Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2016 Arnold Palmer Invitational

The Sleeper Report: Fantasy Golf Sleepers, Long Shots, and Undervalued Picks for the 2016 Arnold Palmer Invitational

The Arnold Palmer Invitational Fantasy Sleeper Preview

Another week gone by on the PGA TOUR and another top star is seeing his name etched on the trophy.  With Charl Schwartzel’s victory at the Valspar Championship last week, the victor on TOUR has been ranked in the top-35 in six of the past seven outings with each of them but Schwartzel and Vaughn Taylor now residing among the top-17 of the Official World Golf Rankings.  It will be interesting to see if that trend continues this week in the next stop of the “Florida Swing” as the players set their sights on Bay Hill for the Arnold Palmer Invitational.  This annual event has been a staple on the PGA TOUR since 1966 and the famous Bay Hill Club and Lodge features 7,381 yards of par-72 golf which has led to some close finishes in recent seasons.

Dating back to 2005, no winner has won by more than two strokes other than Tiger Woods in 2012 when he defeated runner-up Graeme McDowell by five shots and followed that up with his eighth victory at this course in 2013 over Justin Rose.  Besides Woods, no other golfer has been able to tame this course with a win more than twice, but the same unlikely man has been able to do so in each of the past two tourneys here.

Matt Every is currently ranked 163rd in the OWGR and 149th in the FedExCup standings.  He has made the cut just once in his last nine major attempts and is a mere 4-for-7 in cuts made this year with two other tournaments ending in a withdrawal.  Still, this man has been able to win two PGA TOUR events, and they were both here at Bay Hill over each of the past two years.

Every won each of the last two events by a single stroke and in come-from-behind fashion over some huge names.  First, in 2014, he was able to catch up with the pack despite a four-shot Sunday deficit while outlasting runner-up Keegan Bradley and then took advantage of both Adam Scott and Henrik Stenson faltering with a tournament clinching 18-foot birdie to win it all.  It is no surprise to once again see him among the entrants this week along with a healthy host of big name players.  Leading that pack will be world No. 2 golfer Rory McIlroy as he is joined by four others from the top-10 of the OWGR; No. 3 Jason Day, No. 6 Adam Scott, No. 7 Henrik Stenson, and No. 8 Justin Rose.  Scott is the current FedExCup leader and will be looking for his third win in as many starts.  Besides that, the strong field will feature another eight players from within the top-30.

The recent stretch of strong performances by the game’s top players has kept any sleepers from making much noise, but there are always some with less than stellar odds making a run at the top prize and that was evidenced once again last week as names like Lee McCoy, Graham DeLaet, and Scott Brown all finished in the top-10.  That said, below are a few players who could pull off this feat come Sunday and possibly even follow in Every’s footsteps with a huge underdog victory.

The 2016 Arnold Palmer Invitational Fantasy Sleeper Report

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Cover photo via Flickr