Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – THE PLAYERS Championship

The Sleeper Report: Fantasy Golf Sleepers, Long Shots, and Undervalued Picks for THE PLAYERS Championship

THE PLAYERS Championship Sleeper Preview

Few non-majors quite get the adrenaline pumping quite like THE PLAYERS Championship.  It has the prestige of being a long-serving PGA TOUR event – over 25 years in fact – and serves up a prize kitty to match.

But it is the lure of taming the legendary TPC Sawgrass, against an elite field, that must surely drive on the players at the upper echelons of the game.  The last three winners here are either major champions (Jason Day, Martin Kaymer) or, you suspect, one day major winners (Rickie Fowler), and that brings with it its own level of intrigue.

Once again the iconic status of THE PLAYERS Championship has brought together an outstanding field.  You won’t find many players in the world’s top 50 that haven’t made the trip, and that brings with it plenty of intriguing narratives….

Jason Day triumphed here 12 months ago after going wire to wire, an effort which included a course record 63.  Will he rediscover his best form here?

What about Dustin Johnson?  The pressure is really on him to maintain his incredible recent form at a track that he typically does not enjoy.

The top table is completed by Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, and Hideki Matusyama, and the shorter, all-round nature of this track should suit those guys.  Can any of that trio prevail?

It really is a fascinating prospect, and with the weather set mostly fair we cannot wait for it to unfold.

Of course, as sports bettors many of us seek a slightly higher priced player or two to have a flutter on, rather than those at the top end of the market.  With that in mind, here’s five fantasy sleepers who could go well at some tasty odds.

[membership level=”0″]

THE PLAYERS Championship 2017 Fantasy Sleeper Report

You must be a Premium Member to view our exclusive fantasy golf picks.

Already a member?  Sign in Here.

[/membership]

[membership level=”1,2,3″]

THE PLAYERS Championship 2017 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.

Matt Kuchar – Vegas Odds 66/1 – A Floridian by birth, it is perhaps no surprise that Matt Kuchar has tended to enjoy himself at Sawgrass.  A former winner here in 2012, Kooch also finished third 12 months ago and looks well primed to go close once again this week.

He always seems to play well in windy conditions – T4 at The Masters and T11 at the RBC Heritage, both since the start of April, are testament to that.

Kuchar has always excelled on courses where players have to pick their way around with clever ball placement rather than brute strength, and while he isn’t the best putter in the world he does improve exponentially on Bermuda surfaces.

He doesn’t win as many events as he should given his ability, but as Brian Harman proved last week patience is very much a virtue in the hunt for silverware.

Martin Kaymer – Vegas Odds 75/1 – The general consensus is that Kaymer is slowly returning to the kind of form that saw him become a two-time major champion, and on a course he has triumphed on before the good vibes should keep on coming this week.

The German won this event in 2014, and that’s no major surprise given that he is one of the best players around from about 150 yards to the hole.  Stick a short iron or wedge in Kaymer’s hands and watch the magic unfold.

His form is easy to like too.  Ignoring the WGC Match Play, Kaymer has gone for six-for-six this term with four top-25s in among those, and a T32 last time out at RBC Heritage was rather spoiled by a third round of 74.

One of the most accurate drivers around, Kaymer also scrambles really well and, at his best, putts rather nicely too.  He’s a contender this week for sure.

Pat Perez – Vegas Odds 100/1 – Perez had to watch on with immense frustration from the clubhouse as Brian Harman sunk his winning putt at the Wells Fargo last week, but that T2 finish was the fifth top-10 return he has delivered in just 14 starts this term.

Remarkably, Perez has made the cut in all 14 events he has entered (overlooking one WD), and as consistency goes you won’t find much better: 9/14 have ended with a top-25 finish.

His triumph at the OHL Classic was not an end point for his resurgent form, with further top-fives at the Tournament of Champions, the Farmers Insurance Open, and Wells Fargo to come, plus a fine showing at Augusta where he finished T18 after two rounds under par.

Wes Bryan – Vegas Odds 150/1 – This will be Wes Bryan’s first look at TPC Sawgrass as a PGA TOUR pro, and hence why both DraftKings and the sportsbooks have been quite skeptical about his chances.

But what’s not to like?  The RBC Heritage champion has a fantastic short game – his knack of getting up and down from around the 150-yard mark is outstanding – and that skill set should stand him in very good stead here.

His form since February onwards has been outstanding: four top-10s in eight starts confirming that Bryan is a cut above the rest of the most recent Web.com graduates.  Actually, whisper it, but Bryan could well be a major contender one day at a US Open or PGA Championship.

A missed cut at Wells Fargo is something of a worry, although the 27-year-old has already confirmed his love of Pete Dye designs so this test should suit him much better.

Billy Horschel – Vegas Odds 200/1 – Billy Ho has gone from a FedExCup winner to a sort of ‘boom or bust’ character who is capable of playing well but only really when it suits.

Even so, those odds of 200/1 are outrageous for a player who tends to thrive on classic ball striker’s tests.

Horschel has played Sawgrass for the past four years, and while his 2013 efforts can be overlooked since then he has gone 28-13-26, which suggests he is close to a very big run at this event.

Florida born and bred, Horschel would love to return to the winners’ circle this week, and a player able to find as many greens as he does surely has a chance.

[/membership]

Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for THE PLAYERS Championship here.

Cover photo via Instagram