Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2021 Memorial Tournament

The 2021 Memorial Tournament Fantasy Sleeper Report

Occasionally, golf has the ability to cause an almighty shock.

Jordan Spieth, in form and chasing victory on his home Texas turf, carried a decent lead heading into the final round of the Charles Schwab Challenge, and he seemed a shoe-in to convert yet another victory.

But he hadn’t catered for his own nerves and the rock-solid ball striking of Jason Kokrak, whose standards did not drop from the moment he compiled an opening round of 65 on Thursday.

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Three bogeys in four holes undermined Spieth’s ambitions and put some lead in Kokrak’s metaphorical pencil – he kicked on, Spieth couldn’t react in time and so the big man strolled to a second title of an excellent season.

From one old classic golf course to another – we’re swapping Colonial Country Club in the Lonestar state for Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio for the Memorial Tournament.

This is the stretch known as Jack’s Place, and the great man Nicklaus has his fingerprints all over a layout that provides a stern test of all departments of the sport.

Muirfield Village is one of those great stretches that hasn’t needed to lengthen its holes in order to remain competitive. Instead, some fairway bunkers have been added, but otherwise this is a layout where the DNA remains true to Nicklaus’ original vision.

The tree-lined fairways are protected by sand and drink – some eleven holes are informed by a water hazard, and so danger lurks at every turn. The rough is typically thick and juicy and thus best avoided, while the Bentgrass/Poa Annua mix greens are such that certain specialists tend to come to the fore on the dancefloor.

This is the proverbial fairways and greens golf course, for which Nicklaus is famed, and so the best in the business are expected to thrive – not that long odds backers should throw in the towel, as 60/1 Bryson DeChambeau (yes, 60/1!) prevailed here in 2018 and William McGirt triumphed here in 2016 at a staggering 200/1.

There’s no shortage of star names, however, with both of the winners at the course in 2020 – Collin Morikawa (the Workday) and Jon Rahm (Memorial) – along for the ride with Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Justin Thomas and more.

Bryson will be back, trying to win in a rather different fashion to three years ago, although he won’t be jousting with Brooks Koepka, sadly, who is having the week off.

It’s a fantastic golf course with an outstanding field, so there’s every reason to be excited about the 2021 Memorial Tournament. And here’s our sleeper shortlist to really whet your appetite.

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The 2021 Memorial Tournament Fantasy Sleeper Report

Keegan Bradley – 60/1 – Ranking fifth for SG: Tee-to-Green at Muirfield in the Workday and delivering two top-10s, Keegan Bradley loves it at this stretch.

And that’s interesting, because he’s been playing excellent golf for some time now. Bradley has finished no lower than T30 in any of his last seven starts, and that’s a run which includes a solo second at the Valspar and T17 at the PGA Championship.

Bradley likes the greens at Muirfield – that’s always half the battle with him – so there’s every chance he can go well this week.

Sungjae Im – 66/1 – An outstanding driver of the ball, Sungjae Im’s odds have tumbled in recent weeks due to a perceived lack of form.

But actually….is it all that bad? Within his last five starts, he’s finished T13 at the RBC Heritage and T17 at the PGA Championship, which does not come across as a player in the doldrums.

He should keep the ball in play better than most this week, and if his irons are on point then Im can contend at a surprisingly inflated price.

Billy Horschel – 66/1 – While not at his best off the tee, Billy Horschel’s short game was in good order at Colonial and that could propel him back into contention this week.

In his last three trips to Muirfield, Horschel’s formline reads 13-7-9, and you can see why this layout would suit a player of his fairway-finding nature.

A player that is comfortable on these Bentgrass/Poa Annua mix greens, Horschel is in good spirits with top-25s at the PGA Championship and RBC Heritage and he can benefit from that in conditions that suit.

Marc Leishman – 80/1 – While Muirfield Village isn’t strictly a less-than-driver golf course, Marc Leishman has thrived here on numerous occasions in the past.

And that’s because he can sheathe the big stick and instead focus on finding fairways – almost a bonus for the classy but occasionally errant Australian.

The strong suit of his game is hitting laser-like approaches, and those have helped him to two top-5s and a catalogue of other decent performances at this Dublin stretch.

T5 in The Masters a matter of weeks ago, Leishman could be an 80/1 bargain this week.

Cameron Tringale – 100/1 – It wasn’t long ago that Cameron Tringale was priced at 40/1 and shorter to win PGA TOUR events.

For a guy yet to break his duck, those odds were way too short – and yet his form kinda deserved such a status.

Tringale delivered a string of fine performances in the spring, serving up a trio of top-10s and a T13 as he edged closer to a maiden win.

It didn’t happen back then, but now at 100/1 – and at a layout that suits his ball-striking game – Tringale is very much back on the radar.

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

Sleeper Report Predictions This Season (2020-2021)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”2.50%” bar_text=”4 out of 160 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent= “10.63%” bar_text=”17 out of 160 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”25.63%” bar_text=”41 out of 160 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=3.13%” bar_text=”1 out of 32 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”6.25%” bar_text=”2 out of 32 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”66.25%” bar_text=”106 out of 160 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

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