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The Duel

Dark Horse Picks to Win the U.S. Open at Winged Foot GC

By David Kaestle

Phil Mickelson at the Safeway Open - Round Two.
Phil Mickelson at the Safeway Open - Round Two. / Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images
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The 120th U.S. Open at Winged Foot GC is set to kick off on Thursday. And while we have already covered the betting odds, as well as some players to look at for your fantasy team, here are a few dark horse picks that could surprise everyone and come away with a win on Sunday.

3. Daniel Berger (+3000)

Daniel Berger at the TOUR Championship - Final Round.
Daniel Berger at the TOUR Championship - Final Round. / Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Daniel Berger quietly had one of the best seasons on the PGA Tour. He tallied one win and seven top-10 finishes. He is also playing really great golf coming into this event. In his last seven starts, he has three top-3 finishes and has placed in the top-25 six times. He is accurate off the tee, ranking No. 48 on tour in driving accuracy. He is also No. 5 in birdie average and No. 6 in scoring average. When it comes to Strokes Gained (SG), he ranks highly in SG: Off-The-Tee (No. 27), SG: Putting (No. 17), SG: Tee-To-Green (No. 15 and SG: Total (No. 6).

2. Matthew Fitzpatrick (+4800)

Matthew Fitzpatrick at the BMW Championship - Final Round.
Matthew Fitzpatrick at the BMW Championship - Final Round. / Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Matthew Fitzpatrick has been a great and consistent U.S. Open player the last couple of years. He has finished T-12 the last two years at Shinnecock Hills and Pebble Beach. His No. 2 rank on tour in SG: Putting should prove to be crucial at a course like Winged Foot. He also ranks No. 16 in SG: Total this season. He is accurate off the tee, ranking No. 38 in driving accuracy, and is No. 23 on tour in scoring average. In his last five starts, Fitzpatrick has missed two cuts, but in the other three, he went T-6, T-6 and solo third. He isn't getting much attention heading into this tournament, but his game could be perfect for a dangerously tough course like this.

1. Phil Mickelson (+8500)

Phil Mickelson at the Charles Schwab Series At Ozarks National - Round Two.
Phil Mickelson at the Charles Schwab Series At Ozarks National - Round Two. / Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

Phil Mickelson has never won the U.S. Open. It's the one major that has eluded him throughout his legendary career. In fact, the closest he ever came to winning it was right here at Winged Foot in 2006. He stepped on the 18th tee with a two-stroke lead, and then the collapse commenced. Mickelson would go on to lose that tournament to Geoff Ogilvy. Mickelson returns to Winged foot that much wiser with one thing on his mind – redemption. Lefty is going off a 85/1, so the value is there. And if he can catch any of that magic again, you can be sure he'll do everything in his power to avoid disaster.

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David Kaestle is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, David also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username davekaestle. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.