Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2023 World Wide Technology Championship

2023 World Wide Technology Championship Fantasy Sleeper Report

It’s go time for those down amongst the lower reaches of the PGA TOUR’s Fall Series.

Finish higher than 125th in the standings, and you’ll enjoy automatic playing privileges in 2024. Fall below that, and it’s conditional status and occasional event invites that’s the best you can hope for.

So there’s no shortage of motivation and pressure heading into the World Wide Technology Championship this week, before the Fall Series reaches its two-step conclusion at the Bermuda Championship and RSM Classic.

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Tiger Woods… now there’s a guy who didn’t have to worry too much about locking up his tour card. And while we await his return to playing, this week he will be like a proud dad at his El Cardonal course in Cabo San Lucas takes on hosting duties of the World Wide Technology Championship – the first time a Tiger design has appeared on the PGA TOUR.

With Woods on design duties, you might think that El Cardonal would be a classic test – doglegging, tight fairways, well protected greens, the works.

Well, kick those assumptions to the kerb – instead, this is a layout that features some of the widest fairways and largest greens you’re ever going to see at a PGA TOUR event, with just 48 bunkers (around half the normal amount), no rough to speak of and just one water hazard. Tigerish, it ain’t.

Well, it oughtn’t be, at least. We’re expecting this event to become something of a Paspalum putting shootout, particularly with a very agreeable weather forecast in the offing. Yes, El Cardonal should play firm and fast given the lack of rain in the area, but even so we expect this to be a layout that the pros lap up greedily.

Cameron Young, still seeking a maiden PGA TOUR title, identified this week as his return from a ten-week layoff, while Ludvig Aberg will look to continue his incredible ascent – he’s already knocking on the door of the OWGR top-50.

Sahith Theegala, Lucas Glover, Chris Kirk….there’s a pleasing amount of quality in the field, but who will make the most of their first foray into Tiger’s territory? Here’s our World Wide Technology Championship sleeper shortlist:

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Lucas Herbert – 50/1 – If this event does turn out to be a putting contest as we suspect, bettors could be well served by having Lucas Herbert on side.

The Australian is one of the very best in this field with the flat stick, and while his tee-to-green game is inconsistent, that will be less damaging at a layout as forgiving as El Cardonal.

Although he’s rarely shown his best on the PGA TOUR, Herbert is currently ranked 65th in the world from a high of 40th – that shows you the talent he has at his disposal. A four-time winner worldwide, Herbert seems to putt well no matter what continent or country he’s in; that’s a skill that can’t be taught.

Ben Griffin – 55/1 – Hit it close and make some putts: the general idea at El Cardonal is not exactly rocket science, but with so little danger from tee-to-green that really is where the edge will be found.

So step forward Ben Griffin, who regularly gains strokes on the field on approach and when putting. It’s off the tee where his problems lie, hence missed cuts dotted throughout his formline, but the fairways will be so generous this week that the likes of Griffin will have so much more margin for error.

That will let other elements of his game shine, like that thriving iron and wedge game and a sure hand with the flat stick that sees Griffin rank inside the top-50 on the PGA TOUR this term for SG: Putting.

Andrew Putnam – 60/1 – When an out-of-form player heads to a layout that is otherwise ideally suited to their game, it can be fruitful for bettors to stick with them.

Because as far a target golf is concerned, Andrew Putnam has been in fine fettle, for the most part, in 2023 – gaining strokes on the field on approach in 13 of his 20 outings. 

Putnam is normally a sure hand on the greens too, although a reversal of that ultimately led to missed cuts in his last two outings – where, intriguingly, he gained +0.52 and +1.10 strokes on the field on approach in the 36 holes he played.

The normal Putnam, one that plays to his mean level, thrives at El Cardonal. At 60/1, he rates as a value price, all things being equal.

Joel Dahmen – 66/1 – At his very best, Joel Dahmen is a tremendous talent – he wasn’t far from that level with a T7 finish in the Shriners in his penultimate outing, where he gained a mammoth +2.41 strokes on the field with his ball-striking alone.

Putting remains the achilles heel, but it’s notable that some of Dahmen’s best work with the flat stick has been displayed on Paspalum greens – victory in the Corales Puntacana and T3 at Mayakoba just two to mention.

With T7 and T13 finishes in his last two outings on American soil, if a switch to Paspalum greens does precede an improvement on the greens, Dahmen’s potential upside this week speaks for itself.

Sam Ryder – 70/1 – Sometimes in golf betting, it’s the what’s, if’s and maybe’s that are the most tantalizing when handicapping a field.

Sam Ryder ranks 12th and 26th respectively on the PGA TOUR for SG: Putting and SG: Approach – stats which, in their rawest form, suggest that if he can get his act together he will go very close to winning soon enough.

It’s the sort of ability that explains top-fives at the Texas Open and Farmers Insurance Open this term, as well as T7 at the 3M Open at the end of July.

Consistency, that’s the missing ingredient for Ryder. The skillset is clear for all to see, and a player like that – with a decent history on Paspalum greens – surely has to be chanced.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for the World Wide Technology Championship here.

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