Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2016 Hyundai Tournament of Champions

The Sleeper Report: Fantasy Golf Sleepers, Long Shots, and Undervalued Picks for the 2016 Hyundai Tournament of Champions

2016 Hyundai Tournament of Champions Fantasy Sleeper Preview

With a new year comes one of the more exciting tournaments of the young season as the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at the Plantation Course in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii kicks off this week.  This event is reserved for the winners of the previous season and has been part of the TOUR since 1953.

Since 1999, this course has been the host and features a unique par-73 layout over 7,411 yards of green.  Also you must be aware that this tourney is typically played from Friday to Monday, but has reverted back to the classic Thursday through Sunday format in 2016.

With the field being limited to champions from the last year, there are not a ton of participants as only 32 golfers will make the trip to the beautiful island.  As expected when a group of winners comes together, there will be some major talent teeing it up this week; including OWGR No. 1 golfer Jordan Spieth, who won the Masters and U.S. Open in 2015, along with Open Championship winner Zach Johnson and PGA Champion Jason Day.  It will also be a nice mix of new school versus old school in this event as first-time victors 24-year-old Smylie Kaufman and 23-year-old Emiliano Grillo match wits with former PGA Championship winner, 51-year-old Davis Love III, and two-time major winner, 44-year-old Padraig Harrington.

This course has given up plenty of scoring since beginning to host back in 1999, with the leader after the final day posting a score eclipsing 20-under-par in 9-of-17 attempts; including a tournament record 31-under from Ernie Els during his victory in 2003.

Between the years 2002-2010, it was the international players that dominated in Hawaii, taking home the trophy in each instance with Australians Stuart Appleby (2004-2006) and Geoff Ogilvy (2009, 2010) winning a combined five times.  The tides have changed of late, though, as American’s have held home turf in each of the last five seasons with Patrick Reed being the most recent golfer to etch his name in the trophy.

Reed was able to take home the big check in his last visit here thanks to a torrid comeback in the final four holes of regulation; making up four strokes and forcing a playoff against Jimmy Walker.  The victory was both huge for Reed, as it was his fourth win before the age of 25, and an utter embarrassment for Walker who missed tons of opportunities down the stretch to close things out.

There should be fireworks as some of the top players in the world meet up to kick off 2016 with a bang, and with all players in the field being recent winners, anything can happen on the islands of Hawaii this week.

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2016 Hyundai TOC Fantasy Sleeper Report

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2016 Hyundai TOC 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.

Brandt Snedeker – Vegas Odds 55/1: Snedeker has a knack for getting his name to the top of leaderboards, as evidenced by his seven career PGA TOUR victories, including taking down the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am back in February with a score of 22-under-par; outplaying his nearest competitor, Nick Watney, by three strokes.  He hasn’t begun this season with any type of promise, missing the cut in 2-of-3 events played so far, but did grab a tie for 17th at the Frys.Com Open.  Sneds should be able to knock down tons of putts after ranking fifth in 2015 with .586 strokes-gained putting and also being one of the most consistent players with a scoring average of 70.158 (19th on TOUR).  If there is a guy at 50/1 or worse that has the experience and talent to get it done this week, Snedeker is the one to do it.

Danny Lee – Vegas Odds 60/1: Lee has taken it easy so far in the fresh season, playing in just two events after a 2015 campaign in which he jumped into the top-10 eight times in 36 tries and earned his ticket here with a playoff win at The Greenbrier Classic.  He nearly grabbed an impressive trophy at the end of the year as well, tying for second at the TOUR Championship which aided in him getting ninth in the final FedExCup Standings.  The 25-year-old did most of his damage on the links with his short game, ranking in the top-25 in strokes-gained putting (.380, 23rd on TOUR) and sand save percentage (61.54%, 7th on TOUR) while coming in at 52nd in scrambling (60.86%).  Although his name may not stack up to OWGR darlings such as Spieth and Day, he could surprise many as he attempts to follow up a huge year.

Chris Kirk – Vegas Odds 66/1: Kirk has never done much against impressive fields with his best major showing coming at the 2014 Open Championship where he finished in a tie for 19th, but he has four career PGA TOUR wins to his name and beat out the likes of Spieth, Snedeker, and Bohn with his 2015 victory at the Crowne Plaza Invitational back in May.  He’s played three events so far over the first few months of the new season, and has increased his standing each time out, most recently earning a tie for 18th at the RSM Classic in late November.  Kirk used his great 2015, in which he was in the top-25 in 7-of-21 attempts (33%), to earn a spot on the President’s Cup team and should always be a threat thanks to his all-around game which helped him earn over $2.3 million despite not excelling in any one area.  Kirk has never been able to grab a big tournament against such a strong field, but he will not be intimidated this week and could make a nice push.

Alex Cejka – Vegas Odds 100/1: Cejka isn’t one of the bigger names out there, but the veteran had four European Tour wins before finally pulling one out on the PGA TOUR in 2015 at the Puerto Rico Open.  Even if the event hosts a very weak field, it looks as if his solid play has carried over into the newest season as he has been able to secure three top-17 finishes in his first four events; including a runner-up showing at the Shriners Hospitals for Children open and most recently a tie for sixth at the RSM Classic.  In that outing he was able to string together three consecutive 67s in the first three days and has hit better than 70% of GIR in all but his missed cut at the OHL Classic.  He’s gained 1.995 strokes on the field (9th on TOUR) in the early going and could be a deep sleeper to do well this weekend.

Smylie Kaufman – Vegas Odds 100/1: Kaufman was able to get his first TOUR win more than 20 years earlier than the previously mentioned Cejka, as he went off for a Sunday 61 at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and finished at 16-under-par with a slew of players behind him.  Kaufman is one of the fresher names in the game and he hopes to turn his elite amateur status into success at the highest level.  Amazingly, the young rookie has still yet to miss a cut over his first five tourneys this season, crushing the ball for an average of 300.9 yards (37th on TOUR) and gaining 1.416 strokes on the field (20th on TOUR).  Kaufman could become a household name in the near future and where better to start then among the best in the world.

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 2016 Hyundai Tournament of Champions here.

Cover photo by Mikey V via Flickr