Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2022 Zurich Classic

2022 Zurich Classic Fantasy Sleeper Report

What can you say about Jordan Spieth that hasn’t already been said!?

There can’t be many guys who are capable of winning PGA TOUR events when one aspect of their game is so off, but Spieth defied his putting woes at the RBC Heritage – he lost 0.62 strokes to the field in that department – to clinch a long-awaited win.

Spurred on by missing the cut at The Masters, Spieth delivered a tee-to-green game clinic at Harbour Town. Despite making just 13 birdies, he was able to scramble, gouge and grind his way into a playoff with Patrick Cantlay, and would have inwardly been delighted when his opponent plugged his iron shot at the first extra hole deep into the sand.

A tartan jacket, a sizable paycheck, a new trophy and a cuddle with his six-month old son….not a bad day at the office for Jordan.

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The cut-and-thrust of the PGA TOUR is put to one side for this week for the Zurich Classic, where golfing pals are paired together in a bid to get a win on the board in Texas. They’ll play two rounds of foursomes – or alternative shot as you may know it – and two rounds of four balls, where they choose which drive they want to play the hole from.

As you might imagine, with such an emphasis on driving there is an element of strategy at play amongst the pairings, but they will also have to factor into their thinking that this is a Pete Dye layout – TPC Louisiana, that is – that has some of his usual hallmarks.

The Bermuda greens are on the small side, as you would expect, and there is a fair old lashing of sand on the real estate – more than 100, apparently. Don’t forget too that TC Louisiana is built on an old wetlands site in Avondale, and so the 7,425 yard Par 72 actually plays a tad longer in reality due to a lack of ball run.

Trying to read anything into the former champions of this event is fraught with misinterpretation. Cameron Smith is a two-time winner – first with Jonas Blixt in 2017, and then with Marc Leishman last year. The Aussie is a grinder….an attribute he shares with the 2018 winner, Billy Horschel, who was paired with Scott Piercy.

And then you have the winning duo of Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer in 2019 – two longer, straighter hitters you couldn’t wish to see. So all sorts can get it done at TPC Louisiana….although our preference is for ball-strikers, given the two formats played tend to reward quality from tee-to-green in both players in the pair.

The Zurich Classic was once a bit of knockabout fun on the PGA TOUR – an event for those who, perhaps, didn’t have anything better to do with their time. Now, you’ve got pairings like Morikawa & Hovland, Cantlay & Schauffele, Scheffler & Palmer and Smith & Leishman….there’s quality at every turn, and it’s a pretty fun watch too.

But who will get their four hands on the trophy this week? That’s a pretty interesting question given all the variables, but nonetheless here’s the Zurich Classic sleeper shortlist that we have put together.

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Seamus Power & Graeme McDowell – 50/1 – The long and straight hitting, consistent putting, birdie making style of Seamus Power would be the ideal partner in this format, and he could pull fellow Irishman Graeme McDowell along with him this week.

Power, with four top-10s and a steady T27 at The Masters, has really broken through this season, while Gmac still occasionally appears on the top page of leaderboards even at his advanced years.

Absolutely comfortable in the wind, McDowell fired three rounds in the 60s at the RBC Heritage to act as the ideal warm up.

Patton Kizzire & J.T. Poston – 50/1 – How about this pair heading to Louisiana after a strong week in South Carolina?

J.T. Poston finished T3 at the RBC Heritage and ranked fifth and tenth respectively for SG: Off-the-Tee and Around-the Green. And while Kizzire was lower down the leaderboard at T26, he ranked 11th and 20th for SG: Around-the-Green and SG: Putting.

So, between them, they just have to figure out how to hit some irons….it’s handy then that Kizzire ranks 40th on TOUR for SG: Approach this season.

Poston off the tee, Kizzire on approach….it might just work out nicely for them.

Keith Mitchell & Brandt Snedeker – 66/1 – It’s frustrating that Brandt Snedeker missed the cut at the RBC Heritage because a) we tipped him for a good week, and b) it has shaken our confidence in him this week too.

But he has a strong partner in Keith Mitchell here, and in both formats they can work well together – in better ball, the emphasis will be on one of the TOUR’s best drivers in Mitchell. Even when Sneds is floating his 280-yard tee shots out, note that Mitchell is also very strong when hitting long distance approaches.

Plenty will rely on Snedeker upping his game, you suspect, but he played well at the Texas Open a few weeks ago, so here’s hoping.

Cameron Tringale & Wyndham Clark – 70/1 – If golf was a simple game, this Tringale-Clark duo would be very appetizing indeed.

On the better ball Par 4s, you’d have a combination that reads Clark-Tringale-Clark – that’s a set-up which ranks third on TOUR for Driving Distance, 38th for SG: Approach and 39th for SG: Putting.

The obvious plot-hole is in the alternative shot format, where Clark’s below-par approach play will have to make the best of Tringale’s errant driving.

But there’s complimentary skills here, and with generous fairways at TPC Louisiana you would hope that the duo’s key asset – Clark’s length and Tringale’s short-range irons – can thrive.

Matthew NeSmith & Taylor Moore – 100/1 – Here’s an interesting duo with plenty of upside.

Matthew NeSmith is so good from tee-to-green that he really could challenge for PGA TOUR titles if he had some putting lessons – you may recall his T3 effort at the Valspar Championship, which was met by T12 at Harbour Town this week just gone.

As for Taylor Moore, T8 at the RSM Classic and four other top-25s this term hint at what he is capable of, and if nothing else it’s good to have a Texan on board when the TOUR heads to the Lonestar State.

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

Sleeper Report Predictions This Season (2021-2022)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”3.33%” bar_text=”4 out of 120 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent= “16.67%” bar_text=”20 out of 120 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”20.00%” bar_text=”24 out of 120 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=”4.167%” bar_text=”1 out of 24 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”4.16%” bar_text=”1 out of 24 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”57.50%” bar_text=”69 out of 120 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

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Cover photo via Instagram