The week after a major championship is always at least somewhat of a letdown. Players skip out and tournaments are usually pretty relaxed. That's less true this week because we have some big names playing a pretty great track in Washington D.C.
Let's take a look at this week's contest.
What: Quicken Loans National | Where: Bethesda, Maryland | When: June 23-26
How to watch (all times ET)
TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday from 2:30-6:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 1-2:30 p.m.) and CBS (Saturday and Sunday from 3-6 p.m.)
Online: Saturday and Sunday from 3-6 p.m. on CBSSports.com
Participants and odds
Rickie Fowler: 14-1
Patrick Reed: 18-1
Jim Furyk: 18-1
Marc Leishman: 25-1
Gary Woodland: 28-1
Justin Thomas: 28-1
Brendant Steele: 30-1
Charley Hoffman: 30-1
Ryan Palmer: 33-1
Kevin Chappell: 33-1
Byeong Hun An: 33-1
Bill Haas: 35-1
Bryson DeChambeau: 35-1
Field strength: A
This should be an "A" field when you consider the curve we're grading on for a week after a major championship. Fowler, DeChambeau, Thomas and Reed is a haul for Congressional.
Story to watch: It has to be Rickie Fowler's three straight missed cuts and four in the last six tournaments he has played. The struggle is starting to set in, and now Fowler is fading towards not being included on the Ryder Cup team as an automatic qualifier. It's not really panic time since he was top five at the Wells Fargo Championship, but it's definitely worth keeping an eye on.
"Mainly just not trusting it," Fowler said at Oakmont when he was asked about what the issue was with his driving (he only hit 14 of 28 fairways). "You know, I've been driving it well. I've been driving it well at home, having great sessions on the range. I felt like I drove it well in the practice rounds. Yeah, just struggled to kind of get the confidence built up and just go out there and trust it."
This would be the perfect spot for him to get back on the right track. A great course with a weaker field and a real opportunity to be a frontrunner as the summer sets in. This sounds silly, but this is sort of a big week for Rickie Fowler.
Past winners
2015: Troy Merritt
2014: Justin Rose
2013: Bill Haas
2012: Tiger Woods
2011: Nick Watney
An interesting list. Rose and Woods are awesome players. Watney and Haas have at times been awesome players. And Merritt is just sort of sitting out there.
Let's look at the picks this week.
Expert Picks (Kyle Porter)
| Player | Pick | Analysis |
|---|---|---|
 | Winner | Kevin Chappell finished top five at Congressional when the U.S. Open was played there in 2011. He is No. 7 on the PGA Tour in strokes gained on approach shots and is having one of the better seasons of his career. Sort of a gut pick here. Odds: 22-1 |
 | Top 10 | Patrick Reed is well rested after missing the cut at the U.S. Open. He finished top 12 at this tournament a few years ago and leads the tour in top 10s so far this season. I'm not really going out on a limb here. Odds: 7-1 |
 | Sleeper | Jon Rahm is turning pro this week after finishing as low amateur last week at Oakmont. He was the No. 1 amateur golfer in the world for quite a while. How great would it be if he could usurp Bryson DeChambeau as the best am-turned-pro on the PGA Tour in one week? Odds: 125-1 |
Here are my fantasy picks from our CBS Sports Pick 4 Fantasy Golf groups. Some of these are different than above because you aren't picking with odds. It's just straight up, and the players are tiered off.
You can set your Pick 4 Fantasy Golf lineup now to compete for this weekend's $1,000 prize
| Player | Pick | Analysis |
|---|---|---|
 | Winner | Justin Thomas can play a tough golf course. He was T3 at the Players and was solid at Oakmont last week. Congressional can play tough and he finished T4 here last year. I'm not sold on Rickie, Reed or any of the other guys at the top right now, so I'll take Thomas. Roll Tide. Odds: 28-1 |
 | Top 10 | Bryson DeChambeau looked really good at Oakmont and I think that confidence -- which he might've lost a bit after some missed cuts -- will carry over to this week and into a really strong finish. Odds: 35-1 |
| | Sleeper | Jon Rahm turns pro this week and never underestimate the golfer hungry for his first paycheck. Rahm was the No. 1 amateur in the world for a reason and more than held his own at Oakmont. Look for him to try and do what DeChambeau did the week after the Masters when he got a T4 finish and a big check. Odds: 75-1 |
