Kyle Stanley … The 32-year-old has survived only six of 16 cuts this season, but he’s 126th in the FedExCup thanks in part to a T24 two weeks ago at TPC River Highlands. For the week, he landed inside the top 20 in most measurements of his game off the tee and into greens, but that’s been his profile throughout his career. It’s paid handsomely at Muirfield Village where he has a pair of podium finishes among three top 10s, including a playoff loss just two years ago. He deserves attention again due to that success in conjunction with the familiarity of the sightlines and slower greens. Cameron Tringale … A solid first half of the Rocket Mortgage Classic triggered thoughts of the Diaper Dimension but a third-round 72 thwarted a realistic run at his first victory on the PGA TOUR. He settled for a share of 30th place. That there were signs of something special at all suggests that he’s under the influence of the imminent birth of his first child. His irons were dialed in at Detroit Golf Club. With slower greens than usual at Muirfield Village this week, piling up the scoring opportunities will be first priority. Adam Long … When 13 of 23 career cuts made result in a top 25, it’s not a reach to define him as a top-25 machine. It also means that he licks his chops on weekends. As a rookie in 2018-19, his third- and fourth-round scoring averages were lower than his averages for each of the first two rounds. This season, he’s currently 37th on TOUR in final-round scoring average, but he’s also 20th in the second round. So, the key is simply getting to the weekend, which is, well, not always that simple. However, if he strikes his irons with the precision that yielded a T24 at the Travelers Championship, you won’t be surprised. He led the field at TPC River Highlands in proximity to the hole. Henrik Norlander … Shadowed by Bryson DeChambeau’s statistically historic week at Detroit Golf Club was the Swede’s own triumvirate of pacesetting analytics. No one split more than Norlander’s 48 fairways hit, scored better in Strokes Gained: Approach (+8.29) and no one was more efficient in getting up and down for par (15 of 16). All of that outbalanced below-average putting as he manufactured a T12. He arrived at Muirfield Village with nine consecutive red numbers in tow. Richy Werenski … While he didn’t close the Rocket Mortgage Classic as well as he opened, his T21 easily was his best finish of the restart. And he’s yet to rest. In addition to three appearances on the PGA TOUR since play resumed, he stayed warm in a Korn Ferry Tour event. And he’s yet to miss a cut. He’s also been known to go on a heater. Ranked T2 in fairways hit, T8 in greens in regulation and eighth in proximity at Detroit GC to frontload his signature confident putting. 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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