Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – The Northern Trust

2019 Northern Trust Fantasy Sleeper Report

In the most bizarre of events, J.T. Poston has smashed a PGA TOUR record that has stood for more than 40 years.

By winning the Wyndham Championship without making a single bogey, he smashed a long-standing PGA TOUR record set by Lee Trevino in 1974.

It’s an amazing achievement for a player of any repute, for a guy like Poston – who, with all the will in the world, is not one of the brightest stars in the golfing universe – it truly is a staggering effort.

His reward is a place in the FedExCup playoffs, which have been shrunk down to three events in 2019 to reflect the shortened schedule. The first is this week’s Northern Trust, which will take a shift across Jersey City to Liberty National for this course’s first PGA TOUR run-out since 2013.

Embed from Getty Images

This is surely one of the most interesting courses on the rotation. It’s not often you get to play an approach into a green that is backed by the Statue of Liberty, or stand on the tee looking at a visage of the Manhattan skyline.

If the players can get their heads in the game and out of the surrounding views, they still have a tough old task to overcome. There’s barely any trees here, which lets the wind in, and with 90 bunkers and large lakes in play on ten holes there’s barely a shot goes by that isn’t challenged by a hazard or two. It’s no wonder there were 194 double bogeys or worse here in 2013!

Adam Scott won that event, the Barclays, with a score of -11. He found himself one shot clear of Justin Rose, Gary Woodland and Tiger Woods – a who’s who of ball-strikers, and that in itself gives the best clues as to what’s needed in this stretch of New Jersey.

Because the greens are so heavily contoured and tiered, it really is about approach play at Liberty National. Finding the right portions of these Bentgrass surfaces is crucial – there aren’t many putts across the grain that will be fancied here.

The players hated this track in 2009, and so big changes were made to get it up to scratch. An intermediate layer of rough was added between the fairway and the thick Kentucky bluegrass that really is a pain to play out of, which lessened the challenge off the tee, while some fairways were widened.

In short, this should be a fantastic test of golf this week – no birdie fests here – and it’s an ideal way to start the FedExCup triple-header.

One question remains: who makes our shortlist of sleepers for the Northern Trust?

[membership level=”0″]

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″]

Northern Trust Fantasy Sleeper Report

Bryson DeChambeau – 50/1 – If you’re looking for a sleeper pick with genuine title-winning pedigree, look no further than Bryson DeChambeau.

He’s won six times worldwide since the summer of 2017, and yet here he is lumped into the 50/1 category with Tony Finau – a sole win at the Puerto Rico Open to his name, and Collin Morikawa, a prodigious talent for sure, but one yet to really shine on these big FedExCup stages.

While his form may come and go, you sense that Bryson is the kind of player that will always be able to find his way, such is that mechanical approach to the game.

And besides, he isn’t down-and-out by any means, with T2 and T8 at the 3M Open and Travelers Championship fresh enough in the mind to offer some confidence.

Patrick Reed – 55/1 – Noteworthy recently with his much-improved ball striking, Reed’s irons went a touch cold at Sedgefield to be replaced by a red hot putter.

The former Masters champ ranked fifth for SG: Putting at the Wyndham Championship, backed by a ridiculous fourth round effort in which he gained +4.67 on the field.

Reed actually won this event when it was known as the Barclays back in 2016, and another victory at the WGC-Cadillac suggests a fondness for east coast golf.

Now if he can just combine his approach play with that streaky flat stick….

Marc Leishman – 60/1 – A player with a trio of major top-five finishes, two top-three returns in WGC events and a former FedExCup event winner, Leishman is certainly the man for the big occasion.

It seems as though the Aussie is tuning up for another late season swansong as well, with a solo third last time out at the WGC St Jude following solo fifth at the Memorial Tournament.

Leishman is someone who appeals at less-than-driver layouts. His driving is the weakest part of his game without question, so any chance to open up his bag off the tee and leave the big stick sheathed is good news.

Yes, Liberty National is a long enough course, but plenty of the holes are played downhill, and so there are opportunities to hit irons off the tee. That gives Leishman a chance to let his iron-and-putter combination to come to the fore.

Gary Woodland – 70/1 – There’s sportsbook odds, and then there’s 70/1 about a man who won a major just two months ago.

Okay, so his form has fallen off a cliff since, but that’s to be expected from a player who has just achieved something approaching the pinnacle of his sport.

A new father to twins, that will bring focus and perspective to Woodland’s golf, you would imagine, and that should result in a much-improved sequence of performances during this FedEx series.

At his best, the US Open champion is a premium ball-striker, and if he brings that game to Liberty National then he can make a mockery of those Vegas odds.

Byeong-Hun An – 80/1 – When the Korean starts putting well, excellent things tend to happen for him.

Be under no illusions, he is one of the best ball-strikers in the game: An ranks 8th for SG: Tee-to-Green and 1st for SG: Around-the-Green – a formidable combination.

But his putting rank – 188th – is instructive, and dictates why he is yet to enter the winner’s enclosure on the PGA TOUR.

And yet….the Korean was in positive numbers with the flat stick at Sedgefield, with a very respectable +1.22 on the field in round four.

There’s good vibes aplenty for Benny An, so can he capitalize in New Jersey?

[/membership]

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

Sleeper Report Predictions This Season (2018-2019)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”5.85%” bar_text=”11 out of 188 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent=”14.89%” bar_text=”28 out of 188 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”32.97%” bar_text=”62 out of 188 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=”5.26%” bar_text=”2 out of 38 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”18.42%” bar_text=”7 out of 38 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”65.43%” bar_text=”123 out of 188 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

---

Cover photo via Instagram