Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2021 Genesis Invitational

The Genesis Invitational Fantasy Sleeper Report

A so-so tournament up until that point, the AT&T Pebble Beach burst into life on Sunday.

When they woke up this morning, the likes of Jordan Spieth, Nate Lashley and Patrick Cantlay will have been scratching their heads as to how they didn’t lift the trophy.

Only one can prevail, of course, and on this occasion that was Daniel Berger, who landed the fourth PGA TOUR title of his career and the second of the past year.

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He did what all good champions did in breezy conditions – he took par when it really mattered (he ended up ranking second for the week for Bogey Avoidance) but went big when the moment called for it; playing his first three holes in -3, and eagling the last, certainly helping on that front.

With clubhouse leader Maverick McNealy watching on glumly, Berger rammed home his eagle putt on the last after stiffing a 250-yard approach shot into 30-feet. On such flashes of genius are these events often decided.

Berger and some of the other key protagonists last week will remain in California for the Genesis Invitational, a high-grade tournament that takes for our annual trip to the unforgettable Riviera Country Club.

This sublime stretch of the Pacific Palisades is the perfect examination of all departments of a golfer’s game. There’s doglegging sightlines off the tee leading to thin fairways and gnarly Kikuyu rough – never a happy combination.

If that wasn’t bad enough, approaches from the grabby rough are made into smaller-than-average Poa Annua greens – indeed, historically these are some of the toughest greens to find and hold on Tour.

Miss in the wrong place and you’re faced with a horrendous chip shot from short-sided positions, so as we say it will take an outstanding all-round display to get the job done.

For context, and by no coincidence, five of the last seven editions of this event have been won by a Masters champion, which given the profile of Riviera and Augusta National is no surprise. Quality short game and putting on tiered greens are just some of the similarities in place.

The problem is that you won’t find many major champions available at sportsbook odds of 50/1 or longer on any given week, however the strong quality on show at Riviera – Dustin, Bryson, Rory, Rahm, JT, Cantlay, Schauffele and many more – means that we can access some tasty odds on some very handy players.

With that in mind, who makes our sleeper shortlist for the Genesis Invitational?

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The Genesis Invitational Fantasy Sleeper Report

Scottie Scheffler – 50/1 – It’s been a curious and bumpy ride for Scottie Scheffler of late.

Breaking down his last five or six appearances on Tour reveals a player on the cusp of something outstanding. A missed cut at the American Express aside, Scheffler has served up top-20s at Augusta and in the Tournament of Champions, T7 at the Phoenix Open (where we ranked him inside the top-five for Ball Striking) and then the madness of his 65-79 at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Predicting his next move is dangerous then, but this is a guy who drives the ball so well and who possesses a really clever short game around the greens – if he can find the other bits, there’s no reason why Scheffler can’t go close this week.

Marc Leishman – 66/1 – It’s been the output of a tremendous amount of hard work, but Marc Leishman is getting back to his best.

It started with T13 at The Masters – a correlating event to the Genesis remember, and has since been backed by T4 at the Sony Open and T18 at the Farmers Insurance Open.

It’s not always been plain sailing for Leishman at Riviera, but a pair of top-fives suggest that at his best this is a layout he can tame.

Kevin Na – 80/1 – Given the quality of the field this week, it seems highly likely that it will take a quality performance to take care of business.

The signs are that Kevin Na is finally combining his undoubted class with that steely determination that proven winners possess – he’s now won four times on Tour since 2018.

Talk about boom-or-bust at Riviera – he’s banked four top-10s and missed four cuts here within his last eleven starts, but we have to assume that the ‘good’ Na will show up given the rosy glow of a win at the Sony Open in his penultimate outing.

Jason Kokrak – 100/1 – An excellent driver of the golf ball, it’s no surprise that Jason Kokrak has thrived on doglegging courses so readily.

Among those has been Riviera, which delivered a T2 return in 2016 and a couple of top-25s since.

Since winning the CJ Cup, Kokrak has downed tools somewhat as far as being competitive is concerned, but T29 at the Farmers represented forward progress. And, as we know, Riviera calls for a specific skillset, of which Kokrak is the proud owner.

Si-Woo Kim – 100/1 – While his form has been completely misplaced since winning the American Express, we expect better from Si-Woo Kim this week.

The Korean has a habit of turning up on Poa Annua greens when you least expect it, and given the class of his short game it’s no surprise to learn that he has a top-five to his name already at Riviera.

It’s hard to undersell just how well Si-Woo played when hoisting the trophy at the American Express, and if he has retained his competitive spirit since this is a guy who can perform on tree-heavy layouts with small greens.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for the Genesis Invitational here.

Sleeper Report Predictions This Season (2020-2021)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”2.50%” bar_text=”2 out of 90 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent= “13.75%” bar_text=”11 out of 90 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”31.25%” bar_text=”25 out of 90 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=0%” bar_text=”0 out of 18 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”12.50%” bar_text=”2 out of 18 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”81.25%” bar_text=”65 out of 90 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

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