Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – WGC-Mexico Championship

2020 WGC-Mexico Championship Fantasy Sleeper Report

With the consciousness just starting to consider the Masters and who may or may not contend there, the Genesis Invitational comes along to remind us of who can thrive at Augusta National.

It would be fair to say that the Riviera club shares plenty of characteristics with Augusta, with the quick, tiered greens leaving many players scratching their heads as putts from inside 10ft miss their target.

Long iron play is another asset at the home of the Masters as it is at Riviera, and that’s perhaps just one of the reasons why Adam Scott was able to end a four-year title drought by claiming the spoils on Sunday.

What was in the water of the Rest of the World team at the Presidents Cup is anybody’s guess, but that’s three Australian winners this season – Scott, Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman – that teed it up in that dramatic event.

To be honest, Scott has been bubbling along nicely at Rivera for a number of years, and the only thing that put most bettors off would have been a lack of competitive golf in 2020.

A change is as good as a rest, as they say, but maybe resting up also has its merits!

The 39-year-old will head south this week alongside a high-quality field for the first WGC event of the campaign: the WGC-Mexico Championship, to be precise, at the Golf Club de Chapultepec.

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This jaunt has a holiday vibe to it, but the business out on the course will be perfectly serious given that many of the world’s leading players will be looking to get a confidence-boosting win in big-time company ahead of major season.

The assignment is perfectly jolly too, with the altitude of some 7400ft above sea level letting players open their shoulder with fairway woods and even long irons and watching their ball pass the 300-yard mark.

The fairways are nice and wide – Phil Mickelson won here in 2018, remember – and only the most wayward of tee shots are gobbled up by the Kikuyu rough or dense three-lines.

The key to success at this layout is approaching these greens, typically with a short iron or wedge in hand. The Poa Annua greens are small in stature but receptive, and so a quality short game is a necessity here – Mickelson and Dustin Johnson (x2) are the last three champions here, which tells its own tale.

DJ, McIlroy, Rahm, Thomas, Scott, Schauffele….this is a high quality renewal, but that’s not to say that a long odds outsider can’t take care of business if they conform to the profile outlined above.

So, here’s our WGC-Mexico Championship sleeper shortlist.

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WGC-Mexico Championship Fantasy Sleeper Report

Matt Fitzpatrick – 50/1 – There was a decent turn from Matt Fitzpatrick at Riviera last week, who was in fine fettle with his irons to secure a below-radar top-30 finish.

It’s only a technical thing but the Englishman tends to play very well at altitude – he’s a two-time European Masters champion in the Swiss mountains, and that skill set should aid his quest at Chapultepec no end.

We’ve mentioned it elsewhere, but you really shouldn’t overlook how important these WGC events are to European Tour players – especially in a Ryder Cup year. The motivation is obvious.

Marc Leishman – 50/1 – We’re very happy to take the 50/1 about a player who won just a matter of weeks ago!

That was a strong performance from Marc Leishman in a high-quality field at the Farmers Insurance Open, so why wouldn’t he be heading to Mexico with bags of confidence.

The hot weather and firm greens will suit the Aussie, whose ball-striking has been excellent of late, and he absolutely has the class and pedigree to win a big event like a WGC.

Brandt Snedeker – 75/1 – At a layout where a lack of length off the tee is no problem given the altitude, but where a quality short game is a must, Brandt Snedeker naturally comes to mind.

He doesn’t feature at the top of leaderboards with the regularity that he used to, but Snedeker still has recent form in the tank with T12 at the Sony Open followed by T3 at the Farmers.

T7 here in his only start to Chapultepec to date confirms that you really could not design a better golf course at which Snedeker can thrive.

Billy Horschel – 90/1 – Short game mastery has been the foundation for Billy Horschel’s excellent career so far, and that can once again shine this week in Mexico.

He was excellent in his T9 return at the Phoenix Open, and interestingly in his last trip to Mexico in the Mayakoba Classic he finished T8.

Majors and WGCs are key for anyone on the fringes of the Ryder Cup team, and Billy Horschel would be filed in that category if he can keep the top-10s coming.

Kevin Kisner – 100/1 – After a slow start to the new season, Kevin Kisner has been grinding away and starting to get the results his hard work deserves.

T4 at the Sony Open not long ago was a welcome return to form, and last time out he played well at the AT&T Pebble Beach – a final round of 75 preventing a better return than T38.

But forward progress is being made, and three top-30s at Chapultepec – with T11 the highlight – suggests he can go very well this week.

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

Sleeper Report Predictions This Season (2019-2020)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=1.18%” bar_text=”1 out of 85 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent= “4.70%” bar_text=”4 out of 85 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”31.76%” bar_text=”27 out of 85 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=”5.89%” bar_text=”1 out of 17 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”0%” bar_text=”0 out of 17 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”63.53%” bar_text=”54 out of 85 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

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Cover photo via Instagram