My Three Sleeper Picks for the PGA Championship
By Blake Lovell
We’re going full speed ahead here at Pro Golf Now this week, in preparation for the PGA Championship that begins on Thursday at Hazeltine.
In today’s preview, we’re going to take a look at some of my sleeper picks heading into the tournament, and why you should take them seriously when it comes to making your tournament predictions.
And please note, there isn’t a perfect definition for what a “sleeper” is. I just like to think of a sleeper as a guy who isn’t as well-known, and isn’t a household name so-to-speak.
With that in mind, let us begin!
PGA Championship Sleepers:
1. Hunter Mahan
There are several guys who have been playing great golf consistently heading into the week. Tiger Woods is certainly one of those guys. Stewart Cink seems to still be hitting his stride, despite the layoff after the British Open. Steve Stricker has been towards the top of the leaderboard quite a bit lately, and is playing some of the best golf I’ve seen him play.
And then there’s Hunter Mahan. He finished tied for fourth at the Bridgestone Invitational this past week, and shot a 66 on the final day in doing so.
His performance at majors this year? Tied for sixth at the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black. Tied for tenth at the Masters. And missed the cut at the British Open (but hey, so did Tiger). I’d say that’s not too bad a resume right there. Oh, and he’s finished in the top ten a total of six times this year. Again, not too shabby for a 27 year old.
This is a guy who is just begging for his first major. He’s been playing so well as of late, and this would be the perfect time for him to breakthrough and become a major champion. If Lucas Glover can do it, so can he.
Mahan may not be the definition of a “sleeper” pick in theory, but he’s still a name people tend to forget about, especially when there is such a loaded field like there is this week.
If he can continue to be above average in terms of hitting greens in regulation, I give him a serious shot at making a run at the PGA Championship this week.
2. Ian Poulter
You wanna talk about a guy that’s been knocking at the doorstep for quite a while now, let’s look no further than Poulter.
Here’s a guy with four top ten’s this year, including a second place finish at the PLAYERS Championship earlier this season. He’s also played well at two of the three majors this year, finishing tied for 20th at the Masters, and tied for 18th at the U.S. Open.
How did he fair at the British Open? Missed the cut. Go figure.
But Poulter is just a gritty player and when he’s rolling, you better look out. He played well for the most part at the Bridgestone last week, with a 74 in the second round being the only thing that held him back from seriously competing in the tournament.
I think that Poulter’s driving accuracy will play a big role in the tournament this week. If he can put the ball in the fairway on a consistent basis, I think he makes a run at top. I believe he’s already got good enough iron play and short game to compete. If he put himself in good situations on his second shot, he’s a strong pick.
And well, even if his iron play is off, he’s proved to be one of the best scramblers in the game today.
If he can find a way to put it all together, we may be seeing Ian Poulter in serious contention for the championship on Sunday.
3. David Toms
Ok, some of you may think I’m crazy with this pick, and that’s fine. But sometimes you just get a hunch that a guy is going to play well. And I think that is the case this week for Toms.
The 42 year old is a solid player. He really is. He may not drive the ball 300 yards, but he’s a smart enough player that he can make up for that.
He currently stands at 12th in the FedEx Cup standings, and has had seven top ten’s this season. He shot three rounds of 69 last week at Firestone before shooting a 73 on the final day, which tied him for 22nd for the tournament.
He didn’t play in the Masters, and missed the cut at the U.S. Open and British Open. Heck, he even missed the cut the last time the PGA Championship was played at Hazeltine in 2002.
So why am I picking him, you may ask. Well, in a year of complete uncertainty in major championships, I say why not. He’s a very good player, and has been playing some pretty decent golf as of late.
There’s going to be one player that surprises us all out there, as we’ve seen in every major this season.
Toms has the accuracy to do it, and if he can make some key putts, it wouldn’t shock me to see him in the top ten heading into the weekend.
Well those are a few of my sleeper picks for the week. Would love to hear yours as well!