Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2021 Zurich Classic

The 2021 Zurich Classic Fantasy Sleeper Report

It’s rare that golfers improve with age – once the back and hips start to go forget about it – but you could almost level that accusation at Stewart Cink.

In fact, this 2020-21 campaign could yet turn out to be one of his best in a professional career spanning two decades.

Cink was unstoppable at the RBC Heritage, firing twin 63s on Thursday and Friday to build up a commanding lead on the field. With his son on the back, the former British Open champion was in excellent spirits all-round.

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Those sorts of things can make all the difference, and Cink never looked like relinquishing his lead – the likes of Corey Conners and Emiliano Grillo knocked on the door, but Cink was not in the mood for letting them on.

And so he went on to claim his second PGA TOUR title of the season following his triumph at the Safeway Open, and at 47 there is no suggestion that he is intent on slowing down any time soon. Inspiration for us all, perhaps?

The veteran will put his feet up this week and watch the Zurich Classic from home. This curious team-based event is starting to take on added precedence now that the victors earn their playing rights for years to come, and so a pretty decent field will actually head to Louisiana.

They will be looking to take down the defending champions, Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer, who posted a mammoth -26 in victory back in 2019. That’s the kind of level you have to reach in this event, which combines Four-Balls – chalk up the best of the pair’s score on the card – and Foursomes, where the players take it in turn off the tee.

You can see why Rahm and Palmer would thrive in such a format, particularly at a TPC Louisiana course that is, shall we say, yielding to the best in the world.

Surprisingly, this layout was designed by Pete Dye, and while it features many of his trademark gremlins – including dozens of bunkers and a smattering of water hazards – the overall emphasis is on birdies and fun. Even the small, fast greens – Bermuda but overseeded with Poa and Bentgrass – are receptive enough to accurate iron play.

The format lends itself to surprises, with duos hitting it off and finding some of their best golf, and when you see that a duo of Jonas Blixt and a very young Cameron Smith have won here and Jason Dufner and Pat Perez were runners-up as recently as 2018, you sense there is an opportunity for a huge odds winning duo to fight through the crowd.

But who will it be? That’s a question for our Zurich Classic 2021 sleeper shortlist.

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The 2021 Zurich Classic Fantasy Sleeper Report

Joel Dahmen & Lanto Griffin – 50/1 – This just has the feel of a good team on paper, and while Joel Dahmen’s formline is mixed he is a recent winner on TOUR – his happy-go-lucky personality may be a plus in this unique set-up as well.

Meanwhile, Lanto Griffin’s three professional wins have come in Houston, Alabama and Nashville, so he is clearly comfortable in this part of the world, and he has been consistently good in 2021 with seven top-40 finishes in eleven starts.

Both excellent strikers of the ball, Griffin is a solid putter too so if Dahmen gets on a bit of a roll then this could be a fearsome pairing.

Thomas Pieters & Tom Lewis – 55/1 – A formline of 13-13-15-10 worldwide reveals where Thomas Pieters’ game is at right now, and the prodigiously talented Belgian will be hoping to show his best on American soil.

He’s a former European Tour colleague of Tom Lewis, who is spending more and more time in the US as he looks to establish himself in the world’s top 100.

The Brit played some excellent golf in his T25 at the RBC heritage, so two in-form players that are comfortable in the wind should work well at TPC Louisiana.

Doug Ghim & Justin Suh – 60/1 – These are two of the most exciting young talents in world golf – what other reason do you need to get them on board?

Ghim has knocked on the door at the business end of PGA TOUR events already in his young career, and perhaps having a partner to help lighten the load will be of benefit to him.

As for Suh, he too has impressed in his rare TOUR starts – he already has a pair of top-20 finishes despite not even holding his card – and he and Ghim, at similar points of their career, could thrive off one another.

Michael Thompson & Will Gordon – 66/1 – One is a tremendous driver of the golf ball, the other is a putter of outstanding touch and feel.

If you could combine Will Gordon and Michael Thompson as some kind of golfing hydra you would have an exceptional player on your hands, so perhaps that is a decent angle to take this week.

Thompson banked a top-20 at the Honda Classic before finishing T34 at The Masters, and his short game mastery may just provide the foundation upon which Gordon’s brilliance with the big stick can flourish.

Brandt Snedeker & Keith Mitchell – 80/1 – One is a bomber of the ball that saves his best golf almost exclusively for Bermuda greens, the other is a wily old veteran that has hinted at signs of his best lately.

Keith Mitchell’s formline is nothing to write home about, but his ability to go long off the tee – and hit soft wedges onto these small greens – is an advantage.

And in Brandt Snedeker, you’ve got a guy who thrives from 150 yards and in, so this could be a golfing marriage made in heaven. He is, according to the SG stats, edging towards happier moments out on the course.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for the 2021 Zurich Classic here.

Sleeper Report Predictions This Season (2020-2021)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”1.48%” bar_text=”2 out of 135 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent= “9.63%” bar_text=”13 out of 135 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”25.18%” bar_text=”34 out of 135 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=0%” bar_text=”0 out of 27 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”7.40%” bar_text=”2 out of 27 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”69.62%” bar_text=”94 out of 135 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

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