Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

The Sleeper Report: Fantasy Golf Sleepers, Long Shots, and Undervalued Picks for the 2016 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

The 2016 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open Fantasy Sleeper Preview

The Shriners Hospitals for Children Open is next up on the docket for the PGA professionals as they travel to Sin City in this early season showdown.  Following a week in which Cody Gribble won his first PGA TOUR event in just his eighth start at the Sanderson Farms Championship and Hideki Matsuyama vaulted himself up to sixth in the Official World Golf Rankings thanks to a big win at the WGC event in China, the field at TPC Summerlin will have a lot to live up to.

The par-71, 7,255-yard course is the current Las Vegas venue which holds the honor of hosting this event with the players taking on a course which sits nearly 3,000 feet above sea level among some very rugged terrain.

As with any event played towards the beginning of the schedule, the field is weaker than you would see as we move along, but there are still some impressive names that have topped the leaderboard in the past.  Since 2011, each of the winners not named Ben Martin are currently in the top-100 of the OWGR and call the United States home.  Kevin Na (2011), Ryan Moore (2012), Webb Simpson (2014), and last year’s victor, Smylie Kaufman, are included on this list and will also be in attendance for this installment.

Kaufman was a mere 23-years-old when he teed off at just his fifth career PGA TOUR event last season, and proceeded to put on a stellar performance for his first career win.  He went into the final day with seven strokes separating him from the top man on the leaderboard, but put up a Sunday 61 and watched as no other golfer could catch up to his 16-under-par mark.  There was a single stroke separating Kaufman from six other players (Jason Bohn, Alex Cejka, Patton Kizzire, Kevin Na, Brett Stegmaier, and Cameron Tringale) who have collectively earned eight professional wins between the PGA and European Tours.

The field will be led by a strong group of players including returning champion Ryan Moore who is getting the top odds out of Vegas.  Brooks Koepka, Billy Horschel, Francesco Molinari, Jon Rahm, Scott Piercy, and Kevin Na join him at the top; all looking at odds of 30/1 or better.

The second tier of golfers really bring some names that have a chance to win against a field like this with Brendan Steele, Graeme McDowell, Martin Laird, Tony Finau, J.B. Holmes, Jimmy Walker, and Keegan Bradley sitting right behind the top players.  Of course an early season event is prime breeding ground for some of the newest talent to get their first win, so watch out for the likes of Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, and Patton Kizzire as they set their sights at the first of many trophies they hope to earn over their careers.

Despite many of the players heading to Las Vegas this week still looking to make a name for themselves, the top dogs usually are able to take care of business.  But, just looking back at last year’s win by rookie Smylie Kaufman indicates that it is possible to take down the likes of Ryder Cup teammates Moore, Koepka, and Holmes along with PGA Champion Jimmy Walker with a couple of big rounds.

So can a sleeper like Kaufman take down the big names again this week?  Let’s take a look by highlighting a few names we believe can come out of the woodwork and really impress at TPC Summerlin in the coming week.

[membership level=”0″]

The Shriners Hospital for Children Open Fantasy Sleeper Report

You must be a Premium Member to view our exclusive fantasy golf picks.

Already a member?  Sign in Here.

[/membership]

[membership level=”1,2,3″]

The Shriners Hospitals for Children Open 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.

Patton Kizzire – Vegas Odds 50/1 – Kizzire is poised to get a win sooner or later and this tournament presents him with the perfect spot to do so.  Last year he torched the course with three rounds of 69 or better, including an opening 65 and a Sunday 63, and would have been part of a large playoff if not for Kaufman’s remarkable 10-under Sunday.  He ended up finishing up the season on a sour note, but has proven once again that can handle these early season events with ease after nearly winning at the Safeway Open; eventually coming in a solo second behind a 17-under score after hitting 75% of the greens in regulation.  The putter is his key to success and in his first full year on tour he ranked 19^th in strokes gained putting (0.460) while gaining 2.080 strokes on the field (best on Tour) through his two events thus far.  At the age of 30, Kizzire is older than most players going into their sophomore season, and that could actually aid him in getting a win at TPC Summerlin.

Johnson Wagner – Vegas Odds 66/1 – Wagner does not have the best of track records when visiting Las Vegas for the Shriners Hospitals Open, but he finished off the last season strong with top-25s in the John Deere Classic, Wyndham Championship, and the Barclays.  He kept the momentum going for the new campaign, starting off his season with a third at the Safeway Open behind 79.17% greens in regulation and 1.692 strokes gained on the field.  Wagner should have plenty of chances for scoring once again as he finished the 2015-16 year ranked 13^th in GIR (69.38%) and earned a 70.781 scoring average (62^nd on Tour).  The 36-year-old has won three times over 264 PGA TOUR events, and none have come since 2012, but he looks as prepared as ever to jump back into the winner’s circle.

Derek Fathauer – Vegas Odds 80/1 – Fathauer took a big step in the right direction last year, following up a 2014-15 season in which he made a meager 48% of cuts (13-for-27) with 19 visits to the weekend in 30 events played (63%) in 2015-16.  He managed only five top-25s in his 19 times earning money, but has already been able to do that at each of the first two tournaments he has participated in this year.  Between the Safeway Open and CIMB Classic, Fathauer has carded 31 shots under par and has put up a score of 70 or better in seven of his eight rounds.  His accuracy has been out of this world with better than 70% GIR and 66% driving accuracy each time out while making more than a half million dollars in earnings.  This could be a perfect spot for him to keep his impressive start going and nail down his first career win.

Ryan Blaum – Vegas Odds 125/1 – Blaum earned his PGA TOUR card and will be looking to put together his first full season at the highest level in the upcoming year.  He wasn’t exactly lights out on the Web.Com Tour last year, coming in 17^th in the final rankings after five top-10s in 24 outings, but finished with a tie for fifth at the Boise Open and tie for 18^th in the Nationwide Championship.  The confidence should be high with him once again as he has had a great beginning to his 2016-17 season, shooting a 71 or better in each of his first eight rounds while coming off a tie for 11^th at the Sanderson Farms Championship.  During that stretch he has gained 0.897 strokes putting (23^rd on Tour) and is 25^th in scrambling (71.43%).  His strong short game should give him the chance to once again get into the top-25.

Jason Bohn – Vegas Odds 125/1 – Bohn is not a player with recent history on his side, failing to make the cut in half of his last ten outings, and doing no better than 56^th in that stretch.  What makes him an interesting option at TPC Summerlin though is his past results at the course where he not only made the cut during each of his six visits since 2009, but nearly won it all a few times with a pair of runner-ups (2012, 2015) and another three in the top-20.  Bohn needs a confidence boost in the worst way and this could be his chance.

[/membership]

Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for the 2016 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open here.

Cover photo via Instagram