Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2017 CJ Cup

The Sleeper Report: Fantasy Golf Sleepers, Long Shots, and Undervalued Picks for the 2017 CJ Cup

The 2017 CJ Cup Fantasy Sleeper Preview

The Asian Swing of the PGA TOUR’s wraparound season is, erm, in full swing after Pat Perez’s dominant win at the CIMB Classic last week.

The now three-time Tour winner bagged his second title in less than a year at TPC Kuala Lumpur, and really the result never looked in any doubt from the moment he took the lead on Friday. He followed up with 64-69, which was good enough to take the win over Keegan Bradley, who was some four shots behind.

The great news for Perez is that he has found form ahead of one of the 2017/18 season’s most lucrative tournaments: the CJ Cup, hosted by Nine Bridges on Jeju Island in South Korea. If the name is unfamiliar then that’s because this is a brand new event at a never-before seen venue….yep, it’s one of those weeks.

Pat Perez of the United States celebrates on the 18th hole after the…

Pat Perez of the United States celebrates on the 18th hole after the final round of the 2017 CIMB Classic at TPC Kuala Lumpur on October 15, 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

But at least we don’t have to question the players’ motivation levels in Korea. The total purse is a huge $9,250,000 – only the majors and bigger main tour events offer up such riches.

So there’s plenty for the players to sink their teeth into this week at a course that is said to take inspiration from the Scottish Highlands, although from the pictures the layout more closely resembles Kapalua or Waialae, the two tracks used as part of the Tour’s Hawaiian leg.

But one thing Nine Bridges will share with Scotland this week is wind – and lots of it. The forecast suggests speeds of up to 18 mph will be experienced, and as we know from experience those could get even breezier at a localized level. Nine Bridges is roughly 6000 ft above sea level too, which won’t make life any easier.

So we’re not expecting a birdie fest this week at the CJ Cup by any means, and it will surely take a special performance to take home the hefty winner’s cheque.

As for us, who are we backing to enjoy their first look at Nine Bridges? Let’s have a look.

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2017 CJ Cup Fantasy Sleeper Report

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The CJ Cup 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.

Russell Henley – Vegas Odds 50/1 – Henley signed off the main 2017 season with a T3 finish at the Tour Championship, and specifically a sublime round of 65 on the Sunday.

With little else to go on at Nine Bridges, that suggests some quality ball striking and with water/sand/wind around on Jeju Island, clearly that is going to be a huge advantage.

Speaking of the wind, Henley has done plenty of good business in breezy conditions in the past. He won the Houston Open earlier in the year – it tends to blow around there, and he has bagged career top-20s at the Sony Open (T13) and the RSM Classic (T6).

Charl Schwartzel – Vegas Odds 50/1 – If we are going to back a long-price outsider, then it always pays to get involved with a player that has won countless times worldwide.

He’s won twice on the PGA TOUR and 12 times worldwide, and his upbringing on the European Tour, where regular trips to Asia are made, will serve him well.

Schwartzel was outgunned at the CIMB but birdie-fests aren’t really his bag; his best performances last season, such as T2 at the St Jude Classic and T3 at The Masters, came in grinding conditions.

Chez Reavie – Vegas Odds 50/1 – Chez Reavie is in fine form at present, and his form is traveling across continents too.

T17 at the CIMB Classic follows T13 at the Safeway Open, and they follow T22 at the PGA Championship, T10 at the Northern Trust, and T12 at the BMW Championship, so everything is in place for another strong showing.

He needs to just up his game slightly to get into contention for the title, but in ranking second for Driving Accuracy and fifth for Greens in Regulation at least we have the peace of mind of knowing that he’s playing well enough to win.

Thomas Pieters – Vegas Odds 55/1 – Pieters opened up 68-67 at the CIMB Classic prior to suffering his customary Saturday meltdown.

But the insinuation is that he is striking the ball well – the first 36 holes in Malaysia suggest as such, and this is a progressive young talent who will win plenty more times in the coming years.

Time on the European Tour has taught him how to play in windy conditions, and the supposed Scottish Highlands feel will at least make him feel at home.

His short fuse is a concern, but top five finishes at The Masters and WGC Bridgestone suggest he is maturing and able to cope with the rigors of more complex layouts.

Lucas Glover – Vegas Odds 75/1 – This could be a good week to have the experienced pros on board, what with the predicted high winds and unknowns of this Nine Bridges layout.

Of the older brigade, Lucas Glover is in fine fettle. He made his way almost to the finale of the FedExCup – a T12 at the BMW Championship not quite enough to take him to East Lake, and he followed up with a handy T7 at the CIMB Classic.

The former US Open champion ranked T14 for GIR in Malaysia – finding almost 80% of greens, and again that shows his tee-to-green game is in good order. Make a few putts and who knows what could happen.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for the CJ Cup here.

Fantasy Golf Predictions This Season (2017-2018)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”14.29%” bar_text=”2 out of 14 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent=”21.43%” bar_text=”3 out of 14 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”42.86%” bar_text=”6 out of 14 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=”0%” bar_text=”0 out of 2 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”100%” bar_text=”2 out of 2 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”78.57″ bar_text=”11 out of 14 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

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