Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier

2019 Military Tribute at the Greenbrier Fantasy Sleeper Report

It’s back we go for another action-packed PGA TOUR season as the Fall campaign gets underway with A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier this week.

Tiger’s Augusta awe, Brook’s brilliance, Rory roaring….the dust has settled on what was an outstanding 2018/19 campaign.

And now the race for FedEx Cup points starts all over again at the Greenbrier, with all eyes on East Lake next summer.

But there’s plenty of golf to be played before then, even if many in the field will recognize that a strong start to the campaign – a la Cameron Champ – can go along way towards securing a deep FedEx Cup run.

Regular golf bettors may be unfamiliar with some names in the betting market this week: 50 players, of whom 25 have qualified from the Korn Ferry Tour’s ranking points system and 25 through the ‘Finals’, will be making their first PGA TOUR start either ever or for some time.

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So business gets underway at The Old White TPC, with the Greenbrier a victim – or a benefactor, depending on your take – of the newly streamlined PGA TOUR schedule.

Shifted from its normal July slot, the Greenbrier takes on a new task as the curtain-raiser for the new season, and this is a fair way to get started given that the layout offers a fair enough test of skills.

Played at an altitude of 2,000′ above sea level, The Old White TPC is a tree-lined track with minimal danger lurking off the tee. The fairways are an average width, and the rough is not exactly penal – albeit it will be juiced up by the incoming rain to White Sulphur Springs.

Instead, this tournament will be won on the second half of holes – accurate approaches matched with precision putting. That’s a formula that the last two winners here, Kevin Na and Xander Schauffele, followed, with their standard high-quality iron play met with a hot hand with the putter.

There’s not a huge amount else to say about this track, which will serve up plenty of scoring opportunities. Remember though that this is a Par 70 layout, and that means there’s just two Par 5s to work with. As such, this will be one of those weeks where Par 4 Scoring comes to the fore.

The field is a strange one this week, as you rifle through a betting market where Viktor Hovland and Jason Kokrak – combined PGA TOUR wins = 0 – are priced at 16/1 apiece.

And there’s further good news: the last six winners of this event have been priced between 40/1 and 400/1, so there’s a genuine chance of a sleeper winner at The Old White.

With that in mind, who makes our sleeper shortlist for A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier.

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A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier Fantasy Sleeper Report

Harold Varner III – 60/1 – HVIII was a surprise leader heading into this event back in July 2018.

He couldn’t quite get the job done, but it was confirmation once again that the 29-year-old has game.

The year 2019 so far hasn’t been the hottest, but three top-10s inside nine top-25s again proves that he is cut out for a strong career at this level.

In his penultimate showing, Varner III finished T3 at the Northern Trust and ranked first for Strokes Gained: Approach, so let’s give the Ohio native a try in an event where long-odds winners are common.

J.B. Holmes – 80/1 – Every once in a while, J.B. Holmes serves up a reminder of just how good he is.

He won the Genesis Open earlier in the year, you may recall, and at the British Open he was well in the mix before his whole world fell apart with a final round of 87.

The Kentuckian struggled to regroup from there, but missing the TOUR Championship might have just rekindled the fire inside.

Any Par 70 or shorter track where Holmes can sheathe his errant driver is good news for him and his backers, and it’s perhaps no coincidence that much of his better work has come at Par 70s.

With a top-10 and four other top-30s at The Old White, there’s no reason why J.B’s slow and steady approach can’t get the job done this week.

Sepp Straka – 80/1 – The Austrian’s best moments came in weak field and alternate events last season, so he should shine in this less-than-illustrious company as well.

Straka finished solo third at the Barbasol, twelfth at the Barracuda Championship and T16 at the Puerto Rico Open, although he did also perform in more established events including the Rocket Mortgage Classic (T11) and the Farmers Insurance Open (T13).

The distinction in Straka’s game is his driving – he ranked fourth for Total Driving on Tour last season, and that will give him the best angles to attack these large Bentgrass greens at The Old White.

Like many quality ball-strikers, Straka’s short game does leave a lot to be desired, but he won’t miss many greens this week and if his flat stick heats up….who knows.

Anirban Lahiri – 100/1 – After a wholly forgettable PGA TOUR season, Lahiri flipped over to the Korn Ferry Tour for the Finals and served up a duel reminder of his talents.

He finished T5 and T7 at the Albertsons Boise Open and the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship respectively – enough to get his tour card back.

With that pressure off his shoulders, the Indian can thrive at a track here he posted a second round of 61 last season to share T2 at the halfway stage.

A seven-time winner worldwide, Lahiri has got the game to win and clearly has the character to boot.

Mackenzie Hughes – 125/1 – There was a stack of weeks where Mackenzie Hughes looked like he might have added to his RSM Classic title.

There were rounds of 65 and 68 in the Charles Schwab Challenge (T8), and the opening rounds of 66 which took him right into the mix of his home Canadian Open.

His season basically fell away from there, but four rounds in the 60s at the Wyndham Championship – including 63 and 66 – took him to the brink of the top-20.

A strong performer that is a class above any in this field on his day, Hughes can contend if he brings his best to West Virginia.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for the Military Tribute at the Greenbrier here.

Sleeper Report Predictions This Season (2018-2019)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”5.91%” bar_text=”12 out of 203 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent=”14.78%” bar_text=”30 out of 203 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”33.99%” bar_text=”69 out of 203 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=”7.31%” bar_text=”3 out of 41 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”17.07%” bar_text=”7 out of 41 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”67.48%” bar_text=”137 out of 203 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

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Cover photo via Instagram