Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2023 FedEx St. Jude Championship

2023 FedEx St. Jude Championship Fantasy Sleeper Report

Showcasing the precise timing of a Swiss master craftsman, Lucas Glover punched his ticket to the FedEx Cup playoffs with a comeback win at the Wyndham Championship – his first victory in two years.

In truth, Glover has been in the wilderness for much of the 2022-23 season, but a switch to a broom-handle style putter has paid dividends – allowing him to finally gain some numbers on the green to go with his already-excellent ball-striking.

Even at the age of 43, Glover can still hang with the best from tee-to-green, and while he needed a helping hand from another renaissance man in Billy Horschel on Sunday, his metronomic ball-striking and re-found mojo on the greens were enough to land him a fifth PGA TOUR title.

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We’ll see Glover at this week’s St. Jude Championship, the first of the FedEx Cup playoff events, but there’s no place in the final 70 for Justin Thomas, whose chip at the final hole on Sunday crashed into the flag but refused to drop for the birdie he needed.

Adam Scott and Shane Lowry are also amongst the titans that will miss out on the end-of-season extravaganza, although the actual list of 70 players contesting the St. Jude reads like a who’s who of world golf – if they’re on the PGA TOUR and they’re a stud, they’re probably playing this week.

And what a treat awaits them. For many, TPC Southwind is up there with the very best courses on the PGA TOUR rotation – a hard but fair test of ball-striking that examines every aspect of a player’s game.

The fact that three of the last five winners here are major champions – and that the two that aren’t may one day be, speaks volumes about TPC Southwind; if you’re not a ball-striking god, you may as well stay at home.

A decent stretch at 7,243 yards for its Par 70, TPC Southwind features two scorable Par 5s as well as a litany of tougher Par 4s – that said, the small Bermuda greens, which usually run as quick as the wind, may be softened by a rather unpredictable weather pattern heading for Memphis this week.

Even so, tight doglegging fairways present their own danger off the tee, while water hazards lurk o eleven holes – this is one of the wettest tracks on TOUR, and one of the most likely to be headlined by the odd stray shot.

It was one such approach into the drink that cost Sepp Straka a playoff here 12 months ago against Will Zalatoris, so there’s fun to be had on every hole here if you’re watching on from home – less fun, you expect, will be had by the players if the rain-laden weather forecast holds true.

Ball-striking thoroughbreds are the way to go at TPC Southwind then, but who’s on our betting docket this week? Let’s take a look at our FedEx St. Jude Championship 2023 sleeper report.

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Sepp Straka – 50/1 – Will revenge be a dish best served rainy for Sepp Straka in Memphis?

He might have won this event 12 months ago but for an errant approach shot in that playoff – surprising in a week in which he’d ranked third for GIR, therefore limiting mistakes throughout the tournament.

The Austrian returns to TPC Southwind a better player, with a second PGA TOUR win at the John Deere Classic backed by a T2 turn at the British Open, in which he gained nearly three shots on the field with his ball-striking.

Beware the golfer scorned….

J.T. Poston – 55/1 – It’s a pretty good idea to head into the FedEx Cup playoffs with momentum on your side.

And that’s exactly what J.T. Poston will take to Memphis after recording four top-10 finishes in his last five starts – the anomaly being an acceptable T41 at the British Open.

The Postman has got his groove back and is gaining stroke on approach and putting in an abundance right now, which allied to decent enough driving gives him ample opportunity to build on his excellent recent form.

Corey Conners – 66/1 – Straight hitting is the name of the game at TPC Southwind, and that’s a skill Corey Conners boasts in abundance.

The Canadian has kicked on since winning the Texas Open in April, offering up two top-10 finishes and a T12 at the PGA Championship.

Those results were built on Conners’ firm foundation – accurate driving, excellent approach play and a putting stroke that is inconsistent but when it’s on, the Canadian has every chance.

If his flat stick behaves this week, he can mix it with the very best.

Emiliano Grillo – 80/1 – The Argentine is another for whom keeping his ball on a tight leash has brought him success throughout his career, and particularly of late.

Having won the Charles Schwab Challenge this season at the not-too-dissimilar Colonial Country Club, Grillo has backed up with an excellent T6 at the British Open and T10 last time out at the 3M Open.

Like Conners, Grillo is accurate off the tee and has class to spare on approach – another strong putting week could get him close, like it did at Colonial in May, to victory.

Cam Davis – 80/1 – Perhaps unfairly written off as a bomber at times, Cam Davis has shown plenty of versatility to his game in recent times.

The Australian put away his big stick for much of the Wyndham Championship, and the added control off the tee let his outstanding approach play and short game thrive.

He opted for a similar approach at Oak Hill earlier this season on his way to T4 at the PGA Championship, so there’s a subtlety to Davis’s play that has led to three finishes of T17 or better in his last four starts and T13 here at Southwind a year ago.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for the FedEx St. Jude Championship here.

Fantasy Golf Predictions This Season (2023-2023)

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