KSR Golf: 122nd U.S. Open

Father’s Day week has arrived and that means it’s time for another major championship in professional golf. As the USGA hosts the 122nd U.S. Open this weekend, things could get spicy thanks to some recent developments in the golf world.

After resigning from the PGA Tour and joining LIV Golf, many golfers — highlighted by Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson — will be rejoining their former tour mates in Massachusetts. After Rory McIlroy took a shot at LIV Golf organizer Greg Norman, things could get feisty this weekend at some press conferences.

However, the show must go on, and NBC has the broadcast this weekend. Get prepared for no Jim Nantz as KSR Golf dives in to try and find some winners.

Course layout

For the first time since Curtis Strange won the 1988 U.S. Open, the USGA is bringing its tournament back to The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. The legendary course has also hosted the 1999 Ryder Cup and 2013 U.S. Amateur so this is a venue that is not a stranger to big events. However, this isn’t a traditional U.S. Open track.

The Par 70 layout runs 7,264 yards but that is short for these events. However, golfers will be challenged in other ways. The greens will be firm, fast, and very small. With three Par 4s under 400 yards, gaining strokes with the driver could be less important.

Thanks to a fair amount of doglegs, players will have to execute numerous blind shots this weekend to go along with handling the greens efficiently. With just the top 60 players plus ties making the cut, expect another challenging event.

Advanced stat of the week

Thanks to the combination of the short track to go along with small greens, the golfers who operate the second shot the best should have a heavy advantage over the field this week. Iron and wedge play will be essential at The Country Club. KSR Golf is rolling with strokes gained approach as our key metric this week.

Will Zalatoris has been a popular man at KSR Golf, and once again the Wake Forest product is worth consideration at a major championship. After losing to Justin Thomas in a playoff at the PGA Championship, Zalatoris is again a fit here thanks to his No. 1 strokes gained approach ranking.

With 30/1 odds to win at Draft Kings, the 25-year-old is worth consideration again this week.

Luckett’s Locks

Cameron Smith is currently No. 6 in the OWGR and has a win at THE PLAYERS to go along with a T-3 finish at Augusta National. The Australian is No. 3 in strokes gained approach, can get white-hot on the course, and is no stranger to big events. At 22/1, he is our pick to bring home his first major championship this weekend.

Matthew Fitzpatrick currently ranks No. 25 in strokes gained approach and had a T-5 finish at the PGA Championship to go along with a T-14 at the Masters. The 27-year-old is familiar with this course after winning the U.S. Amateur. Let’s lock in a top-10 finish (3/1).

Russell Henley ranks No. 2 in strokes gained approach, and the Georgia product was solid in both majors this season and has three consecutive top-30 finishes at the U.S. Open. We’re taking some value with a top-20 finish (+210).

Aaron Wise is a rising star on the PGA Tour and the 25-year-old is now a top-50 player in the world. The young golfer has 13 cuts in 17 events this year with eight top-25 finishes. Wise is long off the tee with a No. 16 ranking in approach. A top-40 finish (+100) feels like a very safe play.