DraftKings has just announced one of their largest tournaments for daily fantasy golf ever with their $3.5 million Fantasy Golf Millionaire tournament. This is geared toward the U.S. Open Championship which takes place between June 16th to 19th at Oakmont Country Club, in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. The winner of this contest gets $1 million, and it only costs $20 to enter. The site will allow you to enter up to 200 times, and there are a total of 201,100 entry slots that can be filled.
Before you enter a tournament of this size, though, you need to have a good idea of what you’re up against. The U.S. Open is the second Major Championship of the season, the first having been The Masters, which was won by Danny Willett. Willett is entered here, but is only ranked at #9 in the field. His stats are impressive, but there are many big names entered in this tournament, and Willett hasn’t quite proven his consistency at the top of the golf world yet. Still, because he’s so cheap in this tournament ($9,600), he could be a great value pick.
When it comes to the top names in the field, Jordan Spieth is probably the first one you will hear mentioned. Spieth won this tournament last year in an impressive manner, but he hasn’t had that strong of a season yet this season. He was in the hunt at The Masters, but a poor performance on the final day of the tournament ruined his chances and he ended up finishing T2. It’s realistic to expect that Spieth has been working on his endurance since then, and he’s played in four tourneys since then, winning one of them. However, he’s also had a T57 and a cut in that timeframe, too. Spieth is ranked #3 for this one, but he’s a big question mark in most people’s books. If you do draft him, he brings a lot to the table, but do know that there’s risk involved, especially with his salary of $11,900.
The two golfers ranked ahead of Spieth are Jason Day ($12,100) and Rory McIlroy ($12,000). Both are phenomenal athletes. Day has made the cut 9 out of 10 times this season, and McIlroy has done this 12 out of 13 times. Both have been pretty consistent, although McIlroy hasn’t been performing at the levels yet that we saw from him a few years ago. If he is 100 percent healthy, then McIlroy is the best choice of the top three golfers without question. If he’s not, then this will ultimately come down to what it is you are looking for from your roster. Day has the most downside, though, as he has the second lowest average fantasy point contribution per tournament this year with 84.2 and the highest stroke count per round with 70.1. Spieth has fewer fantasy points with his 83.8, but his stroke count of 69.7 is better.
Two other golfers that you should strongly consider for your roster are Dustin Johnson and Adam Scott. Johnson has the highest fantasy point contribution per tourney of any golfer in the field so far this season with an 89.9. He’s made the cut 11 out of 11 times, and has an average stroke count of 69.9. He’s competitive with the best golfers in the world, and has been performing the best of almost anyone so far. His salary of $11,000 makes a strong case for drafting him. With Adam Scott, his salary of $10,100 makes him a huge discount, especially when you consider his fantasy average of 89.4 and the 2 wins he’s put together already this year. Scott has made the cut 11 of 11 times and has 4 top ten finishes, making him one of the most consistent golfers in the field. His stroke count of 69.7 also attests to this fact. In fact, Scott is a better draft than Johnson because Johnson has no wins and a slightly higher stroke count.
If the $20 entry fee is a bit too steep for you, or you just aren’t confident in your skills against that many people, there are satellite tournaments that can get you into the big tourney. For the PGA Tour event the week beforehand, there is a $3 tournament where the first 1,500 places get a ticket into the $3.5 million event. Act quick if you want to play in the satellite tournament as this closes out June 9th. Also, remember that it’s not just the first few places for the big tourney that are paying out. It pays out to 43,350 people. The last prize amount is $30, so even if you have only a slight chance at making the bubble, this tournament gives you a chance to make a decent return on you $20. And, what’s even better, it gives you a shot at becoming a millionaire if you have the best lineup.
