Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2020 Masters

The 2020 Masters Fantasy Sleeper Report

How’s about this for a statistic: since the U.S. Open, five of the seven PGA TOUR events held have been won by players priced at 100/1 or higher by the sportsbooks!

Carlos Ortiz was the latest inductee into that particular hall of fame having triumphed in the Houston Open, holding off the likes of Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka to land his maiden title in the big leagues. That suggests he will be a sleeper play to follow in the weeks and months to come.

So what are the chances of a long-odds winner this week at The Masters? Well, in the past four editions Patrick Reed and Danny Willett were priced at 50/1 ahead of their respective triumphs and Sergio Garcia was 40/1, so it’s certainly not impossible.

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Of course, much will depend on how the picturesque Augusta National plays in this revised November timeslot. Rory McIlroy went on an exploratory mission there on Saturday, and he reported a golf course in outstanding shape but that is softer than usual, and with more rain forecast this week the venue’s industry-leading Sub Air system will need to be cranked up to the max.

Because, ultimately, it is the rapid Bentgrass greens that make Augusta a complex test for all the players, and if these aren’t running as fast as possible then you do worry about the difficulty of the layout – Jordan Spieth won here in -18 not all that many moons ago.

One thing we do know for sure is that it will be a physical slog this week. Augusta always plays long anyway for its near 7,500 yards because the grain of the grass points towards the tee box, which slows drives down and prevents ball run to some extent. Factor in a squidgy landing, should it rain as much as is being suggested, and length off the tee – as well as physical fitness – could become even more essential than normal.

Otherwise, it’s the usual combination of factors to consider when shortlisting potential winners, and clearly being able to get the job done is key – albeit, remember that no patrons will be on site this week sadly, and so while we’ll have no repeat of the extraordinary scenes that made Tiger Woods’ win all the more special last year, it will mean less pressure heading down the closing stretch too with no galleries to ramp up the tension.

Much of the focus will be on Bryson DeChambeau this week – how will his game fare at a soft Augusta? – while the storylines of Rory McIlroy looking for the career grand slam and Dustin Johnson attempting to finally slide into the Green Jacket will also pervade.

There won’t be many long-odds candidates taking the headlines, but we have drawn up a shortlist of sleepers for The Masters 2020 who we believe can enter the conversation.

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The 2020 Masters Fantasy Sleeper Report

Adam Scott – 50/1 – At times during the Houston Open, Adam Scott was delivering something of a ball-striking masterclass, and while his form eventually tailed off it was a timely reminder of the Australian’s talents.

After all, he is a former Masters champion, and he’s another for whom the electric greens of Augusta hold no fear.

With no missed cut here in ten attempts and four top-10s in that time, it’s almost irrelevant what form Scott heads to Augusta in – he routinely delivers, and so it is still a real advantage for him to be heading to Georgia in high spirits.

A prolific winner worldwide, Scott found his mojo earlier this year when triumphing in the Genesis Invitational, and nobody would be surprised if he was renewing acquaintances with the Green Jacket on Sunday.

Matthew Fitzpatrick – 66/1 – It’s funny that with Tyrrell Hatton becoming more prolific and Tommy Fleetwood attracting interest wherever he goes, there has been a downturn in attention for Matt Fitzpatrick.

And yet, at one time he was considered the most talented Englishman around, and he continues to work hard on his game under the radar.

Since the resumption of the PGA TOUR following the coronavirus pandemic, Fitzpatrick has put together a run of six top-20s – five of them coming in the States, including eye-catching shows at the Memorial (solo third), BMW Championship and WGC St Jude (both T6).

If The Masters becomes a foul weather dogfight, Fitzpatrick has experience of such conditions on the European Tour and he might just be ready to step out of the shadows of Hatton, Fleetwood and co.

Sungjae Im – 80/1 – Trackers of Strokes Gained data will know that Sungjae Im has been striking the ball beautifully of late, and it’s only been a lack of touch on the greens that have prevented him from improving on a mediocre set of results.

So, the logic is that if he putts better he will go along very nicely indeed, but that didn’t exactly hold weight at the Houston Open where he was much improved with the flat stick but let down from tee-to-green.

But let’s take stock for a moment. Im is clearly hitting the ball well, and a switch to slicker greens last week yielded the improvement with the putter that his supporters were looking for.

If both elements of his game come together, at the very worst the Korean will look a very good value 80/1 selection, that’s for sure.

Shane Lowry – 80/1 – T11 at the Houston Open last week, what was interesting about Shane Lowry’s performance was that his typical Achilles heel – mid-range iron play – actually became something of a strength.

How repeatable is that? We’ll certainly find out this week, but if the Irishman does continue his solid approach game – allied to his long driving and reliable short game – then the results could be very interesting indeed.

The Irishman doesn’t have the best of records at Augusta, but the different conditions this time around will surely suit Lowry’s typically European game.

Lee Westwood – 110/1 – Wouldn’t it be quite something if Lee Westwood won The Masters with nobody around to see it!?

Remember, this is a guy with six top-10s at Augusta and a catalogue of near misses within them, and in its own way Westwood winning The Masters would be on a par – for quite different reasons – with Tiger’s triumph 18 months ago.

And why couldn’t it happen? An epiphany at the turn of the year saw Westwood take the game less seriously, and his free-spirited approach since has led to victory in Abu Dhabi and a litany of strong performances on both sides of the Atlantic – T4 at the Honda Classic and T13 at the U.S. Open the obvious highlights.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for 2020 Masters here.

Sleeper Report Predictions This Season (2020-2021)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”0%” bar_text=”0 out of 45 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent= “7.50%” bar_text=”3 out of 45 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”24.44%” bar_text=”11 out of 45 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=0%” bar_text=”0 out of 9 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”0%” bar_text=”0 out of 9 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”77.78%” bar_text=”35 out of 45 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

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