SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — There’s a slight misperception with Shinnecock Hills. With the wind (plenty of it anticipated this week), the fescue and the crazy angles, there’s a notion that this course is all about accuracy off the tee.It matters, yes, but the better explanation is that the fairways are wide and forgiving, but a miss is irrevocably screwed.The right read is not that accuracy itself is the premium. It’s that Shinnecock places less of a premium on distance, and in turn those other skills are more properly weighted if you want to contend at this year’s U.S. Open.It will take strategy, discipline and controlling your ball flight to win this major championship. Rory McIlroy put it well when he said, “I would say this is more a UK/European style of test than certainly the first two majors at Augusta and Aronimink.” In many ways, it’s better to look at Open Championship success than your normal U.S. Open.Why this U.S. Open course is diabolicalGabby Herzig, Lia Griffin and moreSo who should you lock in on to win at Shinnecock?With the help of our friends at DataGolf, the best two areas to hone in on might be short game prowess and iron shots from 150-200 yards. Golfers are expected to hit fewer 200-plus yard shots than your average PGA Tour stop and more in that 150-200 range.One big note to keep in mind this week is that the U.S. Open has provided multiple long-shot winners recently. J.J. Spaun was 150-to-1 last year. Wyndham Clark was 100-to-1 in 2023, plus Gary Woodland (2019) at 80-to-1 and even Brooks Koepka (2017) at 40-to-1. Going back a little further, since 2005, seven U.S. Opens have been won at +1 or worse, and the average pre-tournament odds of those champions were roughly 60-1. Four straight winners have also come in the +2000 or longer range. Mix all of that in with the game’s top two players in Scottie Scheffler and McIlroy working through some kinks, and I don’t think a top-five favorite wins this weekend.With that said, let’s look at some higher-value players to bet this week.