Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – The John Deere Classic

The Sleeper Report: Fantasy Golf Sleepers, Long Shots, and Undervalued Picks for The 2017 John Deere Classic

The John Deere Classic Fantasy Sleeper Preview

For 54 holes, it looked like the PGA and European Tour winners last weekend were going to be Sebastian Munoz and Daniel Im: combined career wins of zero, and both available at odds of greater than 150/1 with the sportsbook.

In the end, common sense prevailed before the worlds of daily fantasy and sports betting fell in on themselves. Two outstanding young talents overhauled the unfancied duo, and while you may know a bit about a certain Mr. J. Rahm already, for some Xander Schauffele is an exotic new name on the tongue.

But not for much longer. After a slippery, below-the-radar T5 at the US Open, Schauffele has maintained his fine form and exquisite ball striking, and at the Greenbrier Classic he got his just desserts: a first PGA TOUR title in his rookie year, joining Mackenzie Hughes, Cody Gribble and Wesley Bryan in the winners’ circle.

Will another young buck take down this week’s tournament, the John Deere Classic? The history books would suggest not, with two veterans (Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson) dominating the event and two young men who play golf like old guys (Ryan Moore and Jordan Spieth) the most recent champions.

But with one qualifying place remaining for the British Open, which tees off on June 20, the incentive is there for a player of any age to join the field at Royal Birkdale.

What will they need to do to perform well at TPC Deere Run? With that list of former winners outlined above, it will come as no surprise to learn that accurate ball striking and decent putting are absolute pre-requisites. We’re back on Par 71 territory at a sprightly 7,268 yards, with Bentgrass greens keeping the players honest.

The average winning score here has been -20 in the recent past, so the players are well capable of over-powering the course. Indeed, a pair of the Par 4s are driveable – will that be a difference-maker come Sunday?

This is a thin field so finding betting value is tricky, but here’s a selection of sleepers who might just come up with the goods.

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The John Deere Classic Fantasy Sleeper Report

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The John Deere Classic Fantasy Sleeper Report

Mix and match these players with your usual rosters (or play them separately) to get the most out of your picks this week.

Bud Cauley – Vegas Odds 50/1 – It’s a bit of a surprise that Bud Cauley hasn’t opened his PGA TOUR title account as yet; this is a 27-year-old that has 17 top-ten finishes to his name already.

Five of those have come this season, including a T3 at the CareerBuilder Challenge where he finished on -18….Cauley can mix it in a birdie showdown.

He ranks T12 for Strokes Gained: Approach and 32nd for SG: Tee-to-Green, so if it all clicks for Cauley he cut finally get over the line at a course where he finished T8 a year ago.

David Hearn – Vegas Odds 66/1 – The Canadian is starting to trend in the right way with a formline of 14-73-8-10, and as we saw with Schauffele’s win last week that continuous good form can be a pre-requisite for winning weak field events like these.

You’ll find little in his stats to excite you and we’re not wholly convinced that birdie-fests are where he really prospers, but sometimes the numbers can be thrown out of the window. With Hearn finishing T2 here in 2013, this is on such occasion.

In fairness to Hearn, his short game is pretty good and that could be the springboard for another decent showing this week.

Johnson Wagner – Vegas Odds 70/1 – Whether you play daily fantasy or place your bets with the sportsbooks, Wagner has the habit of being a perennial disappointment. So often he plays poorly when all of the evidence suggests he should go well.

With three top-ten finishes at TPC Deere Run in the past three years, we find ourselves in the same boat once again. But we’ve got a nice angle this year in that he finished T5 in his penultimate start at the Quicken Loans National.

A three-time PGA TOUR title winner, Wagner could win this event or finish last. That’s the gamble, unfortunately!

Kelly Kraft – Vegas Odds 90/1 – Another young player seeking the elusive gift of consistency is Kelly Kraft, who boasts the unenviable record of missing more cuts than he has made this season.

But when he is striking the ball well Kraft is excellent: top fives at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and last week’s Greenbrier Classic is evidence of that.

You don’t compile four rounds in the 60s at Old White unless your ball striking is top notch, and Kraft’s SG stats – +3.67 from tee to green and +2.72 on approach – were confirmation of the point.

So, playing like this, Kraft could win the John Deere Classic. He will certainly be looking to make the weekend, which has been the bane of his life this season!

Andres Romero – Vegas Odds 125/1 – Now here’s a bit of a curveball. Andres Romero has found his form over on the European Tour with victory at the BMW International Open followed by T42 at the Irish Open, a turn which featured a round of no worse than 71.

The Argentine is four from five at Deere Run with a best of T21, but with that renewed good form of late and with confidence high he will be looking to build on that.

Not the most glamorous of players, Romero has recorded T18 and T27 on the PGA TOUR this term at the Sanderson Farms and RSM Classic respectively.

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

Cover photo via Instagram