North Carolina plays host to the 2017 edition of the Wells Fargo Championship this week. The tournament will be notable for being Dustin Johnson’s first since going absent with a back injury. But while several eyeballs will be on Johnson, the likes of Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, and Adam Scott should also be attracting plenty of attention as well. Read on for more about Johnson, Rahm, and some other players we deem as sleepers and long shots.
Johnson missed the Masters after suffering a freak accident that temporarily impeded his assault for a fourth-straight win. Before missing the Masters, DJ was a house on fire, winning all of his three previous tournaments, not to mention the third-place finish he had at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am back in February. Of course, there are questions surrounding Johnson’s physical readiness following the injury but at +450 to win Wells Fargo, he’s a very tasty pick to lay some serious money on.
Jon Rahm (+1,200)
It’s been a while since Rahm took to a golf course, as he’s last competitive appearance was during the Masters, where he finished tied for 27th. That said, he’s been having quite a strong season and a slightly long rest isn’t likely to diminish his value. Thus far on the season, Rahm has made 11 starts and finished inside the top 10 five times, including a win at the Farmers Insurance Open last January. Since then, Rahm has finished with a T10 or better in four of his next five outings.
High-Value Sleepers
Kevin Kisner (+2,500)
Kisner is carrying some momentum into Wilmington and he’ll look to feed of off it as he searches for his first win of the season. In his most recent start, Kisner placed second at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans late April. Prior to that, he’s had four top 12 finishes in five starts, a stretch that includes a T2 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last March. He’s rounding into form and he’s almost a can’t miss pick at odds of +2,500.
Bill Haas (+3,300)
Haas has gone silent lately, having missed the cut at the RBC Heritage and coming up with just a T36 at the Masters. Those underwhelming outings however shouldn’t drown out the many other strong outings from Haas this campaign. The 13-year pro has seven top 25’s on the season with 2 top 10’s. He recently finished third at the World Golf Championship last March before a drop in form at the Masters and RBC Heritage. Haas will be playing at his home state at Wells Fargo so he should feel a bit more comfortable going around the greens in Wilmington.
Long Shot
Cameron Smith (+5,000)
Sometimes you got ride who’s got the hot hand. And one golfer who seems to be on a roll right now is Smith, who at odds of +5,000 to win at Wells Fargo, is looking like a very good long shot pick. Smith has just won his first event of the season, topping the field at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Before that, he had a T6 at the Valero Texas Open. He’s not going to be a Jordan Spieth overnight but he’s shown, but again, he’s on a streak so it’s not really foolish to throw some money his way.
Writer’s Prediction
Dustin Johnson announces his return with a win in Wilmington.
