Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2017 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

The Sleeper Report: Fantasy Golf Sleepers, Long Shots, and Undervalued Picks for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

2017 WGC-Bridgestone Invitiational Fantasy Sleeper Preview

After the wet and wild fun and games of the Canadian Open, the PGA TOUR gets serious with a two-week run of tournaments that will really separate the men from the boys.

Before attention turns to the fourth and final major of the calendar year, the PGA Championship at the ever-impressive Quail Hollow, there is the perfect warm-up event this week courtesy of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Host venue Firestone GC is a decent test of credentials, requiring long, straight hitting (Par 70, 7,400 yards with penal rough), accurate iron play (smallish greens that are hard to hold when dry and firm), and a decent week with the flat stick (these Bentgrass/Poa Annua greens run at 13 on the stimp when dry). Basically, this is the perfect test of your all-round game ahead of a tricky assignment at Quail Hollow.

This is a WGC contest, so most of the world’s finest players from all corners of the globe are present. British Open champion, Jordan Spieth, will be looking to win his third consecutive title, while Rory McIlroy will be looking for somebody, anybody, to take on bag duties after parting with his previous caddie JP earlier in the week.

Dustin Johnson is still short of fitness according to Butch Harmon, and the likes of Jason Day and Henrik Stenson appear crippled by a lack of confidence, while Sergio Garcia will be basking in marital bliss after getting hitched over the weekend.

So in some ways this tournament appears wide open, although historically there have been two types of winners: class acts (DJ, McIlroy, and Tiger Woods are all recent Bridgestone victors) and grinders, with Shane Lowry, Keegan Bradley, and Darren Clarke all winning when conditions were at their toughest.

There has been rain predicted in the forecast which will simultaneously lengthen the course and soften the greens, so power hitters could enjoy an advantage, but then again we might witness a grindfest of golf at its toughest.

So who is made of the right stuff to tame Firestone and head to the PGA Championship full of confidence? Let’s take a look at some of this week’s best sleepers to find some hidden value for your fantasy roster.

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WGC-Bridgestone Invitational Fantasy Sleeper Report

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WGC-Bridgestone Invitational 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.

Tommy Fleetwood – Vegas Odds 50/1 – If the mission is to hit laser-guided bombs off the tee and then pepper the greens, the basic tenets of Tommy Fleetwood’s game suggest he could give it a good go this week.

The Englishman did well in finishing T27 at his home Open Championship given the extra media scrutiny, and prior to that he had just come off the back of a fourth place finish at the US Open.

A two-time winner this year on the European circuit, Fleetwood is just starting to realise his potential and turn high finishes into wins. With a second to his name in a WGC event already this term, maybe that trend will continue in Ohio.

Branden Grace – Vegas Odds 50/1 – We have written at length about Branden Grace’s potential, and that record-breaking round at Royal Birkdale was further proof of his credentials.

The South African couldn’t quite follow up that mesmeric round of 62 to complete his first major victory, but a T6 return was just desserts for another fine showing on one of the sport’s grandest stages.

Grace has now not finished outside the top 50 anywhere since The Masters in April, with four top-25s in his last six starts including two top-10s and a T11.

Intriguingly, he has shown a tangible improvement at Firestone too (10-17-23-65-36).

Zach Johnson – Vegas Odds 70/1 – If the weather does become a little fruity on Thursday and Friday then Firestone could become a real grind, and at this point hitting fairways and sensible course management will be the name of the game.

In this scenario few excel quite like Zach Johnson, whose season was kickstarted with a fine showing at his favorite John Deere Classic. He followed that with T14 at the Open Championship, which included a sublime round of 66 while all else around him floundered. All is well in the ZJ camp!

You might think this track is too long for him, but eight top-25s in twelve starts here – four of which were top-10s – suggests otherwise.

Thomas Pieters – Vegas Odds 70/1 – This outstanding young talent has been quiet for too long, so let’s wager that Thomas Pieters returns to form with a bang this week.

The Belgian has a top five in a WGC event to his name already this term (T5 in Mexico), and a T4 finish at The Masters confirms that while his driving accuracy stat is pretty poor he can find fairways when he reins in his natural instincts for all-out bombing.

Although a T44 return at The Open Championship doesn’t sound all that great, two rounds in the 60s show that he played some good stuff at Royal Birkdale. If he carries that confidence to Ohio, he could be quite a handful.

Xander Schauffele – Vegas Odds 125/1 – This young man’s game has gone from strength to strength in the past few months, with a T5 return from the US Open clearly a catalyst for the 23-year-old’s almost immediate ascent to golfing manhood.

His maiden PGA TOUR title soon followed at the Greenbrier Classic, and in his last outing he recorded a more than useful T20 at the Open Championship – we don’t suppose the Californian has played much Links golf!

Schauffele has delivered some outstanding tee-to-green stats this season, and with a victory on Bentgrass to his name we don’t need to worry about his abilities with the putter.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational here.

Cover photo via Instagram