Fantasy Sleeper Report – 2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open

The Sleeper Report: Fantasy Golf Sleepers, Long Shots, and Undervalued Picks for the 2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open from TPC Scottsdale.

Event Preview

It’s been dubbed “The Greatest Show on Grass” and this weekend’s Waste Management Phoenix Open is surrounded by hype.  There’s already a tangible buzz in the air with the Super Bowl being played just five hours away in nearby Glendale and Tiger Woods announcing his season debut for the tournament.  That bodes well for the WM Phoenix Open which is expected to draw 600,000 people over the weekend, setting PGA records in the process.

The Par 3 #16 is arguably golf’s most exciting hole this side of #12 at Augusta, resembling a rock concert more than a tee off.

The real big story this week is the return of Tiger Woods to the course as he hasn’t made an appearance at the event since 2001 when he finished tied for 5^th and will surely hear it from the crowd on the 16^th where he famously made a hole-in-one back in 1997.

Arizona State alum, Phil Mickelson, will also make his way back to this tourney which he has won three times in the past, and where he is always a crowd favorite.  A big omission from the field will be defending champion Kevin Stadler, who shot 16-under par last year and just edged out Graham DeLaet and Bubba Watson to take home the trophy.

With a star-studded cast going into this great event, let’s take a look a few players who could surprise everyone and string together four low-scoring rounds.

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The Sleeper Report

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The Sleeper Report

In an effort to continually provide our Premium Members with the best fantasy content anywhere on the web, this week we’ve added a bonus “Sleeper Report” to help you identify the undervalued, long-shots that can help you score some bonus fantasy points this weekend.  Mix and match these players with your usual rosters (or play them separately) to get the most out of your picks this week.

Charles Howell III  – Bovada Odds 66/1: At 66/1 odds, not many experts are expecting much from CH3 this weekend.  It’s not hard to see why either, as the 35-year-old finished 26th and 56th in back to back weeks at the Sony Open and Humana Challenge.  Still Howell has already played in seven tournaments this season which gives him a big ‘rust factor’ advantage over rest of the WM Phoenix Open field.  Taking into account Howell III’s T6 finish in Scottsdale last year—including a final round 65—proves CH3 is definitely comfortable in the desert.

Shawn Stefani – Bovada Odds 66/1: Stefani missed the cut in his only start at this course back in 2013, but has piggy-backed on a successful campaign last season and been hotter than the Arizona sun over his last four events.  In that time he has shot better than a 70 in 12-of-16 rounds and has hit more than 70% of GIR in each of his past five performances; putting him at 11th on tour this year with 75.4% of greens hit in regulation.  He certainly seems to be finding his groove, and despite carding a 75 on Thursday at last week’s Humana Challenge, he still managed to finish in 15th place after an Friday ace and a bogey-free round of 63 on Saturday—his best score in his PGA career.  Look for Stefani to put his past missed cut at this event behind him and come out hot this week.

Sang-Moon Bae – Bovada Odds 75/1: All the teenagers are calling their significant others ‘bae’ these days and at 75/1 odds it’s easy to fall in love with the golfer of the same name this weekend.  As long as past performances don’t dictate future results, the South Korean could be in for a big weekend.  Bae finished 61st at the WMPO last year which is a regression from 48th at the 2013 event.  Still, Sang-Moon has finished in the top 6 in three of his last five starts this season and currently ranks 4th in overall FedEx Cup standings.  If that trend holds up Bae could be “before anyone else” when Sunday night arrives.

Boo Weekley – Bovada Odds 80/1: Weekley had an off year last season as he carded just one top-10 finish and finished 111th in the overall FedEx Cup standings.  He already has two single-digit performances in the 2014-15 campaign and was the runner-up at the Sanderson Farms Championship back in early November.  Boo dominated the par-5s in those solid showings, going 22-under par in the long holes over the eight rounds, as he hit better than 67% of GIR each time.  He doesn’t depend on his putter much, but rather gets to the green with more efficiency than most, gaining 1.32 strokes from tee-to-green and consistently performing under pressure—as evidenced by his final round scoring average of 68.0 (13th on tour) this season.  Weekley has seldom played at this event in recent years, making it to the desert only four times since 2007, with his best finish being ninth-place back in 2008.  He may not be a very sexy pick anymore for fantasy, but while everyone else sleeps on the veteran, it may be a good idea to sneak him into your roster.

Matt Every – Bovada Odds 150/1: Every was disqualified at the Sony Open due to playing a shot with a bent club from his bag, but he shows all the skills needed to finish high on the leaderboard in Scottsdale.  He should also feel rather comfortable at this course after finishing 37th here last season, and shooting 17-under par in 2013—good enough for a top-10 standing.  His strength is his tremendous putting as he currently ranks seventh on tour with 1.03 strokes gained with his flat iron, which has aided him in needing just 27.5 putts per round (4th on tour) and converting 35.5% of his birdie or better chances (19th on tour).  Every will have a fire lit underneath him after last week’s club blunder and could putt his way to a single-digit finish come Sunday.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions?  Check out our full fantasy preview for this week’s 2015 WM Phoenix Open here.

(Cover Photo Credit)