Jason Kokrak … Let’s try this again, shall we? Not long after this space published for last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, he withdrew from the tournament. Looking ahead, he makes even more sense at the Genesis Open where the vagaries that influence performance are minimal by comparison. He hasn’t missed an edition since first qualifying in 2012 and he’s missed only one cut in those seven trips. His last three resulted in top 25s, including a co-runner-up in 2016, and his scoring average over those 12 rounds is 69.08. Arrives in solid form with 12 consecutive cuts made, the last three of which were top 20s. Certainly long enough when he needs to find another gear, but the 33-year-old arguably is most confident with his irons. Martin Laird … He’s been performing pretty much as expected in recent weeks, and that includes an early pop at the Waste Management Phoenix Open before fading to T26. So, the mildly sneaky horse for a course deserves attention across the landscape at Riviera where he’s gone T11-T8-T9 with a scoring average of 68.92 since 2016. It’s sensible given his experience – this week’s edition marks his 10th appearance – and balanced attack throughout his bag. Jhonattan Vegas … When in his groove, he’s one of the PGA TOUR’s strongest talents tee to green, so he rarely worries about giving himself enough chances to make noise. The issue, as it has been since crashing on in 2011, is the putter. That explains not only his hit-and-miss record over time, but the same at Riviera. In six starts, he’s connected for just two top 35s among four cuts made, but both were top 15s. True to the formula, en route to a T15 here in 2017, he ranked 18th in strokes gained: putting. In his most recent start, he slotted fourth in strokes gained: tee-to-green and finished T10 at TPC Scottsdale, another track that rewards that skill set. Sung Kang … He’s the product of converging trends, but it matters more that he’s 4-for-4 at Riviera with a T8 in 2016, a T22 in 2017 and a T16 last year. His scoring average for those 12 rounds is 69.33. Yet, it still doesn’t hurt that he’s recorded three top 20s since returning from the holiday hiatus, including a T14 at Pebble Beach. He’s ridden spurts in between long droughts before, but his elevated tee-to-green game at the moment suggests that this latest burst will extend at least one more week. Bud Cauley … At 28 years of age, he’s the youngest on this page, but he’s in his seventh season with a PGA TOUR card and this will be his fifth start at the Genesis Open where his personal-best of three cuts made was a T20 last year. He’s made us forget all about the time missed as a result of the automobile crash last summer by opening this season 5-for-7 with a pair of top 15s. Presents evenly analytically, which projects well once again at Riviera. 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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