Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – Wells Fargo Championship

2019 Wells Fargo Championship Fantasy Sleeper Report

We are just two weeks or so shy of the PGA Championship, and already thoughts are turning towards what should be a fine tournament played at the unforgettable Bethpage Black. It’s a renaissance for this event given its new slot in the schedule, and it will be exciting to see the world’s best go at it in full flow and with motivation high.

There’s still some business to contend with in the interim period, and first up is this week’s outing at the Wells Fargo Championship, with the PGA TOUR pivoting to Charlotte, North Carolina for its annual run-out at the Quail Hollow club.

J.B. Holmes watches a drive during the WGC-Dell Technologies Match…

J.B. Holmes watches a drive during the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play on March 28, 2019 at Austin Country Club in Austin, TX. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Ironically, this layout hosted the PGA Championship in 2017, but it was back to Wells Fargo duty 12 months ago and Jason Day was the player to prosper most. The Aussie posted a total of -12 to take the title ahead of Nick Watney and Aaron Wise in second.

The last four champions here have been Day, Justin Thomas, James Hahn and Rory McIlroy, and with no dig intended at Hahn, generally it’s the classiest of operators that tend to thrive at this track.

Another thing they have in common – Hahn aside – is an ability to launch the ball long distances off the tee. Quail Hollow is 7,560 yards long, and so there’s not much to recommend backing shorter hitters this week.

There’s not a huge amount to trouble the players since a whole bunch of trees were removed from the fairways, and the Bermuda greens run at a fairly stodgy pace so there will be plenty of birdie opportunities accepted.

Indeed, with the winds forecast to be down and some rain around, there could be some low scores posted: Peter Uihlein recorded a -9 here on Saturday a year ago.

They will have to watch out for the closing trio of holes: Quail Hollow’s own ‘Green Mile’. A 506-yard Par 4, a Par 3 seventeenth with an almost-island green and a closing Par 4 with hazards everywhere means that our champion will have to go through the mill to get their hands on the trophy.

Here’s a squad of Wells Fargo Championship sleepers that might well get the job done for their backers this week.

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Wells Fargo Championship Fantasy Sleeper Report

J.B. Holmes – There tends to be no rhyme nor reason to Holmes’ form, and that’s why we can discount his lethargic run of late.

The Kentuckian hadn’t recorded a single top-20 in four previous starts prior to rocking up to the Genesis Open and winning earlier in the season, and besides which his T62 at the Masters last time out isn’t as bad as it appears: 70-72-74 is a very respectable way to start your challenge for the green jacket. A final round of 80 less so.

But Holmes has won at Quail Hollow before, and so there will be plenty of positive thoughts running through his mind ahead of the first tee. And this is a guy who tends to show up at the same layouts year on year: he’s twice won the Phoenix Open, for example, and has won and lost a play-off at the Houston Open.

Byeong-Hun An – A missed cut at the RBC Heritage last time out has seen the Korean’s odds drift here with the sportsbooks, but we’re willing to forgive An for a rare aberration.

Prior to that he had banked a pair of top-10s in his previous three strokeplay events, and so that’s good news for pessimistic bettors, i.e. those who take each way prices, and the more braggadocios outright winner punters.

The formula is a simple one here: An hits the ball a long way off the tee, and according to the PGA TOUR’s stats he also happens to be the best chipper in the game. The Florida native will be comfortable on the east coast, and we expect an instant improvement from him this week.

Aaron Wise – One of the consistently longest hitters on Tour is always likely to enjoy his work at Quail Hollow, and that proved the case for Aaron Wise 12 months ago.

Sitting T2 at the halfway stage, he also grounded out a tough round of 69 on Sunday – one of the best on the day – to ensure a share of second place.

Two weeks later he was winning the AT&T Byron Nelson, so clearly this is a juncture of the season that appeals to his game.

The 2019 campaign has been a tough one for the 22-year-old so far, but green shoots of recovery were franked by a fantastic weekend at Augusta: 68-67 saw him climb to T16 for another outstanding payday.

Kevin Streelman – There has been a genuine upturn in the form of Streelman lately, and for a player with T9 and T14 finishes on his docket at Quail Hollow we are naturally intrigued.

The 41-yar-old is a solid tee-to-green merchant, so it’s something of a surprise that he hasn’t won more during his career, but no matter because a pair of T6s at the RBC Heritage and Texas Open is a handy angle in.

Indeed, some would suggest that Streelman is too short a hitter to really thrive at Quail Hollow, but Greg Norman’s TPC San Antonio – host venue of the Texas Open – is a long old stretch and the  world number 125 still did the business there.

With 39 career top-10s on the PGA TOUR but just two wins, Streelman is something of a nearly man. But could his recent renaissance deliver another trophy to his collection?

Joel Dahmen – This young man continues to impress with his social media postings and his golf, more importantly, and he continues to edge towards something more substantial on the PGA TOUR.

He missed four cuts in a row earlier in the campaign, but the switch to east coast golf on Bermuda has suited Dahmen nicely.

Since then he’s finished T12 in the PLAYERS Championship and T16 at the RBC Heritage, and even in his T69 at the Texas Open there were rounds of 67 and 70 to admire.

The extra length of Quail Hollow won’t scare this fantastic driver of the ball, and if conditions are benign he is able to score at an excellent rate.

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

Sleeper Report Predictions This Season (2018-2019)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”4.24%” bar_text=”5 out of 118 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent=”14.41%” bar_text=”17 out of 118 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”34.75%” bar_text=”41 out of 118 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=”4.16%” bar_text=”1 out of 24 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”12.50%” bar_text=”3 out of 24 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”64.41%” bar_text=”76 out of 118 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

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