Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – Travelers Championship

2020 Travelers Championship Fantasy Sleeper Report

Just a week after the Charles Schwab Challenge produced a fantastically-dramatic conclusion, the RBC Heritage upped the ante even more.

At one point, Webb Simpson, Abraham Ancer, Daniel Berger and Tyrrell Hatton were all tied atop the leaderboard with four holes to play, while Justin Thomas, Ryan Palmer and Dylan Frittelli all shared the lead at one point or another.

In the end, it was Simpson who saw the winning line and charged over it – five birdies in his final seven holes saw to that. Having triumphed in the Phoenix Open just prior to the COVID-19 disruption, that makes it two PGA TOUR titles in four starts for the former US Open champion.

A fine season could become even more remarkable if Simpson was to triumph at the Travelers Championship this week. He’s in the field for the annual jolly to TPC River Highlands, although once again he’ll need to be at his best as a high quality group will be heading to the east coast – McIlroy, Thomas, Koepka, Rahm, DeChambeau, Cantlay and more will all be in the hunt.

Embed from Getty Images

They will be looking to emulate the achievements of Chez Reavie, who struck a blow for the veterans of the PGA TOUR here 12 months ago when he ended an 11-year winless streak with a comfortable four-shot victory.

The fact that Reavie, one of the shortest hitters on Tour, was able to hang with the best in the business is because TPC River Highlands is a layout where the grinders can thrive – there’s no handicap on being a 285-yard off the tee guy here.

Typically, we’d be looking for accurate plodders this week who can grind out a winning score somewhere in the late teens under par, although a curveball comes with the knowledge that Phil Mickelson – who has just qualified for the Champions Tour, incidentally – and Bubba Watson have won here five times between them.

There is, however, a mix of hot sun and rain in the weather forecast for the week ahead in Cromwell, Connecticut, and that could soften the greens at this Par 70, 6,841 yard track. In that case, we’ll be looking for players who can attack the flag and make a large number of putts from inside 10 ft – it is one angle of attack at a layout without a clear blueprint for success.

Could a sleeper get the job done at TPC River Highlands? It’s certainly possible, because the high-class field means that a better quality of player is available at the 50/1 and over mark in the betting. Reavie was 70/1 when he won, and if we go back a bit farther we note that Marc Leishman (100/1), Kevin Streelman (125/1) and Ken Duke (150/1) all won here at mouth-watering prices.

That’s all intriguing stuff, so who makes our sleeper shortlist for the Travelers Championship this week?

[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″]

Travelers Championship Fantasy Sleeper Report

Sergio Garcia – 50/1 – There was an absolute masterclass of ball striking from Sergio Garcia at Harbour Town – he topped the SG: Tee-to-Green rankings with a mammoth +3.47 for the week.

His putting was below-par, but he did gain +1.67 with the flat stick on Sunday, and so the Spaniard will surely be feeling positive about all aspects of his game.

Visually at least, TPC River Highlands has the look and feel of Valderrama, Garcia’s favorite course, and so maybe those vibes will ensure a fine continuation of his good form of last week.

Matthew Fitzpatrick – 50/1 – One of the absolute best players to graduate from the European Tour in recent years, it won’t be long before Matt Fitzpatrick is contesting PGA TOUR events at the business end.

He was in the mix at the RBC Heritage, eventually finishing T14 after some rash decision-making, but it’s a strong continuation which saw the Englishman bank a top-10 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational just before the break.

Solid in all aspects of the game, Fitzpatrick is particularly well suited to shorter tracks where precision is key.

Brian Harman – 80/1 – The left-hander has been playing solid golf of late, and while he has been disappointing off the tee the ‘second half’ of his golf game is in fine shape.

The reason he is on the sleeper list this week is because he loves TPC River Highlands – he’s three top-10s here in his last five trips, and that is proof positive that the course suits his eye. So, even if he is lacking in confidence off the tee, the familiar sightlines should at least give him a boost.

Dense, tree-lined courses in the summer months have provided Harman with his best moments on the PGA TOUR – he’s won the John Deere Classic and the Wells Fargo in such conditions, and he clearly has the form and the love of this golf course to thrive again.

Joel Dahmen – 90/1 – Joel Dahmen wouldn’t have wanted the hiatus in golf to have come having notched consecutive T5 finishes in the Arnold Palmer and the Genesis Invitational prior to lockdown.

He’s crept back into form after the break, and he is beginning to look once again like a player who could win on the PGA TOUR.

Since the start of 2019, Dahmen has banked four top-10s and a catalogue of top-20s, and he has the profile of a player who simply loves the grind – he will be rewarded with a trophy sooner or later, you suspect.

Max Homa – 150/1 – A run of form of 9-6-14-5 leading into the coronavirus break will have left Max Homa tearing his hair out that he wasn’t able to convert that touch to another PGA TOUR title.

He looked rusty at the Charles Schwab Challenge on his return, but there were much better signs in his T41 at the RBC Heritage – his four rounds were all in the 60s, and he gained +1.59 strokes from tee-to-green including +1.54 with irons in hand.

Homa is comfortable on Bentgrass greens, and he has a habit of carrying good form across state lines and from one week to the next.

[/membership]

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

Sleeper Report Predictions This Season (2019-2020)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=2.73%” bar_text=”3 out of 110 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent= “5.45%” bar_text=”6 out of 110 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”33.63%” bar_text=”37 out of 110 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=9.09%” bar_text=”2 out of 22 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”0%” bar_text=”0 out of 22 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”66.36%” bar_text=”73 out of 110 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

---

Cover photo via Instagram