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Barracuda Championship: Top five sleeper candidates at Montreux

By Brandon Raper

RENO, NV - JULY 03: A pin flag on the fifth green during the final round of the Barracuda Championship at the Montreux Golf and Country Club on July 3, 2016 in Reno, Nevada. (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)
RENO, NV - JULY 03: A pin flag on the fifth green during the final round of the Barracuda Championship at the Montreux Golf and Country Club on July 3, 2016 in Reno, Nevada. (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images) /
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Barracuda Championship Chesson Hadley
(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /

We’re going deep to start, with 2014 Puerto Rico Open champion Chesson Hadley coming in at No. 5 on our sleeper list. The 30-year-old Georgia Tech alum looked like something of a can’t-miss prospect after scoring that victory in his rookie year on TOUR, but he’s been on something of a decline ever since.

In 2014, Hadley finished 49th in the FedEx Cup points race. That dropped to a still-respectable 98th in 2015, then 159th in 2016. This year, he’s making just his seventh PGA TOUR start at Montreux, splitting time on the Web.com Tour.

The good news is there, however. In 13 Web.com starts in 2017, Hadley has six top-25 finishes in eight made cuts. He’s currently in eighth place on the Web.com Money List, bolstered by his win at last month’s LECOM Health Challenge. As long as he maintains that ranking, he’ll lock up his PGA TOUR membership again for 2017-18.

Hadley has carried that momentum into his most recent PGA starts, as well. He finished tied for 25th at the John Deere Classic after shooting 64 on Friday, then tied for 27th at the Barbasol Championship. He’s shot par or better in each of those eight rounds, making 19 birdies and an eagle at the Barbasol Championship.

The momentum is all in Hadley’s favor right now. Let’s see if he can get back to where he was just three short years ago.

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