Dustin Johnson is the favorite at the 2017 U.S. Open. (Getty)
The 2017 U.S. Open is officially here, which means it’s also time to begin filling out those DraftKings lineups. This year, the home of the Open will be at Erin Hills, which means there’ll be plenty of tough holes and challenges for the best golfers in the world.
In 2016, it was Dustin Johnson who took home the crown at the Open, finishing at four under, good for three strokes ahead of Jim Furyk, Shane Lowry and Scott Piercy, who all tied for second. Including those four players, only six total golfers from the field finished at even par or better over the four rounds, as Sergio Garcia and Branden Grace both wound up even.
So after taking home the trophy in 2016, the question becomes whether or not Johnson can get the job done once again and win this event in 2017. Here’s a look at the most recent odds from Odds Shark on his chances to win the U.S. Open.
Dustin Johnson 2017 U.S. Open Odds
Dustin Johnson has early edge on the field. – Getty
OddsShark used Bovada for their odds on the U.S. Open, and heading into the week, Johnson is not only a favorite but somewhat of a large favorite to repeat as champion. He comes in at +600, ahead of Rory McIlroy (+900) and Jordan Spieth (+1000). Here’s a look at the top 20 players in terms of favorites to take home the trophy:
Dustin Johnson: +600
Rory McIlroy: +900
Jordan Spieth: +1000
Jason Day: +1100
Jon Rahm: +1600
Hideki Matsuyama: +2000
Justin Rose: +2000
Sergio Garcia: +2200
Rickie Fowler: +2200
Henrik Stenson: +2500
Adam Scott: +2800
Brooks Koepka: +3300
Justin Thomas: +3300
Thomas Pieters: +3300
Branden Grace: +4500
Alexander Noren: +5000
Paul Casey: +5000
Louis Oosthuizen: +5500
Matt Kuchar: +5500
Patrick Reed: +5500
While Johnson is a pretty big favorite, his past successes at the U.S. Open likely play a large role in that. While he finished first in the event last year, he finished second the year before, fourth in 2014 and eighth in 2010. He’s only missed the cut once since first playing the event in 2008.
Aside from just his strong U.S. Open finishes, Johnson has been on fire to start 2017. Through 11 events played, he has three first-place finishes, a second, a third and six overall top-10s. It’s easy to see why some of the early action could very well be going on Johnson to win the 2017 U.S. Open, but it certainly won’t pay as well as some of the other potential bets would.
Dustin Johnson’s Fantasy Stock
Dustin Johnson is the highest priced player in fantasy for the Open. – Getty
Heading into the U.S. Open, Johnson’s fantasy stock is a bit hard to judge. After he pulled out of The Masters when he injured his back during a fall the day before his opening round, things have been tough to gauge for his performances.
Since that event in April, Johnson has played four events, and the first was the Wells Fargo Championship, in which he looked great finishing tied for second place at nine-under par. Johnson logged a solid 93.5 fantasy points at that event. Since that point, though, he’s struggled to live up to his high price tag.
At The Players Championship Johnson finished T12 with 72 fantasy points, then T13 at the AT&T Byron Nelson with 78 fantasy points. Then came the disastrous Memorial Tournament where he shot eight-over par through the first two rounds and missed the cut, while also tallying just 15 fantasy points.
To make matters even tougher on fantasy golfers, Johnson is the most expensive player from the field on DraftKings, and is the only player with a price tag of $12,000. He’s also one of only seven players who cost $10,000 or above to get in your 2017 U.S. Open lineup, joined by Spieth, McIlroy, Day, Fowler, Rahm and Garcia.
What to do with Johnson comes down to the other value you can find in the field. Using a golfer who costs that much in a fantasy lineup will leave you thin in your other roster spots, so you need to have the options in order to get Johnson in there.
