Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2016 DEAN & DELUCA Invitational

The Sleeper Report: Fantasy Golf Sleepers, Long Shots, and Undervalued Picks for the 2016 DEAN & DELUCA Invitational

2016 DEAN & DELUCA Invitational Fantasy Sleeper Preview

The players who just finished up with the AT&T Byron Nelson won’t have to travel far this week as the Dean and Deluca Invitational, will also be taking place in the state of Texas.  More specifically, the field will be heading to Fort Worth and Colonial Country Club for an event that was previously named The Crowne Plaza Invitational (since 2007).  The venue features 7,204 yards of par-70 golf which have allowed for some great finishes in years past and is one of the longest running sites for a PGA TOUR event, dating all the way back to 1946 when it first became the host.

The tough layout has provided for some great Sunday golf over the last decade as the victor has come away with the win after a playoff four times and by just a single stroke another five.  The winning score has also come down quite a bit over the past few years with the average winner carding just better than 15 shots under par.  The field here is also trimmed to 120 players with the invitational status, leaving less room for error over the first two days.

The tourney has seen many of multiple victors as 10 different golfers have seen their name etched on the trophy twice since the beginning of the event in 1946, but it is Ben Hogan (1946, 1947, 1952, 1953, 1959) who really dominated here as evidenced by his five career wins.  The most recent multiple winner here was Zach Johnson who won in 2010 and 2012.

Looking to join that large group will be last year’s winner, Chris Kirk, who beat out the likes of runners up Jason Bohn, Brandt Snedeker, and Jordan Spieth by a single stroke.  It nearly went into a playoff, but Kirk was able to nab his fourth PGA TOUR win thanks to a clutch up-and-down on the 72nd hole.

One man that will be gunning for the top spot will be Official World Golf Rankings No. 2 golfer, Jordan Spieth.  He has come close to winning in his hometown between the Byron Nelson and this event, but has yet to successfully close things out.  Jordan has been having a solid season on paper (although not as successful as last year), but his frustrations continue to run high after falling apart once again on the final day last week and finishing well off the lead despite playing with eventual runner-up Brooks Koepka in the final pairing.  He will also have tough competition in No. 7 Adam Scott this week, the only other OWGR top-10 player in attendance, as well as another five golfers (No. 14 Louis Oosthuizen, No. 19 Zach Johnson, No. 20 Matt Kuchar, No. 22 Charl Schwartzel, No. 25 Kevin Kisner) from the top-25.

While there are a few big names making their way to Colonial Country Club this week, the opportunities are always there for a player with higher odds to make some noise.  Just last week, names such as Spencer Levin, Robert Garrigus, Tim Wilkinson, and Bud Cauley were amongst the top-five despite being heavy underdogs.  That said, here are a few players who could accomplish a similar feat at one of the longest running events on TOUR.

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DEAN & DELUCA Invitational Fantasy Sleeper Report

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DEAN & DELUCA Invitational 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.

Bryce Molder – Vegas Odds 80/1: Molder has put together a nice little career on the PGA TOUR, winning once in 2011 and earning over $10 million since 2001.  He is never going to be one of the more consistent players out there and is rarely a sure thing to make it to the weekend, but he has been playing some of his best golf in recent memory since the end of March and is 5-for-6 at making the cut at Colonial since 2010.  He has been able to make it to Sunday in each of his last eight outings and has notched three finishes in the top-12 over his last five; including tying for 12th amongst a strong field at THE PLAYERS Championship.  More importantly he’s been putting like a mad man and is currently ranked 13th on TOUR in strokes gained putting (0.585) while also looking sharp around the greens as the fourth ranked scrambler (66.58%).  We suggest continuing to ride the 37-year-old until he cools off and reverts back to his inconsistencies of the past.

Daniel Summerhays – Vegas Odds 90/1: Summerhays has not sniffed a win this year, but he has still been playing some great golf as evidenced by making 13-of-16 cuts (81%) and getting into the top-25 seven times.  His last three outings have resulted in a top-25 and he has steadily climbed up the FedExCup rankings to his current spot of 68th.  Despite being somewhat of a well known name, Summerhays has yet to win on the TOUR and has just two runner-up showings, but his recent play along with a strong putting stroke (0.674 strokes gained putting, 8th on TOUR) and birdie or better percentage (21.85%, 39th on TOUR) should propel him to another solid week on this course.  Look for the Brigham Young alum to put up his fourth consecutive made cut at Colonial come Sunday.

Roberto Castro – Vegas Odds 90/1: Castro looks on pace to have a career year in 2016, going 12-for-16 (75%) in cuts made with three top-10s, one of which was a runner up performance just a few weeks ago at the Wells Fargo Championship.  In the end he was beat out by James Hahn in a playoff as Castro failed to grab his first career victory.  At just 30-years-old, Castro still has time to do just that and he should be able to bring his momentum from that event into Fort Worth where he tallied a 19th back in 2012.  Much of his success comes from an extremely smooth swing, resulting in great accuracy off the tee (68.32%, 18th on TOUR) as well as 0.929 strokes gained from tee-to-green (25th on TOUR). If he can put together his putting and capitalize on hitting an average of 69.49% GIR—as he did in his playoff loss a few weeks ago—he is sure to be competitive once again.

Adam Hadwin – Vegas Odds 125/1: Canadian Adam Hadwin had a very successful rookie campaign in 2015, making more cuts (18) than missing them (12) while getting seven top-25s.  He has not been able to have too many weeks where he was really in contention in 2016, but he has become much more consistent with 13-of-18 (72%) visits to the weekend—and that’s why he currently sits at 91st in the FedExCup standings.  This will be a great venue for the youngster to perform as he had his best finish last year when visiting Colonial Country Club, tying for fifth behind four consecutive rounds of sub-70 golf.  His putting (0.764 strokes gained, 5th on TOUR) will always keep him afloat throughout the four days, and when he improves off the tee the results will follow.

David Hearn – Vegas Odds 150/1: Back-to-back Canadians making an appearance here as Hearn earns a spot thanks to a solid past at Colonial and recent success over his last four outings in 2016.  He is 4-for-5 at making it past the first two days here since 2011 while getting two top-25s—one being a 13th in 2012.  That trend should continue as he has done quite well since the end of April, making 3-of-4 cuts with each finish being in the top-28.  While this isn’t Hearn’s best season in recent years, he remains one of the more accurate golfers with a driving accuracy of 67.07% (26th on TOUR) and 68.17% greens hit in regulation (32nd on TOUR), which bodes well heading to a venue where he has performed well at in the past.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions?  Check out our full fantasy preview for the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational here.

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