Three Sleeper Picks for the 2010 PGA Championship

We’re only a few days away from the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, as the final major of the year is sure to give us plenty of drama and excitement. With Tiger Woods not being the favorite for a first time in, well, forever it seems like, there’s the feel that this tournament could be very wide open. Phil Mickelson will be the favorite heading in, as he’ll be looking for that number one ranking, but he’s not the lock that Tiger use to be in his dominant days.

So let’s take a look at a few possible sleepers that could spoil the fun for the favorites this week:

Nick Watney

Followers of the site knew this was coming. It’s no secret that Watney is one of my favorite players on tour, and is usually a guy that I like to pick in the sleeper role for big tournaments. But I don’t do it just because of favoritism. I do it because there’s usually evidence to back up this claim.

Watney’s already performed well at majors this year. Despite a tough performance at Pebble Beach, he finished 7th at both the Masters and the British Open. Combine that with the fact that he hits the ball a mile and is top ten in greens-in-regulation, and he’s got a great chance to be in the mix this weekend.

The key for him will be to get off to a fast start, and try to build on that momentum in the final few rounds. Lately, he’s started a little slow and played catch up on the weekend, but it hasn’t been enough to put him in contention. I think that changes this week, and if he can get the putter going, he’s going to contend.

Jeff Overton

There may not be a hotter player on tour right now than Jeff Overton, who has just been playing some great golf as of late. If you throw out the missed cut at the Travelers Championship at the end of June, Overton has finished in the Top 12 in his last seven events on tour. That’s a pretty amazing stat.

Though he may still be a little irked at settling for a runner-up finish at the Greenbrier Classic, he’s clearly at the top of his game right now, and it would be more shocking for him to be out of the mix than in the mix this coming weekend. He may not be a household name, but with his recent play, there’s no way we can overlook this guy as a strong contender this week.

Like Watney, he’s long with the driver, though his accuracy can be a problem at times. But it’s more about the state of mind right now for Overton, and it’s obvious that he’s as confident as he’s ever been with his game. When you have that kind of mental state heading into a big tournament, you’re likely to fare very well more often than not.

Tim Clark

It’s still hard to believe that Tim Clark has only won once in his PGA Tour career, with that win coming at the PLAYERS this year. While the stats do justice for Watney and Overton as potential sleepers, this pick is simply based on a gut feeling. Sometimes you gotta just go with your gut, and see what happens.

Clark hasn’t been the model of consistency lately, as he’s sort of been up and down after winning in May. In the seven tournaments he’s played since then, he’s finished in the 56-68 range three times, and in the 4-12 range three times, with one missed cut. So it’s hard to really know what to expect from Clark this week at Whistling Straits.

But one thing I do know is that Clark has the game to win here, and he fits the mold in terms of looking for a guy that is due for a major championship. Sometimes it’s best to go where the stats lead you, but in this case, I’ve just got a feeling that Clark is gonna have a big week.

Who are some of your sleeper picks for the week?

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