Sleeper picks: 3M Open

Wyndham Clark … After enduring a spring slump, which is common for rookies, the 25-year-old connected top 20s at TPC River Highlands and Detroit Golf Club to position himself for a return to the PGA TOUR in 2019-20. With two top 10s among six top 20s this season, he’s 99th in the FedExCup. At a glance, it’d seem logical that a sketchy tee-to-green game not only would get in the way of success, it’d apply too much pressure on his short game. But, wow, his short game. He’s ninth on the PGA TOUR in strokes gained: putting, first in putts per GIR, fifth in one-putt percentage, second in conversion percentage inside 10 feet, third in putting: birdies-or-better and first in three-putt avoidance. Yet, he’s hardly a one-trick thoroughbred at sixth in par-5 scoring. Denny McCarthy … No sophomore slump for this guy. Besides, when you’re exempt from the reshuffle and lead the PGA TOUR in strokes gained: putting, expectations are higher and there are no excuses. Save a week off in early March, he’s been positioned inside the top 125 of the FedExCup standings since a T7 at the Sanderson Farms Championship in his second start. Thrills and spills ensued, but a rock-steady T21 in Detroit last week lifted the 26-year-old to 110th. One more decent showing and he’s a lock to keep his card. Tom Hoge … Regional flavor. The 30-year-old from Fargo, North Dakota, could use a injection of the kind of confidence that guided him to state amateur titles in Minnesota in 2009 and 2010. He arrives with consistent form, albeit lackluster. Since late April, he’s 7-for-8 but without a top-30 finish. However, he did place T43 at the U.S. Open, so that demands some respect. Currently 170th in the FedExCup standings. Tyrone Van Aswegen … Buried in the same category out of which Nate Lashley emerged with victory at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, the South African is no stranger to playing for his job, it’s just that the deck is stacked against him this deep into this season. He’s just 3-for-11 with only one top 40 in 2018-19, and that was but a T29 at Colonial near his residence in late May. So, the bad news is that he’s 217th in the FedExCup standings. The good news is that he needs only 32 points to crack the current top 200 and qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals to begin anew in 2019-20. He’s also gliding in on a T14 at the Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank where he led outright after 36 holes. Collin Morikawa … It’ll take some time before the Class of 2019 can be compared fairly to the Class of 2011 that includes Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Daniel Berger, Emiliano Grillo and others, but it has the makings. With Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, Matthew Wolff and Justin Suh all having turned pro in recent weeks, the clock has started. The very early leader as the most impressive is the 22-year-old who logged a decorated career at Cal. Morikawa already is 3-for-3 with a T14 at the RBC Canadian Open. His equivalent of 88.833 FedExCup points as a non-member would slot him 192nd among members and inside the bubble to qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. 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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