Fantasy Golf Picks: U.S. Open

The second major of the season is underway this week as the U.S. Open returns to Congressional Country Club in Bethsheda, Maryland.  As you see by most of my picks this week above, length off the tee is the biggest thing to keep in mind as this year's rendition of America's Open will be the longest in U.S. Open history (over 7,300 yards).  Here are my choices for this week's fantasy golf picks for the 2011 U.S. Open Championship.

A List:

Starter: Phil Mickelson; Bench: Dustin Johnson

Both Lefty and D.J. are extremely long off the teebox, which will prove to be helpful this week at Congressional.  Mickelson is always a lock to be on my fantasy golf roster for a major, and his recent strong play makes him somewhat of a favorite to win yet another major.  Dustin Johnson is quickly becoming the owner of the "best player without a major" title, however if he can keep his driver in-play and maintain his consistency around the greens he very well may be on the first page of the leaderboard come Sunday.  From a purely fantasy golf-perspective, both men have been recording great numbers throughout the year (both average over 30 fantasy points a tournament), and Mickelson has yet to miss a cut in 11 tournaments this season.  When all is said and done, and if he stays healthy throughout four rounds of golf, Mickelson may be the victor.

B List:

Starters: Bubba Watson, Hunter Mahan; Bench: Steve Stricker, David Toms

The choice of starting Bubba and Hunter are obvious: distance and power.  At the risk of sounding like a broken record in this post, you have to go with guys who pound the ball this week; plain and simple.  Stricker and Toms - on the contrary - are anything but power-hitters but still manage to make their way around the course and into the top-10 of most tournaments they have played this season (4 top-10's and 5 top-10's, respectively).  Hunter is the only guy in this ground of players that doesn't have a victory in 2011, but his 37+ point average for fantasy gurus is impressive in its own right.  Look for Stricker to find his way onto my starting line-up at some point this weekend, especially on Saturday where he averages a whopping 14 fantasy points thusfar in 2011.  Personally, I'm not sure if the champion will come out of the B-List this week, but a ton of fantasy points will.

C List:

Starter: Adam Scott; Bench: Alvaro Quiros

Heck, why not?  If Tiger can't make it to the tournament, his caddy might as well, right?  Steve Williams is carrying for Adam Scott - who has earned various Tiger comparisons throughout his career - and very well could be exactly what the young Australian needs to get over the major-hump this week.  Alvaro Quiros played exceptional golf in the year's first major - The Masters - and is the longest hitter on Tour.  Both Scott and Quiros have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain this week in Maryland.