Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – The Travelers Championship

2018 Travelers Championship Fantasy Sleeper Report

The calm after the storm: literally and metaphorically!

After the wind and the rain that buffeted the players at last week’s US Open, those involved will be delighted to head north to Connecticut and rather calmer conditions for the Travelers Championship.

We can reflect on a history-making Sunday at Shinnecock Hills, where Brooks Koepka became the first man in 30 years to successfully defend their US Open title and Tommy Fleetwood became just the sixth in history to record a round of 63 or better in this competition. Both, you suspect, will have plenty more opportunities to shine in majors in the years to come.

Koepka could write another slice of history if he were to win the Travelers Championship this week; a tough ask given the physical and emotional rigors he no doubt went through at yet another super-tough edition of the US Open. Did the USGA misjudge the conditions once more, or did they get them exactly right in their pursuit of the toughest tournament in golf? The debate rumbles on.

There doesn’t appear to be any lasting hangover for the field at Shinnecock, many of whom will head to TPC River Highlands this week. Jordan Spieth, the defending champion, will be joined by the likes of Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Patrick Reed, who will all be looking to shake off the Shinnecock blues for one reason or another.

At least they won’t be greeted by a monster. River Highlands is oh so short, tree-lined so the wind is kept largely at bay and the Bentgrass greens run at roughly 10.5 on the stimpmeter, so no demons here.

Patrick Reed of the United States putts on the 18th green during the…

Patrick Reed of the United States putts on the 18th green during the final round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands on June 25, 2017 in Cromwell, Connecticut. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

The weather is set reasonably fair for the week in Cromwell, so all in all it’s a nice and friendly way to put the horrors of the US Open behind us.

In the past decade this event has been won by Ken Duke, Kenny Perry, Freddie Jacobsen, Kevin Streelman and Stewart Cink, so it would be fair to say that sleeper picks have a stronger-than-average chance this week! So let’s see who makes our selections:

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The Travelers Championship Fantasy Sleeper Report

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The Travelers Championship Fantasy Sleeper Report

Charley Hoffman – Vegas Odds 50/1 – The Hoff got off to his customary fast start at Shinnecock Hills and was sat in T2 at the halfway stage.

He fell away over the weekend, but once again showed that he can compete with the best – as he did when finishing T12 at the Masters earlier in the year.

The four-time PGA TOUR winner has three top-10 finishes to his name at River Highlands, and his comfort around this layout is clear for all to see. Hoffman grew up on the West Coast, and so he is perfectly capable on Bentgrass.

Brian Harman – Vegas Odds 50/1 – Both Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson have won at River Highlands, which suggests it suits a left handers eye, and a shorter test of green-making suits Brian Harman down to the ground.

He ranks a lowly 152nd for Driving Distance but 16th for Accuracy, so there’s the payoff, and with high GIR (24th) and Strokes Gained: Putting (22nd) stats you’d figure that it’s only a matter of time before Harman adds a third PGA TOUR title to his collection.

That may well come at River Highlands. His previous best finish here was T3 in 2015, and he also has top-10s to his name at a pair of other Pete Dye properties in TPC Sawgrass and Harbour Town.

Patrick Rodgers – Vegas Odds 80/1 – The 25-year-old is prodigiously talented, and he offered another glimpse into what is likely to be a bright future in the game when closing with 67 on Sunday at Shinnecock Hills; only Tommy Fleetwood, Rickie Fowler and Hideki Matsuyama went lower on the day.

Rodgers tends to struggle on second shot courses, and yet bizarrely his irons were dialed in a treat in the US Open; he gained +1.22 on Approach, and his usually reliable putting stroke let him down a touch. But he is typically excellent on the greens, and a switch to pure Bentgrass should suit.

With three top-tens to his name this term, many are just waiting for Rodgers to pop and claim that maiden PGA TOUR win.

Rory Sabbatini – Vegas Odds 150/1 – There has been a concerted revitalization of Rory Sabbatini this season, and amazingly the only missed cut he has suffered since November was in the team-based Zurich Classic.

Almost a third of his starts have yielded top-25 finishes too, and that consistency should aid him in an event where we may witness some post US Open malaise amongst the big boys.

The South African has finished in the top-30 in his last pair of Pete Dye starts, and you’d expect him to deliver another decent performance here.

Si-Woo Kim – Vegas Odds 150/1 – A winner at Sawgrass, defeated in a play-off at Harbour Town….Si-Woo is an obvious play this week.

The 22-year-old is something of an enigma, and you never quite know what you are going to get from him week in, week out.

But the talent is there, for sure, and even in his young dotage the Korean has picked up a pair of PGA TOUR titles.

Si-Woo’s form is up and down but that is par for the course for this young man, who if he brings his A-Game to another Pete Dye layout could contend once again.

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

Sleeper Report Predictions This Season (2017-2018)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”2.00%” bar_text=”3 out of 150 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent=”8.67%” bar_text=”13 out of 150 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”26.00%” bar_text=”39 out of 150 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=”3.33%” bar_text=”1 out of 30 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”3.33%” bar_text=”1 out of 30 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”61.33″ bar_text=”92 out of 150 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

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Cover photo via Instagram