For PGATour.com’s Rob Bolton, one name immediately jumps into mind when it comes to the sleeper front for this week’s Dean & DeLuca Invitational. And that name is Kyle Reifers. He loves playing at Colonial as evidenced by his fifth-place finish here last year. Reifers played some solid golf in that tournament, leading the field in both GIR and proximity to the hole.
Sung Kang is another golfer who has caught the eye of Bolton. Since his runner-up performance at the Shell Houston Open last month, the 29-year-old is perfect in individual competition with four top-20s. For the season, the Korean is tied for 46th in greens in regulation, 34th in strokes gained: putting and 26th in adjusted scoring. Kang, who is pegged at +6,000 to win this week, will be making his third appearance at Colonial.
Blayne Barber’s another guy who’s playing some solid golf as we speak. The 27-year-old tied for 16th in his last start at the Players Championship. He will look to keep the momentum going at Colonial, the site of his 34th-place finish last year.
Rounding out Bolton’s sleeper picks are Ben Martin and Chris Stroud. Both golfers have stellar records here at Colonial. Martin is 3-for-3 in this particular tournament with a T21 in 2014 and a T10 in 2015. His odds of winning the Dean & DeLuca Invitational are priced at +8,000. Stroud, on the other hand, has recorded top-15s in four of the last five editions of this tournament. Stroud’s scoring average during that span is 68.83. Not bad for a PGA Tour veteran who’s still chasing his first trophy.
Golfweek
Sleeper Picks
Bud Cauley
Chris Kirk
Nick Watney
Looking for a worthy sleeper? How about Bud Cauley? According to Jeff Babineau, Cauley’s in a rich vein of form, nabbing top-10s in each of his last four starts. He finished tied for fifth at at last week’s AT&T Byron Nelson. Colonial has been kind to Cauley as well with the Florida native going T-21 and T-41 in his last two starts here. He is pegged at +2,500 to win the Dean & DeLuca Invitational this week.
Brentley Romine, on the other hand, favors Chris Kirk to do well this week. He has a good record here, capturing the tournament victory in 2015. Kirk’s game is peaking at exactly the right time, tying for 12th at the Players Championship. Rounding out Golfweek’s sleeper picks is Nick Watney. He’s playing some solid golf of late, nabbing top-15s in four of his last nine starts. For the season, Watney is ranked 43rd in driving distance, 61st in GIR percentage, and ninth in sand save percentage.
