Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open

The Waste Management Phoenix Open Fantasy Sleeper Report

Oh Patrick…

A man who had seemingly made some strides on the PR front of late threw all that into the garbage with his controversial ball moving at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Whether he broke a rule or not – let’s face it, the golfing rulebook is packed with curious regulations that few really understand – his continued arrogance in the face of scrutiny does little to win his doubters over. You feel for the poor dude, Steve Stricker probably, who will have to find Reed a partner at the Ryder Cup.

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In the end, Captain America secured a five-shot victory in an event that ended with a rather sour taste.

Anyway, we move on with plenty of excitement to the Waste Management Phoenix Open, where a quality field will assemble at a tournament that is usually enhanced by the presence of thousands of patrons in one of the liveliest Tour stops on the circuit.

Nevertheless, it should be a cracking renewal with Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy – marking his tournament debut, amazingly – trying to wrestle the Phoenix Open crown from defending champion Webb Simpson.

Then there’s Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama, Sungjae Im and many other studs as well, so this stacked field should produce the goods.

They’ll find Scottsdale to be in excellent shape, and they will make hay on the opening 14 holes before being met with a fantastic closing four – a risk and reward Par 5, a drivable Par 4 and two holes with water and sand in abundance.

It’s a fascinating conclusion, and it has served up some grandstand finishes in recent years – Simpson downing Tony Finau in a play-off last year after taking his chance on the 72nd hole.

It’s not great news for long odds backers, sadly, that quality ball-strikers can and do win this event year in, year out. Indeed, there hasn’t been a champion that started at odds of 50/1 or greater since 2014, when Kevin Stadler – remember him? – won by one shot from Bubba Watson and Graeme DeLaet.

That said, the quality of the field will push some classy operators further down the pecking order, and so perhaps we can find a value selection or two at the longest of sportsbook prices – here’s our Phoenix Open sleeper shortlist.

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The Waste Management Phoenix Open Fantasy Sleeper Report

Bubba Watson – 50/1 – The thing with Bubba is that you never quite know what you’re going to get from one week to the next.

But what we do know is that he has a habit of showing up at layouts where he has had success in the past, and it would be typical of him to put a complete lack of activity behind him with a strong showing in Arizona.

Off the pace at the Farmers, we’re not too concerned because Bubba has five top-fives at Scottsdale and two other top-20s – basically, whatever his mood or form he always seems to find a way here.

Gary Woodland – 60/1 – It’s one step forward, two steps back for Gary Woodland right now, but that’s reflected in his odds this week.

His driver went AWOL at Torrey Pines but his short game was in much better health, so if he can combine all of the elements together then suddenly we have a value 60/1 proposition on our hands.

Scottsdale is a place where players come back year after year and seemingly turn it on, and Woodland is no different – a former champion here, he has two other top-10s and a top-20 in a catalogue of strong showings. Will he add another in 2021?

Sam Burns – 75/1 – Expected to go well at Torrey Pines, Sam Burns was right in the thick of things until a disappointing final round put pay to any hopes he may have had of success.

Still, it was a second top-20 in his last three starts, and for a player who seems to perform better on Bermuda – T7 at the Houston Open, T13 at the Wyndham Championship – that’s eye-catching enough.

An excellent ball striker, it won’t be long before Burns is putting four strong rounds together, and TPC Scottsdale has the feel of a venue where that may just be possible.

Carlos Ortiz – 85/1 – Within his last five starts, Carlos Ortiz has won the Houston Open, finished inside the top-10 at Mayakoba, banked T15 at the Sony Open and led the Farmers Insurance Open after 54 holes, where he disappointingly fell away.

That’s form of the highest order, and shows that his game is traveling across state lines and on different types of track too.

Many of Ortiz’s best paydays in golf have come on Bermuda greens, and that is important for a guy who possesses and outstanding short game – could that be the catalyst for a second win in just six Tour appearances?

Byeong Hun An – 90/1 – The switch from Bermuda to Poa Annua did not work out for Byeong Hun An, who swapped a top-10 at the American Express for an ordinary showing at the Farmers.

But back on his favored surface, and in more birdie-friendly conditions, An is back on the radar because he is a typically excellent desert golfer.

His shocking putting stroke seems to hold up better on faster greens too, and with a formline of 9-20-23-6 at TPC Scottsdale it seems that the marriage of those conditions suits him down to the ground.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for Waste Management Phoenix Open here.

Sleeper Report Predictions This Season (2020-2021)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”2.50%” bar_text=”2 out of 80 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent= “13.75%” bar_text=”11 out of 80 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”31.25%” bar_text=”25 out of 80 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=0%” bar_text=”0 out of 16 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”12.50%” bar_text=”2 out of 16 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”81.25%” bar_text=”65 out of 80 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

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