Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – The RSM Classic

The Sleeper Report: Fantasy Golf Sleepers, Long Shots, and Undervalued Picks for The RSM Classic (2015)

2015 RSM Classic Fantasy Sleeper Preview

The RSM Classic, formally the McGladrey Classic, is one of the newest events to hit the TOUR with its inaugural year launching back in 2010.  The pervious installment fields have brought about some solid scoring all around with each of the five victors thus far falling between 14 and 16 under par.

The par-70, 7,055-yard Sea Island Golf Course in Georgia has been heralded as one of the most beautiful in the country and will feature one of the first two rounds being played on the newly renovated Plantation Course.

A full field of 156 players will be present for this event with just six of those golfers being among the top-35 in the OWGR (Official World Golf Rankings). No. 17 Matt Kuchar will be making his second start of the year after struggling at the OHL Classic last week with a score of one-under; placing him in a tie for 68^th amongst an equally shallow field. Also joining Kuchar from the top echelon of golf talent will be No. 10 player in the world, Zach Johnson, who has yet to record a start during this young 2015-16 campaign.

A few winners from earlier in the season will be attempting to become the first multiple-time champion for the year and will have No. 30 in the OWGR Justin Thomas leading the way after winning the CIMB Classic and tying for third at the Frys.Com Open.  Soon-to-be 24-year old Smylie Kauffman, winner of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, and Peter Malnati, top dog at the Sanderson Farms Championship, will also be looking for a second win on the year.

Last week, Graeme McDowell won a three-man playoff to become the first non-American to hoist the trophy at the OHL Classic, and once again that could be the case in Georgia as each of the first five winners at this tournament have called the U.S.A. home.  In the five installments of this event, the man at the top of the leaderboard on Sunday has won by either one stroke or in a playoff, and last year Robert Streb defeated the likes of Brendon de Jonge and Wil MacKenzie on the second playoff hole.  A total of 10 players were within three strokes of Streb when scores went final on Sunday and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a similar result this week.

There will be opportunities abound for fresh faces and veterans alike to post a big score and win in another weak field at St. Simons Island, so let’s scan through and find some names who could come out with a gritty showing and outperform expectations.

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2015 RSM Classic Fantasy Sleeper Report

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2015 RSM Classic Fantasy Sleeper Report

Mix and match these players with your usual rosters (or play them separately) to get the most out of your picks this week.

Spencer Levin – Vegas Odds 55/1: Levin will look to keep the American winning streak alive in Georgia this week while also attempting to keep his own solid stretch of golf going.  To start the season, Levin has made it to the weekend in each of his four attempts and has been in the top-25 each time, improving every time out with his best finish coming most recently at the OHL Classic.  At that tourney, he managed to post an 11-under-par performance and tied for 10th while shooting a combined seven-under on par-threes.  After a very disappointing 2014 campaign, Levin was able to get back more to his 2011 form, when he earned over $2.3 million, and made the cut in 13-of-18 attempts (58%) last season.  His game looks improved and he should be able to have another solid showing here come Sunday.

Brice Garnett – Vegas Odds 66/1: Garnett may have made a mere 12-of-29 cuts last year (41%), but a majority of those came early on in the season when the fields are thinned out as he made it to the weekend in his first five attempts; including carding a sixth-place finish at the OHL Classic.  He has begun this year in similar fashion, and has not only been able to make the cut in each of his two events, but has also finished in ninth or better each time as well.  He put up three consecutive 68s in the Sanderson Farms Championship on his way to a solo ninth and followed that up with an even better showing at the OHL Classic last week by hitting 69.4% of GIR and having a final standing of seventh.  He has always been able to get the ball to the green, as evidenced by ranking 43rd on TOUR in GIR% last year (68.28%), but will need to continue to show improved putting to be up near the top more consistently.  We have witnessed some positives in this part of the game so far, and if it is an indicator of things to come he could be in for a breakout season from Garnett.

Boo Weekley – Vegas Odds 66/1: Weekley is one of the most consistent, yet unspectacular, golfers on the PGA TOUR, and over the past three seasons has made the cut in 55-of-75 tries (73%) with four top-three finishes.  His last win came back in 2013 at the Crowne Plaza Invitational adding to his previous two victories that he earned during his prime over the 2007 and 2008 seasons.  Last year was just his second year with more than a million dollars in earnings since 2009 and it showed that he is ready to be competitive on a week-to-week basis once again.  Through four events so far, Weekley has made the cut three times and should be riding high after a tie for 10th last week behind 67s on Thursday and Sunday.  He’s now hit better than 72% of GIR at each of his last two stops and is putting at a solid clip.  All signs point to the 42-year-old continuing to play some impressive golf moving forward.

Fabian Gomez – Vegas Odds 90/1: Despite his poor odds, Gomez has had plenty of success in his professional career with 12 victories across various stages; mainly on the tours in South America.  His biggest win to date came in June as he dominated the field at the FedEx St. Jude Classic with a score of 13-under-par and grabbed a four-shot margin of victory.  Gomez has flip-flopped between the PGA TOUR and Web.Com TOUR over the past five seasons, but after performing well last year with a final standing of 64th in the FedExCup rankings, he looks ready to stick around.  He is making that case even more solid by showing up early this year, and will be looking for his third consecutive week in the top-17 following impressive rounds at both the Frys.Com Open and the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.  Fabian nailed better than 72% of GIR in each event and has gone 15-under on par-fives through eight rounds.  Gomez is no stranger to being at the top of the leaderboard and that should prove vital this week.

Tim Clark – Vegas Odds 150/1: Joining Gomez on this list as a player from outside of the U.S. looking to take home the trophy is South African Tim Clark.  He may not exactly be tearing up the courses right now with three missed cuts in four chances this year, but his one visit to the weekend came last week at the OHL Classic and he is coming back to this course for the first time since having a runner-up performance back in 2013.  That year, he shot a Sunday 62 and just lost out to Chris Kirk by a single stroke while obliterating the course to the tune of 83.33% GIR and 82.14% fairways hit.  The 39-year-old is very much on the inconsistent side of things with his game, but has managed to have at least one runner-up or winning week each year since 2005.  So, despite his inability to always make it to the weekend, he can come out of nowhere and blow away expectations without notice.

Need a few more options to fill up your roster?  Remember to check out our new fantasy predictions stats page for Golficity Predicted Fantasy Points, Price Per Fantasy Point, and more info on every player in this week’s field!

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions?  Check out our full fantasy preview for The RSM Classic here.

Cover photo by Jess Have on Flickr