with some question marks about his form and health. He’s discussed managing a back injury that has lingered since March, and his form over the past month+ hasn’t been great. While he has flashed upside at times this season, he hasn’t recorded a finish better than T-29 in his last three starts and had to settle for a T-55 at the last major.
I can’t see the windy conditions at Shinnecock helping his game either. Despite winning an Open (played in windy conditions), he’s typically been a better West Coast player who prefers slightly benign conditions, and his short game is among the weakest among the top-3 players in the field. At a demanding venue where par is often a good score, the more than 73.5 strokes offers value.
Pick6 is a peer-to-peer fantasy variant where you build a lineup (your “Pick Set”) of 2+ players and select whether you believe each will outperform their listed stat projection. Enter your Pick Set in Pick6 contests to compete against other users. Get enough picks correct and win a share of cash prizes.
Create a Pick Set by choosing 2+ players from the same sport and Pick Group (a set of picks available from a group of competitions). For each player, simply select if you think they’ll have more or less than their listed stat projection. In each Pick Set, you can not pick the same player twice and you must pick players from at least two different teams.
Once you finalize your Pick Set, choose your entry fee amount. Your entries will be automatically distributed into available contests, subject to your confirmation.
When the games go live, use the My Picks tab to follow your picks in real time to track how your players are performing against their projections and how they stack up against other users.
Make enough correct picks and win a share of the contests’ guaranteed prizes. Any prizes won will be credited to your DraftKings account after contests are finalized.
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