Fantasy Golf: Sleeper picks for Valero Texas Open

Joaquin Niemann … All right, here we go. It doesn’t seem like 10 months ago when he first appeared in this space (for the U.S. Open), but he kept busy in the interim. His whirlwind schedule included redemption at the Latin America Amateur Championship and another victory in a professional event in his native Chile, this time by five strokes four weeks before his first appearance at the Masters that his LAAC victory yielded. Speaking of debuts, the Valero Texas Open marks his first tournament anywhere as a pro. He leaves behind the No. 1 ranking in the World Amateur Golf Ranking at just 19 years of age. Starts at the AT&T Byron Nelson (May 17-20) and Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide (May 31-June 3) are among others to follow. Chris Kirk … A moving target no matter your criteria, he connected for a T8 and T13 at TPC San Antonio in 2015 and 2016, respectively, but bracketed them with a T48 in 2011 and a missed cut last year. The 32-year-old also has registered a trio of top 15s in 2018, the last a 13th-place finish at Bay Hill a month ago, but he finished outside the top 30 in all of his other seven starts. While inconsistency among most touring professionals isn’t unusual, it is surprising that he’s competed the entire season while positioned no better than 150th in the Official World Golf Ranking, especially when you further consider that he’s 41st in strokes gained: tee-to-green, 46th in proximity, 43rd in adjusted scoring and 28th in bogey avoidance. Shawn Stefani … As he has before at the Houston Open, the native Texan delivered in his last start there with a T24. He warmed up the previous week with a T13 in the strong winds at Puntacana. While comfortable in that challenge, he’s also proven to be streaky, so there’s multiple reasons to expect him to sustain form in San Antonio where he’s 3-for-3 since 2015 but still chasing his first top 25. His confidence comes to life on the greens on which he’s 41st in strokes gained: putting this season. Nate Lashley … The 35-year-old has endured the usual challenges facing rookies at this level, but he’s turned it around just enough to warrant some attention in the wind of the Hill Country. After placing T28 at Corales where he prevailed on the Web.com Tour last year, he recorded a career-best T18 in Houston. What’s more, his strength of striping irons matters most in his debut at TPC San Antonio. Currently 49th on the PGA TOUR in greens in regulation and leading the circuit in proximity to the hole. Also T26 in bogey avoidance. Daniel Summerhays … A tournament that has been very, very good to him extended another opportunity in the form of a sponsor exemption this week. Saddled with conditional status this season, playing time has been limited to seven starts. He failed to crack a top 50 in the three cuts he made, but since 2012 at TPC San Antonio, he’s 6-for-6 with three top 10s and a T13.

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