Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – Valero Texas Open

2018 Valero Texas Open Fantasy Sleeper Report

The strength in depth of talent on the PGA TOUR once again came to the fore at the RBC Heritage.

Even without the game’s big names contending on Sunday, those involved still managed to serve up a thrilling climax in the race for the now infamous tartan jacket. Ian Poulter and Luke List blew their chances – the former to add a second trophy to his cabinet in the space of a month, the latter to add some silverware to an otherwise empty collection.

Si-Woo Kim, the immensely talented PLAYERS Championship winner, stayed in the mix and took on his Asian counterpart, Satoshi Kodaira, in a playoff. Incidentally, the South Korean missed three putts inside eight feet on the back nine to close out victory.

Kodaira doesn’t have PGA TOUR status and was playing on an invite in Hilton Head, but the Japanese star took full advantage to clinch his first title at elite-level via the third extra hole.

When asked afterwards about that tartan jacket, Kodaira replied through an interpreter that ‘he probably wouldn’t wear it that much,’ to much laughter from the assembled press.

Satoshi Kodaira of Japan poses with the trophy after winning on the…

Satoshi Kodaira of Japan poses with the trophy after winning on the third playoff hole during the final round of the 2018 RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links on April 15, 2018 in Hilton Head… Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Onwards the PGA TOUR goes to San Antonio for the Texas Open, often a favorite stop-off for some of the world’s elite – Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed and Rory McIlroy have all finished T2 here in recent years – and yet this year’s renewal is surprisingly lacking in star quality.

Sergio Garcia takes pride of place as the sportsbook favorite, but with the likes of Matt Kuchar, Charley Hoffman and Adam Scott as the ‘next best’ in the betting you already get the sense that an ‘under the radar’ style winner could come to the fore in TX.

Maybe the fact that TPC San Antonio is so tough to play is a factor for the stars staying at home. A long 7,435 yards with many of its downhill holes playing into a wind, this Greg Norman layout can be a real grind with winning marks barely getting into double figures in recent years.

And that wind….how that could prove to be a factor this week. Texas is rarely shy of a breeze, and with wind speeds reportedly set to reach 23 mph this week it could make life rather interesting for the field.

So who is worth backing in this tough-to-call betting heat?

Julian Suri – Vegas Odds 50/1 – In his last start on the PGA TOUR, Suri finished T8 at the Houston Open, and you wonder if in a weaker field he can go even better this week.

The New Yorker has two professional titles to his name on the European Tour (and associated Challenge Tour) and so certainly knows how to get he job done even if he isn’t a household name; similar to Kodaira’s route to success last week.

Long off the tee, the former All-American collegiate has spoken of his desire to gain full GA Tour status, and a victory in San Antonio will surely provide the platform for Suri to do exactly that.

Si-Woo Kim – Vegas Odds 55/1 – Quite how the sportsbooks have fathomed out odds of 55/1 on a player who should have won last week is anybody’s guess.

What price would Si-Woo have been this week if he’d got over the line at Hilton Head? 25/1? 35/1 tops?

It’s a fine line between stupid and clever when it comes to bookmaking, and we’re happy enough to go in again on the South Korean.

His tee-to-green was in fine fettle at the RBC Heritage….just don’t mention that putter. He has played well at TPC San Antonio in the past too, and was solo third at the correlating OHL Classic earlier in the year.

With a bit more room off the tee this week, Kim can let fly off the peg and, hopefully, his precision iron play can get the ball on the right side of the hole. That way his woes with the flat stick will, ideally, become less of an issue.

Harris English – Vegas Odds 80/1 – Ignore those season-long stats, English is playing some ‘sneaky good’ golf right now.

After missing five straight cuts at the start of the campaign, it’s fair to say that the 28-year-old’s game had rather deserted him, but he’s bouncing back at the moment with a few handy confidence-boosters: four rounds of par or better at Bay Hill is worth shouting about, and then he followed that up with a T5 return at the Punta Cana Corales Championship.

To top the lot, English bookended a mediocre middle 36-holes at the RBC Heritage with rounds of 67 and 65; the latter being a Sunday best. If he could just string four good rounds together, who knows how far this former OHL Classic champion can go in Texas.

John Huh – Vegas Odds 90/1 – This 27-year-old has twice finished inside the top-five of the Texas Open, and is a former OHL Classic champion, and given that he roared back to form with an opening round of 66 at the RBC Heritage his selection this week is a no-brainer.

In fairness to Huh, he has been in form for a while. He’s made the weekend in 11 of his last 13 starts, and other than a missed cut at the Valspar Championship he has finished no lower than T32 in his last five starts.

What does he need to do to take his game to the next level? Find more greens, it’s as simple as that. He is excellent with putter in hand, so all he needs to do is create more opportunities. If he can, there is no glass ceiling for Huh.

Matt Every – Vegas Odds 250/1 – When you flick through the rollcall of previous Arnold Palmer Invitational champions, there is a curious name that stands out among the major winners and prolific PGA TOUR trophy grabbers.

The name is Matt Every, a talented sort who, for whatever reason, has never quite recaptured that magic elsewhere.

There have been signs lately that the old mojo is returning. He finished T8 on his last visit to Texas in the Houston Open, and last time out – while a return of T55 at the RBC Heritage is nothing to write home about – note that he triple-bogeyed his first hole of the tournament!

To make the cut from there shows tremendous character, and perhaps the signs that the good times are just around the corner for Every are worth chancing this week.