Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2015 Travelers Championship

The Sleeper Report: Fantasy Golf Sleepers, Long Shots, and Undervalued Picks for the 2015 Travelers Championship from TPC River Highlands

2015 Travelers Championship Preview

After one of the toughest tests the USGA has set forth for golfers played out at the U.S. Open last week, the PGA TOUR will now head to TPC River Highlands in the northeast for the Travelers Championship; an event that was first established in 1952 and has been played in Crowmwell, CT since 1984.

The Travelers Championship is typically the next highest in attendance behind the party in the desert (Waste Management Open) and is open to plenty of scoring—a welcome site after last week’s undulating greens and uneven surfaces.  The victor here has been in double-digits under par in each installment since 1994 and in that time there have been only two non-American winners (Marc Leishman and Fredrik Jacobson).

It is not a tournament that has been often dominated by just one player, as six different golfers have multiple victories here with Billy Casper (1963, 1965, 1968, and 1973) doing it the most often.  The most recent multiple winner here was Stewart Cink who won it in both 1997 and 2008 while Phil Mickelson (2001 and 2002) in the only man to have won it in back-to-back seasons.

In the last eight years, the scoring has been even more impressive with the average score for the winner being 16.25 strokes under par and the event has even seen two players (Fredrik Jacobson and Kenny Perry) get to at least 20 strokes under par with Perry’s aggregate score of 258 in 2009 being a course record.

Last year, some fireworks ensued as Kevin Streelman birdied each of the last seven holes and outscored both Sergio Garcia and K.J. Choi by a stroke with his score of 15-under-par.  Streelman was able to get one-putt each of the last 10 holes and finished the weekend with consecutive 64s on the par-70, 6,841-yard course.

This year the top ranked golfer in the field will be OWGR No.5 golfer Bubba Watson, as he is joined by No. 9 Sergio Garcia and another six players from the top-30 of the Official World Golf Rankings.  This tourney may not always feature the top names, but there are some big ones out there and it is always an exciting event to watch.

Now let’s now look at a few of the golfers whose odds aren’t the best still stand a chance to dominate the course (and the weaker field) this week in Connecticut.

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The Travelers Championship Fantasy Sleeper Report

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The Travlers Championship 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.

• Graham DeLaet – 66/1: DeLaet burst onto the scene in 2013 when he earned seven top-10 finishes and ended at an impressive eighth place in the FedExCup standings.  He followed that up with another seven top-10s in 2014 and once again earned more than $2.5 million on the season.  His start to the 2015 campaign was less than impressive though, with two withdrawals and a missed cut over his first four tournaments.  But DeLaet seems to be heading in the right direction with a trip to the weekend in each of the last four events and with top-26 showings at each of his last two.  Despite his unimpressive start to the year, he still ranks in the top-50 in driving distance (297.6 yards per, 27th on TOUR), proximity to hole (34’2”, 27th on TOUR) and par-three scoring average (2.96, 2nd on TOUR).  DeLaet is poised to get back to his old ways and be competitive through Sunday afternoon against this field.
• Chris Stroud – 100/1: Stroud has been a force on this course over the last five years, making the cut in each season, and has three top-18s during that time, including a runner-up finish in 2013 when he posted a score of 12-under-par behind better than 71% of greens and fairways hit and .714 strokes better putting than the field.  So far in 2015, he has made just half of his 20 cuts, but still has a solid short game with a 56.04% sand save percentage (44th on TOUR) and 60.86% scrambling (60th on TOUR) and should be able to continue his great play on the course.
• Tim Clark – 100/1: Plenty of South African players have been in the limelight lately and Tim Clark was impressive to start out the year with six consecutive made cuts and a runner-up finish at the WGC-HSBC Champions.  Unfortunately, he had trouble with a chronic elbow problem and has been out since the Sony Open in mid-January.  Clark has been dealing with this injury for some time now, but one thing is for sure, when he is able to get onto the course, he can perform well—he has two PGA TOUR wins to his name and another 13 runner-up performances to prove it.  In his six tourneys to start the year, he hit 71.78% of fairways and 69.32% of GIR while getting 4.21 birdies per round.  The 39-year-old veteran feels like his is healthy enough to make his return and play at a high level, and in the past he has always done well, so he should be expected to do so once again.
• Daniel Summerhays – 100/1: Summerhays has had some great showings this year and owns two top-10 performances while being successful at getting to the weekend (15-for-20) a decent amount for someone with such high odds.  He has missed the cut in three of the past five tournaments, but showed some grit last week at Chambers Bay when he ranked 27th and had three rounds of par or better against an extremely challenging track.  The 31-year-old has also been one of the best putters on TOUR (.520 strokes gained putting, 16th on TOUR) and that alone should allow him to put up some big scores on a course that allows for plenty.  Look for Summerhays to continue his consistent season and build off a nice U.S. Open come Sunday afternoon.
• Colt Knost – 125/1: Knost ranks 209th in the OWGR and 79th in the FedExCup standings, but has been on a tear as of late, ranking in the top-12 at three of his past four events.  He scored a 68 or better in nine of his last 14 rounds and he had his best round of the year when he shot a 64 on Friday at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, eventually finishing in a tie for 12th-place.  Knost does not have a victory yet in his PGA TOUR career, but does know how to win as evidenced by his two first-place finishes while in the Web.Com TOUR.  Knost is one of the most accurate drivers on TOUR (70.38%, 11th on TOUR) and he gives himself plenty of chances while ranking eighth in proximity to hole (33’2”) on 67.97% of greens hit in regulation (38th on TOUR).  Look for Knost to continue his strong play this week and put himself in a spot to contend for his first win at this level.

Need a few more options to fill up your roster?  Remember to check out our new fantasy predictions stats page for Golficity Predicted Fantasy Points, Price Per Fantasy Point, and more info on every player in this week’s field!

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions?  Check out our full fantasy preview for the 2015 Travelers Championship here.

Cover photo by @coachgary54 on Instagram