Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2020 Sanderson Farms Championship

The Sanderson Farms Championship Fantasy Sleeper Report

If life is about sensing opportunities and taking them with both hands, then we have to pay an immense amount of respect to Hudson Swafford.

A player whose career on the PGA TOUR was on the skids from a run of just one top-20 finish since January 2019, Swafford not only defied his lack of form at the Corales Punta Cana Championship but showed tremendous strength of character to go on and lift the trophy too.

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That was despite a double bogey on the back nine on Sunday that would have derailed the charge of far more illustrious talents, and the 8ft clutch putt he made to complete the win showed incredible fortitude. Whether he knew it or not, it probably saved his career at the top level.

Maybe that’s what these early season events are all about – serving up chances for faded stars to revitalize their careers. It certainly worked for Stewart Cink and for Jim Herman not too long ago as well!

So maybe that’s an angle of attack here at the Country Club of Jackson this week for the Sanderson Farms Championship, where the betting market leaders are Scottie Scheffler, Sungjae Im and Louis Oosthuizen – all classy operators, but not (as yet) prolific champions.

One thing that is for certain is that this golf course will not present any major issues. You couldn’t wish for wider fairways, and these Bermuda greens – while running pretty fast – are receptive enough even after renovation work from John Fought back in 2008.

When your recent rollcall of winners includes Cameron Champ and Ryan Armour – two players who couldn’t be any more opposite – you know that there’s likely to be one key factor: a great week with the putter, whether that’s a player performing to their SG: Putting baseline or far beyond their normal level.

With a fairly benign weather forecast, we’re expecting a winning score of late teens to early twenties under par, and as mentioned this will be about hitting the jackpot with a player whose putter is red hot this week – there’s ample opportunities for a sleeper winner this week to follow in the footsteps of Swafford, Cink and co!

So, who makes our Sanderson Farms Championship sleeper shortlist?

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The Sanderson Farms Fantasy Sleeper Report

Luke List – 50/1 – This is the kind of golf course that Luke List should gobble up….well, if he finds a way with his putter, anyway!

He certainly struck his putts with more authority at the Corales Punta Cana last week where he finished T8, and that was arguably his best showing since golf’s resumption.

But we shouldn’t diminish the potential of a guy who won the Korn Ferry Challenge earlier this year, and who has sixteen top-10 finishes on the PGA TOUR to his name. List’s ball-striking is not in question, and if he can heat up on these Bermuda greens then who knows what might follow….

Xinjun Zhang – 55/1 – Nobody made more birdies at the Corales Punta Cana Championship than Xinjun Zhang.

Now, that might not blow your socks off as facts go, but it shows that a Chinaman with a love of golf in the south of the United States heads to a favorite stomping ground in fine fettle.

Zhang won the Dormie Network Classic in 2019 on the Korn Ferry Tour that was played in Texas, and in the same year he also finished T3 in Knoxville and Louisiana. He was T4 in his debut year on the PGA TOUR at the Houston Open, so clearly there is a trend developing for a player who loves making birdies in this part of the world.

Si-Woo Kim – 55/1 – If you were asked to draw up a list of the ten most talented golfers in this field, most would find a place for Si-Woo Kim – thus making his odds of 55/1 here great value.

Inconsistency is what prevents the Korean from really kicking on and a wayward nature off the tee, but there’s good news for his backers on both fronts.

Four top-20s since the restart, including T3 at the Wyndham Championship that, arguably, he should have won, is a welcome trend of repeated form. And even in his T44 at the Safeway Open, there were rounds of 65 and 66, so this is a guy not far from finding his absolute best.

And as we know, the Country Club of Jackson isn’t going to penalize you too much off the tee, and that should let Kim’s exemplary iron play really shine.

Richy Werenski – 80/1 – An excellent short game propelled Richy Werenski to his maiden PGA TOUR title in 2020 and a run through to the BMW Championship of the FedEx Cup playoffs, and his class in the scoring phase of the game of the game should stand him in excellent stead this week.

Werenski ranked 57th for Birdie Average in the season just gone, and that is perhaps why he was able to win the Barracuda Championship under stableford conditions – going under par is a regular occurrence for the 28-year-old.

That also explains why his best performances come on golf courses that are there for the taking – T3 at TPC Twin Cities (3M Open) and The Old White (Greenbrier Classic) are testament to that. Werenski should enjoy the scoring opportunities on offer at the Country Club of Jackson.

Bud Cauley – 80/1 – While the big breakthrough has never quite happened for Bud Cauley as far as winning PGA TOUR events is concerned, he remains a high-quality operator with an enviable short game.

His prowess around and on the greens enables him to make some low scores when the mood takes him, and the expansive fairways at the Country Club of Jackson will limit the damage caused by his weakness with the big stick.

T14 last time out at the Safeway Open, Cauley banked five top-25s last season too including T15 at the Wyndham Championship. Here, where conditions should suit, we’d expect to at least another of those to his collection.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for Sanderson Farms Championship here.

Sleeper Report Predictions This Season (2020-2021)

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