2018-2019 PGA Tour Sleeper Picks and Rookies for Fantasy Golf

Although we mostly focus our attention on Daily Fantasy Golf and talk about sites like FanDuel and DraftKings for DFS golf we still do enter a few season long fantasy golf pools just for the fun of it.

In case you have no idea what I am talking about, a season long pool gives you a salary cap of anywhere from $20-$30 Million and you pick players based on their earnings from last year. Generally you pick 10 PGA Tour golfers and based on how they play in the 2018/2019 season determines the winner of the league. The most strategy is to find players that underachieved last year and should bounce back and pay off as a pick. Another strategy is to pick a few new PGA Tour players that are debuting on tour because the salary cost is usually set low and with enough good finishes they can come up with a great return for your fantasy dollar.

Our list below has both sleeper picks for the 2018/2019 PGA Tour season as well as some rookies to look out for that just graduated the Web.com Tour and should have a big impact on the 2018-2019 PGA Tour year. Last year’s list of PGA Fantasy Golf Sleeper Picks helped us to a Top 10 finish in our leagues and we have confidence once again in this year’s list.

Also keep in mind, you can use this list for DFS golf too especially at the beginning of the PGA Tour fall season where most of the rookies won’t be known by DFS players and could sneak up at the beginning of the year and have some solid finishes making you some extra cash too!

Enjoy the 2019 Fantasy Golf Season and good luck!

Fantasy Sleeper Picks for 2018-2019 PGA Tour Season

Jordan Spieth – Jordan Spieth a sleeper pick? He earned just $2.7 Million last year which is his lowest total ever. He had no wins on the PGA Tour and missed playing in the Tour Championship. He admitted that he may need to play in more tournaments this year and he probably will spend extra time getting his game back to where it should be. If you are in a season long fantasy golf league…Spieth should be the first pick you make!

Sergio Garcia – Nobody fell off a cliff more than Sergio Garcia did. He was just brutal last year and one has to wonder if he’s mentally done now that he’s won a major. He earned less than a $1 million dollars in just 15 PGA Tour events and missed the cut in 8 of them. The good news is that Sergio is going to play in all 4 majors because he can and will probably not be this bad in 2019. He won’t play a lot but he should bounce back from last year’s disaster. He’s a good sleeper pick for season long leagues.

Hideki Matsuyama – Matsuyama was a super sleeper pick until the PGA Championship when all of a sudden his game started to come back. That is the good news that his value will bounce back but bad news that his salary cap cost has risen. Matsuyama battled injuries this past season and now looks like he’s healthy once again. Could also make a sneaky sleeper pick for DFS players in some tournaments like the CIMB Classic (if he commits to playing) and the WGC HSBC Champions.

Adam Scott – Not sure what to make of Adam Scott. He had a better year in 2018 than the previous PGA Tour season but still was a bit disappointing. He earned $2.2 million in 21 starts which is good and he will never play in a full PGA Tour schedule with him also doing the Euro Tour but he does get into the majors and WGC events and he is a risk/reward sleeper pick that could have one last run as a top PGA Tour player.

Charley Hoffman – Hoffman is my favorite fantasy sleeper pick in the majors, (especially the Masters). He is always low priced at DFS sites like FanDuel and seems to always finish in the Top 20 (and contend at Augusta). He had a disappointing year on the money list and was well below his career totals. I would look for a bounce back season for Hoffman at a great price.

Alex Noren – Last year was the first year Alex Noren had his full PGA Tour card and he split his time on both the PGA Tour and the European Tour. He made $2.7 million on the PGA Tour and should be able to increase that given how he has played. Keep in mind those earnings were without his getting a win all year so if he post a win in 2019…he will pay off nicely for fantasy golf players.

Matt Kuchar – Like Sergio Garcia, one has to wonder if Kuchar is starting to decline because of his age. He started the PGA Tour year off strong but seemed to fade halfway through the year. He played in just 2 less tournaments than he normally does which could also mean he may be cutting his schedule back. He is still a player that makes most of his cuts when he’s in a tourney and should be able to grind out more earnings than the $1.7 million he made last year.

Branden Grace - Admittedly I don’t like picking players that play half the year on the European Tour because they only play about 18 events on the PGA Tour to keep their card. With Grace, he showed signs of dominating the field last year but tailed off at the end of the year due to a shoulder injury. He will play in the majors and WGC events which should give him good opportunities for some big paydays.

PGA Tour Rookies for 2018-2019

Joaquin Niemann – Niemann turned pro during the PGA Tour season and posted some solid results. He will be missed on many fantasy players PGA Tour Rookies list because he bypassed the Web.com Finals just like Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth did before him. Look for Niemann early in DFS plays as this kid can really play!

Sungjae Im – Could be the early favorite for the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. Im had 14 top 25s in his 24 starts on the Web.com Tour, including 2 wins and three 2nd place finishes. He considers the course for the CJ Cup his home course so look for him to get off the blocks early in the Asian part of the schedule this fall.

Sam Burns – Burns has already had a good taste of the PGA Tour with 11 starts last year. He finished second overall in the money on the Web Tour with a win, a 2nd and two 3rd place finishes. Will probably play a full schedule to keep his card.