2015 Sony Open Fantasy Sleeper Picks

By Danny Norris | Jan 13, 2015

We have our first full field for the 2015 PGA Tour calender year and all in all, it’s a pretty decent field. A lot of the golfers we saw last week will be playing this week, as you might expect, and we have a number of notable golfers who made the trek. Which includes, Luke Donald, Ryan Palmer, Charles Howell III, Marc Leishman, and Kevin Na, just to name a few.

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In terms of fantasy picking, this year things look like they’ll be a little different. In order to draft some of the top tier golfers on your roster, you are going to have to spend a pretty penny. For example, this week, Jason Day is the most expensive golfer and he is going to cost 16,000!

At the PGA Championship last year, Rory McIlroy was the most most expensive at 11,600. Five golfers, including Day, are worth more than that this week. Finding quality fantasy sleeper picks way down the list will be more important than ever.

So, with that said, let’s see if we can spot a few sleeper picks at the 2015 Sony Open.

Brian Stuard- I’ll be very surprised if Brian Stuard isn’t one of the most owned golfers this week. On paper, Stuard looks like such an obvious pick that it’s kind of too good to be true.

Stuard is a very cheap pick up and has one of the better records at Waialae. Last year, Stuard led after 36 holes, but couldn’t hold on as he finished 6th. In 2013, he finished T-5, and in 2010: T-25.

When you factor in price, value, course history, Stuard may be the best pick, on paper. Plus, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that before the season started I picked him to win. So, we’ll see what happens.

Brian Harman- If you’re looking for a golfer in the below-average salary range, I’d give Brian Harman a look. Harman is coming off a decent enough showing last week finishing T-17, but what I really liked was the fact that he shot a final round 65.

He played in a tournament that is pretty harsh on newbies, yet he handled himself well. While he has an okay record at the Sony Open (2014: T-32, 2013: MC, and 2012: T-39.) I like the momentum he is coming in with.

He’s knocked the rust off, he’s been in Hawaii for a full week now, he won’t have to deal with any sort of jet lag, and overall, I believe he’ll have a solid showing.

Jason Kokrak- Last year, it seemed as though there would be one or two golfers that weren’t priced right. It was as though they were compiling the list and then they realized “Oh, wait a minute…didn’t we forget so and so…” and basically just stuck ’em somewhere. This year looks to be no different.

Jason Kokrak had a quality year last year, unfortunately, he had some injuries along the way that sidelined him for a good two months. However, it looks like he’s past those injuries and is healthy.

During the fall swing, he made the cut in four of five tournaments and finished T-20 at Sanderson Farms and T-16 and the OHL Classic. Plus, you can throw in the fact that Kokrak finished T-20 at the Sony Open last year.

I’m not sure why he’s priced this low, but I don’t really care for the why. He is and I’m not complaining.

Daniel Summerhays- You know what I said about Jason Kokrak? Well, the same applies to Daniel Summerhays. I believe they just got tired after awhile and said, “Screw it.” and just put the last 50 golfers anywhere.

At 5,700, Daniel Summerhays may be the golfer with the most value this week. Summerhays is a really quality golfer and has that distinction of being one of the best golfers on Tour without a win. For the 2014-2015 season, Summerhays hasn’t missed a cut yet. He is 5 for 5 for this year with his best finish coming in Mexico at the OHL Classic where he finished T-29.

Also, Summerhays has a quality resume at the Sony Open making the cut in three of four tournaments, including a T-46 last year and a T-34 in 2011.

When you get this deep into the list, you aren’t looking for winners. You just want golfers who you can trust. Of all the players around this price range and lower there is no one would I would trust more than Summerhays.

Next: Fantasy Picks For The Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship