Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2022 World Wide Technology Championship

2022 World Wide Technology Championship Fantasy Sleeper Report

It wasn’t pretty at times, but Seamus Power just about got over the line in Bermuda to claim his second PGA TOUR title.

The Irishman’s consistency saw him ascend to the 54-hole lead alongside Ben Griffin, and in breezy conditions he got off to a steady start on Sunday – taking the turn in -3 for the day.

With birdies in short supply later on in the final round, this was always likely to come down to a war of attrition, and Power – the top-ranked player in the field who claimed the Barbasol Championship – seemed like a worthy favorite against Griffin, who is largely unexposed at this level and by no means a prolific winner.

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Both felt the heat under the Bermudan sun, but birdies at 14 and 17 just about halted Power’s bogey run and enabled him to sneak clear of Griffin, whose title aspirations collapsed in on themselves with four bogeys and a double in his final seven holes.

Power will pack up his trophy, ship it off to storage and then join the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau and two-time event champion Viktor Hovland in Mexico this week for the not exactly concisely named World Wide Technologies Championship at Mayakoba.

To land the trophy this week, the players will have to bring their shooting boots, as making birdies is the only route to success at the El Camaleon course.

The most recent winning scores in this event have been -23, -20, -20, -22 and -19, so even though conditions can be rough with the ocean breeze, there’s still ample opportunities to shoot low numbers.

Two-thirds of the holes averaged under par in last year’s renewal, with the three Par 5s yielding the most – the thirteenth actually saw more eagles than bogeys for the week! Unusually, two Par 3 holes sit alongside the longer stretches as the easiest on the layout, so approach play quality in the 50-150 yard bracket is vital – it won’t surprise you to learn that Hovland is an absolute stud in that range.

Fairways will be missed, but high GIR counts will still be recorded – these greens are a decent size and typically easy to hold. That said, putting on Paspalum does not come easy to all, and this really can the difference maker. Typically slower and bumpier than parklands greens, those who have experienced success on these surfaces before should be most of interest to bettors.

For those seeking a deeper edge, look for players that have enjoyed repeated success at shorter coastal tracks. Tournaments like the Sony Open, RSM Classic, RBC Heritage and Bermuda Championship can be used as guidance.

But, if you’d rather put your feet up and back the picks we have meticulously researched, here’s our sleeper shortlist for the 2022 World Wide Technology Championships at Mayakoba.

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Harris English – 66/1 – With a win and two other top-fives to his name at El Camaleon, it’s fair to describe Harris English as something of a course horse at this stretch.

That’s as good a reason as any to back him, given the unique nature of these Paspalum greens, but there are other signs that English’s game is returning to better shape after a ruinous injury scuppered his progress last season.

He has gained strokes on the field on approach and around the greens in his last two outings at the CJ Cup and Shriners, and while his driving has been poor that’s perhaps due in part to him seeking extra length at two sizable stretches in TPC Summerlin and Congaree.

El Camaleon is much shorter, and English will find more favor in his fairway-finding ability here.

Aaron Rai – 75/1 – A T54 finish for Aaron Rai doesn’t exactly set the juices flowing, but he easily ranked top 20 for GIR there and was let down by a strangely-cool putter.

We say strange because he ranks 49th on TOUR this term for SG: Putting, so maybe it’s the switch to Paspalum greens that can unlock a return to better days with the flat stick – Rai was T15 here 12 months ago, and also finished T24 at the Mexico Open.

An accurate driver, it comes as no surprise to learn that Rai has won on the Links of Scotland and has a top-20 finish to his name at the British Open – these are conditions he loves.

Sepp Straka – 80/1 – Sepp Straka has improved each time he has played at Mayakoba, is rankled 26th in the world and in 2022 has won once on the PGA TOUR and also delivered two T2 finishes.

Odds of 80/1 here? Thanks very much!

Although he doesn’t have a huge bank of coastal form to work with, Straka was T3 at the RBC Heritage earlier this year, and besides which quality operators generally find a way to make it work for them in all conditions.

Having played so well since the end of summer, the Austrian has to be on the shortlist this week.

Adam Long – 80/1 – This Bermuda-Mexico double-header has generally been very kind to Adam Long.

His T2 and T3 finishes at Mayakoba are two of the biggest paydays of his career, and as you scroll down his list of best performances, familiar names – Corales Puntacana, RSM Classic, RBC Heritage – confirm his suitability for the test.

Never one to really shine statistically, Long does boast the ability of being able to keep his ball in play – helpful when playing in an ocean breeze – and his putting ability, put to excellent use on Paspalum greens is another factor behind his tremendous record at this layout.

Russell Knox – 100/1 – Some sportsbooks had Russell Knox as short as 40/1 to win the Bermuda Championship.

This week, the Scot returns to a more palatable price, and as such he becomes more appealing given the crossover nature of Royal Port and El Camaleon.

Knox has delivered excellent form at Mayakoba in the past, and twice finished in the top-three here during the OHL Classic days. A former RBC Heritage runner-up, he simply loves short golf courses by the sea, and there’s no reason why he can’t be a factor on the first page of the leaderboard this week.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for the World Wide Technology Championship here.

Sleeper Report Predictions Last Season (2021-2022)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”0%” bar_text=”0 out of 30 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent= “3.33%” bar_text=”1 out of 30 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”16.67%” bar_text=”5 out of 30 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=”0%” bar_text=”0 out of 6 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”2.44%” bar_text=”0 out of 6 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”36.67%” bar_text=”11 out of 30 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

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