With the 2020 edition of The Masters coming next week, a number of stars are ready to go for this year’s Houston Open, in hopes to get the kinks out and prepare for a new challenge at Augusta. With stars like Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau and others in this week’s field, the need to pick key sleepers becomes a more important task. This leads me to my PGA DFS Houston Open Sleepers, which will suggest cheaper DraftKings alternatives to couple with the top names.
Oh, and obviously, the term “SLEEPER” can be interpreted in a number of different ways. In this case, it’s the lower cost players that stand out in key statistical areas, specifically the 6K Range on DraftKings.
Before I present this week’s sleepers, a few additional notes:
- This year’s Houston Open is at Memorial Park Golf Course, a redesign by Tom Doak. Brooks Koepka was an advisor – and yes, that’s intriguing.
- This course has a unique layout featuring five Par 5’s and five Par 3’s. Yes, there will be some modeling that focuses away from the Par 4’s (to a degree).
- Keep in mind that this tournament falls the week prior to Augusta. Higher profile names will be looking to round into form heading into The Masters
- Current weather forecasts do not outline any rain or heavy winds, but instead comfortable weather and low-key conditions
- This appears to be more of a strategic layout and not one that bombers will dominate
- Translation: All distances off the tee are to be considered
Now that we have that out of the way, this is no time for FORE-play at The Wife Hates Sports, but time to focus on a list of PGA DFS Houston Open sleepers.
I ran a few models on Fantasy National featuring my favorite stats for this event (last 36 rounds played for the field). Based off that data, here are my top 6K range sleepers on DraftKings:
PGA DFS Houston Open Sleepers: Top 6K Range Picks on DraftKings
Will Gordon (DK: $6,400 – Primary Model Rank: 23)
Gordon bounced back with a T34 finish at the Bermuda Championship last week. With that momentum headed into this week’s tournament, Gordon is also 9th in the field in SG: Off the Tee (last 36 rounds played). He is also 6th in Birdie or Better Gained and has solid ranks on both the Par 5’s (19th) and Par 3’s (22nd). His recent putting form isn’t great, but at this cost, one good week on the greens – coupled with his recent form off the tee and a few breaks – is all it will take to vault him into contention.
Scott Stallings (DK: $6,900 – Primary Model Rank: 24)
Stallings cracks the top ten in the field in SG: Approach (last 36 rounds). Also, over the last four weeks, he has a T26 finish in last week’s Bermuda Championship and a T6 at Sanderson Farms. His form at the Houston Open is nothing to write home about, but again, this will be played at a different course. Throw in the fact that he’s 20th in the field in strokes gained on Bermuda greens, and Stallings is appealing statistically heading into this tournament, especially as a 6K range guy.
Jhonattan Vegas (DK: $6,600 – Primary Model Rank: 33)
Vegas ranks a bit lower in the model, but he’s still reasonable compared to the size of the field. Throw in the fact that Vegas is 5th in the field in both SG: Off the Tee and Birdie or Better Gained. That showcases his ability to get hot in stretches. Vegas does have a pair of top 20 finishes at the Houston Open over the last four years, so there’s some positive history playing in this tournament, despite the different venue. The key will be having a strong week on the Par 5’s (he’s 68th in SG: Par 5 over the last 36 rounds).
Charl Schwartzel (DK: $6,700 – Secondary Model Rank: 9)
I also ran a smaller secondary model on Fantasy National. It focused on three categories: SG: Par 5, SG: Par 3 and SG: Bermuda greens (last 36 rounds played). The combination of five Par 3’s and Par 5’s was a rarity that I wanted to check the numbers against, while the Bermuda greens are a unique challenge of their own. The veteran Schwartzel cracked the top ten in this model and that was intriguing, so I included him here. Schwartzel does have a T13 in 2016 at the Houston Open and a recent T32 finish at the Sanderson Farms event. The numbers aren’t mind-blowing, but he’s an interesting option at this price.
Lower 7K Players to Consider on DraftKings (w/ Primary Model Rank): Sam Burns (7), Sepp Straka (13), Charley Hoffman (14) and Luke List (17)
Last Week’s Sleepers: Bermuda Championship (by DraftKings 6K Range)
- Wes Roach – MC
- Josh Teater – MC (-5 after Round 1)
- Jamie Lovemark – MC
- Chase Seiffert – MC (-6 after round 1)
- Johnson Wagner (T45, -5 after Round 1)
- Vaughn Taylor (T40, -5 after Round 1)
The Bermuda Championship was a bit of a wild ride for me. A number of my sleeper picks posted great first rounds, only to collapse on Friday and miss the cut. If you played a number of these guys in a Thursday only situation, you would have been in fantastic shape.
If not, well… uh, moving on.
Who do you have as your favorite PGA DFS Houston Open Sleepers on DraftKings? Chime in with your favorite plays below. Either that or stop by to praise or poke fun at mine.
Best of luck and as always, thank you for visiting The Wife Hates Sports!
All stats and data via PGATour.com and Fantasy National
