Sleepers: Travelers Championship

Joel Dahmen … It was only two starts ago when he last appeared on this page, and he delivered with a T8 at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD. After a solid summer, it's his only top-35 finish in six starts as he descends on Mayakoba for the fourth consecutive year. Given his relative success, it's easy to understand why he keeps booking the trip. He's 3-for-3 with a T23 in 2017 and a T6 last year. All 12 of his scores are red and his average is 68.33. Rory Sabbatini ... The grasses are different in Hawaii than they are at Mayakoba Resort, but the native of South Africa always has had an affinity for teeing it up in the islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Certainly, that goes for many guys who qualify for either of the first two events that launch a calendar year, but his longevity and success prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. His talent has flourished in non-tropical settings, of course, but he's also thrived at El Camaleón with a pair of top fives baked into a 7-for-9 record. The 44-year-old also has a pair of T12s already this season, including in the last event along the water at Sea Island. Scott Piercy ... Among the throng of tee-to-green surgeons who have found the fountain of youth at Mayakoba. In his first five appearances, a T20 in 2009 was the lone highlight, but he's gone T16-T4-T6-T26 since 2014. That run included a final-round 62 that equaled the course record in 2018. Now 42 years of age and separated from the distractions of a few months ago, he's positioned to pile on having gone 5-for-5 with three top 20s upon arrival. Chesson Hadley ... Disappointed recently at TPC Summerlin but he's recovered with top 25s in two starts to make it three on the season and four in his last eight. He's been streakier than consistently solid throughout his career, so it's fair to consider this moment in time as a good one to put his first FedExCup points on the board at Mayakoba. He did make the cut in his last trip in 2017, but he withdrew during his third round with an illness. En route to five top 25s among 12 cuts made in 2019-20, he ranked 22nd in fairways hit, 20th in greens in regulation, T4 in proximity to the hole and 19th in putting: birdies-or-better. Those ingredients helps explain why he's been making noise of late. Doug Ghim ... If victories by Martin Laird (Shriners) and Robert Streb (RSM) don't resonate as second chances fulfilled (since both would have needed to retain their fully exempt status at the Korn Ferry Tour Finals if that series wasn't canceled), try Ghim's resurgence on for size. It's the learning curve incarnate. After a lackluster rookie season during which he started near the bottom of the KFT graduate category and didn't climb higher than 35th after any reorder (en route to finishing 184th in the FedExCup), the 24-year-old has pounced early and often to sit 56th in points for his debut at Mayakoba. He's 4-for-5 with three top 20s and a T23. Currently 28th in greens hit and 44th in converting those chances into par breakers. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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Phil Mickelson was in someone’s backyard, up against a fence and forced to swing right-handed. Yeah, you have to see it for yourself.

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Winning on the PGA TOUR never is easy, but even though Dustin Johnson has 20 titles, including at least one in every season since debuting as a member in 2008, that he’s been shut out since his video game-like performance at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship last year is surprising. DJ has averaged one victory in every 13 starts of his career. His title defense at Club de Golf Chapultepec is his 17th start since his five-shot romp, so there’s a narrative that he’s due. Scroll past the extended ranking of projected contenders for how Johnson got the job done, how the host course challenges and more. POWER RANKINGS: WGC-MEXICO CHAMPIONSHIP Jordan Spieth, Marc Leishman, Gary Woodland, Sungjae Im, Kevin Kisner and Tyrrell Hatton will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. Johnson already is going for his third title in the event since its relocation to Mexico City in 2017. Last year, he led the field in both greens in regulation (58 of 72) and Strokes Gained: Putting. He gave back only three strokes (with one bogey and one double) en route to 21-under 263. To classify it as vintage DJ would be understating it. Lights-out performances occur far and few between, but he proved that it’s possible on deceptively cozy Club de Golf Chapultepec. The par 35-36–71 can stretch to 7,355 yards, but it plays about 10 percent shorter given its altitude north of 7,500 feet. (The course is 10 yards longer than it was in the last two years due to the extension of the par-5 11th hole to 632 yards.) Naturally, because of the thinner air, every ball in it flies further than at sea level, so you’d expect the course to ranked among the longest on average off the tee. In fact, at 303.6 yards last year, it easily was the longest of 35 measured. Adjusting every club by converting cover distance is more important than getting it as far from the tee as possible. Course management is critical. Primary rough is allowed to grow two-and-a-half inches and the Poa-bentgrass greens are small on average. They’re also among the most undulating the field of 72 will attempt to solve all season. Approach-putt performance isn’t a statistic discussed much, but it can reveal various levels of experience and challenge. Last year, Club de Golf Chapultepec was the stingiest track with an average of two feet, seven inches. Given that small measurement, a single inch can affect overall ranking considerably, but consider what it means in an of itself. Even in its third spin as host, the greens continued to serve as the primary defense. They also might be allowed to run as long as 12 feet on the Stimpmeter, so they will be faster than before. Mother Nature will do her part in seeing to it, too. Sunshine dominates the forecast. Winds will be moderate at worst, and not steadily influential. DJ’s impressive work aside, last year’s field still averaged 70.861 last year. Even-par 284 finished T39. There is no cut. The winner receives 550 FedExCup points and a three-year membership exemption. All bunkers were upgraded with new sand and drainage since last year, but they essentially present the same challenge from the same spots of bother. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (Puerto Rico), Sleepers (WGC-Mexico), Fantasy Insider * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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