Memorial Tournament: 5 sleeper picks for Muirfield Village

Sung Kang — No. 84

This South Korean was absolutely rolling before running into a buzzsaw at the Dean and DeLuca Invitational — Colonial has been known to trip up young, powerful hitters like Kang, and they can’t all be as impervious as Jon Rahm. It’s not a guarantee, but look for Kang to get right back on the horse at this week’s Memorial Tournament.

Again, Kang has been playing some superior golf this spring, reeling off four top 20 finishes in his last six starts. That stretch includes a solo second at the Shell Houston Open and a tie for sixth at the Valero Texas Open, so he’s come dangerously close to securing that winner’s exemption. With his sluggish short game, it’s no surprise that he ended up tying for 57th at Colonial, but Muirfield Village should prove much more hospitable to his style of play. He still ranks 35th on the PGA TOUR in strokes gained: off-the-tee as well as 24th in scoring average, so he should have plenty of opportunities this week.

For Kang, this week will be a crucial test of resilience. If he performs, he’ll reestablish himself as one of the PGA TOUR’s hotter players, but if he falters, it will be tough to recover. Let’s see what happens.