Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – The Memorial Tournament Presented by Nationwide

The Sleeper Report: Fantasy Golf Sleepers, Long Shots, and Undervalued Picks for The Memorial Tournament Presented by Nationwide

The Memorial Tournament Fantasy Sleeper Preview

It’s been a long time coming, but the bridesmaid finally became the bride last week when Kevin Kisner took down the Dean & Deluca Invitational.

He saw off the challenge of Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm to slightly rebalance a career record that now reads two wins and six runners’ up finishes. Questions about Kisner lacking in intestinal fortitude? We can put all that to bed now.

Another player who has passed the gut check is William McGirt, who landed the Memorial Tournament title 12 months ago after outlasting Jon Curran in a playoff. McGirt’s triumph was based upon a fine performance that minimised mistakes while those around him fumbled.

The host venue for the Memorial is Muirfield Village, designed by that classic ball striker Mr. Jack Nicklaus. The course reflects his desire to provide an all-round test in his home Ohio state, and you’d have to say the great man has come up with the goods.

Muirfield Village is a Par 72 measuring 7,392 yards, but an extra bit of length hasn’t been prohibitive to the shorter hitters over the years. The likes of Matt Kuchar, David Lingmerth, and Steve Stricker have all hoisted the Memorial trophy, and that suggests accuracy and course management are two valuable attributes around here.

It was hitting greens at all costs that drove McGirt on a year ago, and while his driving wasn’t particularly great his scrambling and Greens in Regulation stats were. He putted well on the Bentgrass greens too, and as mentioned minimised the errors. With an expected winning mark of around -15 (weather permitting), bogeys are not ideal.

Speaking of the weather….the early forecast is not great for Dublin, Ohio. We’re expecting thundery rainstorms, humidity and the swirling winds that storms bring, and so that might just need to be factored in when making your draft this week.

So who are the five key sleepers to watch out for this week? Let’s dive in…

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The Memorial Tournament Fantasy Sleeper Report

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The Memorial Tournament 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.

Webb Simpson – Vegas Odds 55/1 – It will be of immense frustration to Simpson and his followers that the former US Open has lost the ability to, well, win.

Leading by three strokes at Colonial with 18 holes to play, Simpson managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and settle for a finish of fifth. That followed what unfolded at the RBC Heritage, where an opening trio of 66-68-68 was followed by a final round of 74 to again compound the misery.

So punters are taking a punt on a player with a pair of top-15s to his name at Muirfield Village, but the encouraging thing is that Simpson is getting into the mix.

Brian Harman – Vegas Odds 70/1 – After taking down the Wells Fargo Championship for his maiden tour win, Harman suffered the traditional regression of first-time winners in his next start with a T53 at THE PLAYERS Championship.

But the 30-year-old returned pretty quickly to form with a T7 at Colonial, a showing which featured three rounds in the 60s and a Sunday best of 65.

After three missed cuts at Muirfield Village Harman finally cracked the code here 12 months ago with a T33, and don’t forget McGirt’s best prior to his win at the course was T37.

Emiliano Grillo – Vegas Odds 75/1 – The Argentine is putting really nicely at the moment, and that is usually the Achilles Heel of a player who really excels from tee-to-green.

That’s usually the sign that a strong performance is just around the corner, and that is backed by the knowledge that Grillo finished T11 here on debut 12 months ago.

The 2017 campaign has been one where a number of newcomers have shown their teeth, and while Grillo has been around for a bit longer than those guys now is the time for him to turn potential into silverware.

Bill Haas – Vegas Odds 80/1 – It’s not a surprise that Haas has performed well at Muirfield in the past, such is the strength of his scrambling and recovery game. Three top-20s in his last four trips – including a triumvirate of 18-8-4 – speaks volumes.

The folically-challenged Haas had been in poor form with three consecutive missed cuts, but T12 at Colonial was a welcome return to confidence.

Haas has either won or finished second in each of his last four seasons, and this track looks a decent place to extend that record.

David Lingmerth – Vegas Odds 125/1 – The 2014 Memorial champion has bumped into some decent form of late, with a trio of top-20s in three of his last four starts: T14 at the Zurich Classic, T18 at Wells Fargo and T12 last time out at the Dean & Deluca.

Most impressive about his showing at Colonial was his putting, where the Swede ranked T3 for Putting Average. That Bentgrass form should stand him in good stead at a course where he has won before.

A decent showing from a GIR perspective at Colonial (T21) confirms Lingmerth as one to admire this week.

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

Cover photo via Instagram