Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2017 WGC-HSBC Champions

The Sleeper Report: Fantasy Golf Sleepers, Long Shots, and Undervalued Picks for the 2017 WGC-HSBC Champions

The 2017 WGC-HSBC Champions Fantasy Sleeper Preview

The dust may have settled on the inaugural hosting of the CJ Cup, but we’d wager that the wind is still ringing in the players’ ears days later!

Conditions on Jeju Island were challenging, to say the least, but in some ways it was nice to see those involved have to grind out par rather than taking the course to shreds.

As it was, class very much shone through in the end as Justin Thomas and Marc Leishman became embroiled in something of a dogfight. Perhaps it was Thomas’ indefatigable spirit that got him over the line in the end, as he out-grinded Leishman to take home yet another trophy for his bulging cabinet.

JT has decided to have some much-needed rest and relaxation time, so he won’t take his place in the field for this week’s WGC-HSBC Champions event at Sheshan International in China. But not to worry: this is a field jam-packed with star quality.

Justin Thomas of the United States reacts after making a birdie on…

Justin Thomas of the United States reacts after making a birdie on the 17th green during the third round of the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills on June 17, 2017 in Hartford, Wisconsin. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

The lure of a prize fund of some $9.75 million has clearly helped to make up the minds of the players, hence why defending champion Hideki Matsuyama returns to Asia to take on a glittering array of stars: Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Jason Day, Henrik Stenson, and Brooks Koepka the obvious standouts.

In truth, think of a top lass performer and he’s probably in the field, so punters will have to go the extra mile to find a winner this week.

The easy conditions won’t make that job any easier. The first two days at Sheshan will be picture perfect for low-scoring golf, and while the wind should pick up in time for the weekend it will be a mere sigh compared to the howls that met the players in South Korea last time out.

This layout is idyllic for the players: tree-lined, but with plenty of room off the tee, and undulating greens that are far less complex than those experience last week. These are made up of the more familiar Bentgrass too, which naturally gives the Westernised players a huge advantage.

The winning score at Sheshan is routinely -20 or better, and given the mostly benign weather forecast we would anticipate something similar once again. So who are the sleepers ready to outscore the field in China?

[membership level=”0″]

2017 WGC-HSBC Champions 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 WGC-HSBC Champions 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.

Adam Scott – Vegas Odds 50/1 – Nobody played the final 36 holes better than Adam Scott here 12 months ago, and that continues a fine record at Sheshan. In six visits the Aussie has finished lower than T25 only once, and in four of that half-dozen has breached the top-15.

He made his wraparound bow at the CJ Cup last week, and while he didn’t blow minds he certainly blew the cobwebs away: Scott was one of just 25 players in the field to shoot level par or better on the windy Jeju Island.

You sense that the 2017 into 2018 season is going to be of huge importance to Scott: he bowed out of the FedExCup at the first hurdle, and managed just four top-10s last season. His world ranking is down to 25 too, so assuming he still has some fire in his belly he will be desperate to improve upon that in the next 12 months or so.

Rafa Cabrera-Bello – Vegas Odds 55/1 – T10 and T11 are Cabrera-Bello’s efforts through the Asian swing so far, and that consistency is evidence of how well he is striking the ball at present.

Indeed, across the two events RCB has a combined GIR success rate of 82.64% – only two players have started the campaign in better shape.

The Spaniard’s form has been on a generous upward curve since he lifted the Scottish Open trophy back in July. He went on to finish T4 at The British Open, and while his FedExCup challenge was halted at the BMW Championships, he still played some eye-catching golf to finish T18 at the Dell Technologies the week prior.

Branden Grace – Vegas Odds 60/1 – Although his game didn’t quite click at the CIMB Classic, Grace bounced back with aplomb at the CJ Cup last week. He was right in contention at the 36-hole stage, and while a Saturday 74 halted his title challenge he will still be pleased to finish T15 in some seriously tough conditions.

The South African pinged plenty of greens in South Korea, and that suggests he is getting to grips with the Seashore Paspalum surfaces better now. Good iron striking will be crucial this week, and currently Grace is approaching the dancefloor as reliably as anyone.

Don’t forget too that wind is in the forecast for the weekend in Shanghai; Grace is as good as anybody when the breeze is blowing.

Peter Uihlein – Vegas Odds 90/1 – Those who don’t follow the European Tour closely may not be familiar with Uihlein’s work, but the American certainly caught the eye when winning the Nationwide Children’s’ Hospital Championship on the Web.com Tour a few weeks ago.

For future reference, he’s a guy who flourishes the most when accuracy off the tee is not important, and his game really comes together in the second half with silky iron ply and a reliable putting stroke. He showed when finishing T2 and T14 at the French and Irish Opens consecutively that he’s at his best when the conditions are easier than normal.

As we know, birdies will be plentiful in China this week – and Uihlein is somebody that can shoot low numbers almost at will.

Kiradech Aphibarnrat – Vegas Odds 100/1 – The big Thai ace has really caught the eye on the European Tour of late, recording top-20 finishes in five of his last six starts.

More pertinently he could have won two of those, but costly errors meant he had to settle for second at the Italian Open and T9 at the KLM Open after leading with just two holes to play!

A key feature of his game has been his GIR numbers – Aphibarnrat has been peppering the greens of late – and if he can continue in the vein there is no reason why he can’t go close again even in higher quality company.

[/membership]

Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for the WGC-HSBC Champions here.

Sleeper Report Predictions This Season (2017-2018)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”0%” bar_text=”0 out of 15 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent=”21.43%” bar_text=”0 out of 15 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”33.33%” bar_text=”5 out of 15 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=”0%” bar_text=”0 out of 3 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”0%” bar_text=”0 out of 3 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”86.67″ bar_text=”13 out of 15 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

---

Cover photo via Instagram