Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open

2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open Fantasy Sleeper Report

We’re into the meat and bones of the PGA TOUR campaign now, and the world number one Justin Rose proved his mettle ahead of what could be a very big year for the Englishman.

He took the spoils at the Farmers Insurance Open, taming the tricky Torrey Pines South Course and posting a tournament low record of -21 into the bargain.

Rose was a comfortable winner in the end, besting Adam Scott by two strokes, and he will surely have his eyes focused on adding to his major title haul this year.

From Torrey Pines to TPC Scottsdale, another PGA TOUR favorite, this week for the Waste Management Phoenix Open, another event dominated by classy sorts in recent years.

General view of the gallery on the 16th hole during the third round…

General view of the gallery on the 16th hole during the third round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale on February 3, 2018 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Brooks Koepka took the spoils in 2015, and he was followed by back-to-back victories for Hideki Matsuyama.

The Japanese ace’s dominance was ended by Gary Woodland, who lifted the trophy here 12 months ago.

TPC Scottsdale is a ball-strikers paradise, with tee-to-green merchants doing the business here year after year: Reavie, Woodland and Schneiderjans ranked second, third and fourth for Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green 12 months ago, and it’s no coincidence that they finished first, second (via a play-off) and T3 in the final shake-up.

The fairways are an average width, the rough is fairly forgiving and the Bermuda greens are larger than standard, and so conditions are agreeable enough for the players.

It’s only the wind that really acts as the layout’s key defense, and with a relatively quiet week expected, according to the early forecast, there shouldn’t be too much to trouble the field.

Generally, it’s class acts that win the day at Scottsdale, but Kevin Stadler’s win in 2014 gives hope that a sleeper can get the job done this week. With that in mind, here are our picks for the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

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The Waste Management Phoenix Open Fantasy Sleeper Report

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The Waste Management Phoenix Open Fantasy Sleeper Report

Alex Noren – Vegas Odds 66/1 – The Swede has been wholly written off the market after missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open last week, but we’re happy to roll with those punches.

Noren opened up with a round of 76, and that was always going to count against him. Indeed, he had to miss out on the weekend; but not before shooting a morale-raising 68 on Friday.

Otherwise, his form has been good. The world number 21 finished inside the top-10 of both the Hero World Challenge and the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai’s desert; a handy insight for this week.

Last year, he sandwiched two average rounds at Scottsdale around fantastic efforts of 68 and 65, which highlights his suitability for the layout.

To up the ante, Noren also finished solo third in one of our correlating events in 2018: the Honda Classic.

Byeong Hun-An – Vegas Odds 60/1 – A lovely of windy and desert golf, ‘Benny’ is a must play this week.

The Korean will be jetting into Arizona from Dubai, where he has just finished T12 at the European Tour’s Desert Classic after compiling a trio of rounds of 68.

We don’t necessarily need to worry about jetlag: the world number 52 played this sequence last year, finishing T6 in Dubai before ending up T23 in this event.

An also banked a top-five in the Honda Classic and lost in a play-off at the Memorial Tournament, so he looks excellent value this week.

Zach Johnson – Vegas Odds 66/1 – In this event, it’s probably worth having some really strong wind players on side in case the forecast is wrong and the breeze does pick up.

ZJ is a winner of the British Open on the Links and has won in Texas and Hawaii; his pedigree in the wind is not up for question.

His form is more head-scratching, with a missed cut at the Sony Open following a top-10 at the RSM Classic.

Johnson’s last outing came at the Desert Classic, where his third round of 64 – only bettered by two players on the day – fired him up the leaderboard.

A Sunday 70 didn’t help matters, but more sustained form seems to be just around the corner.

Abraham Ancer – Vegas Odds 80/1 – The Mexican has been kicked to the curb by the betting market after missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open; he missed a 4ft putt to reach the weekend.

That misstep aside, Ancer is playing some excellent golf right now and has some excellent results to his name in similar conditions to Scottsdale.

He won the Australian Open (think dry, hot, windy) in November, and as a youngster went to Odessa College in Texas; winning numerous tournaments including one called the ‘Desert Shootout’.

T4 in the Nevada desert for the Shriners a few months ago, Ancer will feel at home in Scottsdale.

Talor Gooch – Vegas Odds 100/1 – It’s always slightly dangerous to follow an unproven player in week after week, but sports bettors with the each way option would have banked considerable profit courtesy of Talor Gooch recently.

He followed solo fourth at the Desert Classic with T4 at the Farmers, and those two events could not be any different: the former a birdie-fest, the latter playing three rounds at the tough Torrey Pines South Course.

That suggests Gooch is a versatile player who can hang in any conditions, so there’s no reason why he can’t go well again.

Ranking first for Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and second for Approach this season, the 27-year-old may well be an elite talent in the making.

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

Sleeper Report Predictions This Season (2018-2019)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”3.45%” bar_text=”2 out of 58 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent=”13.79%” bar_text=”8 out of 58 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”37.93%” bar_text=”22 out of 58 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=”8.33%” bar_text=”1 out of 12 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”8.33%” bar_text=”1 out of 12 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”68.97%” bar_text=”40 out of 58 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

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