Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2021 3M Open

The 2021 3M Open Fantasy Sleeper Report

There are stacks of different facts and stats about Collin Morikawa doing the rounds following his win at the British Open, but this is the only one you need – the kid is an absolute star of this sport.

He became the first player to win two different majors at his maiden attempt at Royal St Georges, where he showed once more than when these world-class ball strikers find something with the flat stick they are very, very difficult to stop.

Typically an event where grizzled veterans do best, Morikawa actually fought off two former British Open champions in Jordan Spieth and Louis Oosthuizen, and in the end he looked comfortable doing so.

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With five wins in 51 PGA TOUR starts, the 24-year-old is going nowhere fast – he will have world domination in his sights, and will take some stopping.

Many of those who took part in the Open Championship will now head off for something slightly different – representing their country at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Others will hang around in the UK and enjoy the rare hot weather there, while for the select few a different assignment awaits….

Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Louis Oosthuizen will swap the Links for a trip to Blaine, Minnesota to contest the 3M Open.

They will be met with jolly post-major fare – lots of sunshine, lots of birdies and plenty of good times in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

That seems like a decent place to introduce the host venue this week, TPC Twin Cities. This layout features a staggering 27 water hazards, ranging from sumptuous lakes to tiny ponds. But the main takeaway is that few of these are in play unless you are particularly errant off the tee or on approach.

There’s some 72 bunkers too, but again these are a minor inconvenience and the winning scores here – Michael Thompson’s -19 last year which followed Matthew Wolff’s -21 in 2019 – are indicative of how scoreable the layout is.

The Par 71 track, designed by the great Arnold Palmer, features three Par 5s at around the 600-yard mark and three Par 4s under 400 yards, and remember that the fairways – wide and unforgiving – have plenty of run in them, so there are so many birdie and eagle opportunities available at this real estate.

With a benign weather forecast – keep an eye on that as it develops – we’re expecting a super-low winning score, but with the main contenders suffering (potentially) from a major hangover, who is the most likely to succeed?

We’re certainly not writing off the chances of a few long odds outsiders, and so in that spirit here is our sleeper report for the 2021 3M Open.

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The 2021 3M Open Fantasy Sleeper Report

Patton Kizzire – 50/1 – If you were asked to nam the top-five on the PGA TOUR this season for SG: Putting, who would you go for?

Two of the candidates – Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka – speak for themselves, while you might have guessed Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns too given their consistent seasons.

But Patton Kizzire? It might seem an odd one, but it goes to show how effective he can be in non-Par 72 events.

We particularly like him on large greens where his chipping game isn’t exposed, and given that Kizzire has been in reasonable form – two T3s, a T11 and a T25 in his last seven starts – he has to be worthy of consideration here.

Rickie Fowler – 50/1 – Perhaps news of a renaissance in Rickie Fowler’s game was premature, but there has certainly been signs of improvement.

T8 at the PGA Championship and T11 at the Memorial was a happy little run, and while he hasn’t hit those heights since note his closing 65 at the British Open – amongst the day’s very best rounds.

We know that Fowler enjoys Bentgrass greens, we know – at his best – he has an excellent putting stroke and is a tremendous driver of the ball. If he can put all of the elements together, he could well contend in Minnesota.

Luke List – 55/1 – A tremendously talented ball striker, the mysteries of putting have prevented Luke List from truly fulfilling his potential on the PGA TOUR….so far at least.

But the big hitter has shown signs of life lately, and back-to-back top-10s at the John Deere Classic and Barbasol Championship show that he has found something on the greens.

Indeed, rounds of 71 in both of those events have undermine his efforts in lifting a TOUR trophy, but if he can somehow find a way to fall over the line than there’s no doubt that List has the ability to put himself in that kind of position.

Patrick Rodgers – 66/1 – There’s been an improvement in Patrick Rodgers’ game of life, and you wonder if that will finally bring him the PGA TOUR title that he will feel is long overdue.

Prodigiously long off the tee, Rodgers is something of a bomb-and-gouge merchant, but he will enjoy the more expansive fairways of TPC Twin Cities which will afford him the rare gift of approaching the green from the short grass.

Besides which, he has actually shown more nuance in his play of late, and that has led to T5 and T23 finishes at the Barbasol and the John Deere Classic. Could that run herald something even better in Minnesota?

Beau Hossler – 120/1 – In a five-event stretch, Beau Hossler’s formline reads 15-MC-25-10-19. You can probably guess which of those we drafted him in….

The Californian will appreciate extra room off the tee at TPC Twin Cities, and that will enable him to focus on the best strong to his bow – getting his ball to the green in as efficient a fashion as possible, before showing off that metronomic putting stroke.

At home on Bentgrass greens, as you would expect from a West Coast native, Hossler is delivering consistency in abundance at the minute – good news for his backers.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for the 2021 3M Open here.

Sleeper Report Predictions This Season (2020-2021)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”2.56%” bar_text=”5 out of 195 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent= “10.25%” bar_text=”20 out of 195 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”24.61%” bar_text=”48 out of 195 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=5.12%” bar_text=”2 out of 39 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”5.40%” bar_text=”2 out of 39 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”60.51%” bar_text=”118 out of 195 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

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Cover photo via Instagram