Sleeper Picks: Vivint Houston Open

J.T. Poston … The 27-year-old has been a model of how time and opportunity reward the worker. After needing only one season on the Korn Ferry Tour, he elevated to the PGA TOUR in 2016-17 and failed to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs. Saddled with conditional status the following season, he rose to the challenge to make the Playoffs, and then broke through for his first victory at the Wyndham Championship in 2018 while going bogey-free. Since, he’s fortified his standing on the circuit by scattering seven top-20 finishes, the most recent a solo third at the Sanderson Farms Championship where he ranked T7 in greens hit, fifth in Strokes Gained: Putting and T1 in par-5 scoring. Memorial Park not only has five par 5s, it also has five par 3s, so it’s even more relevant that he finished T2 in par-3 scoring last season.

Talor Gooch … The Oklahoma native would love to celebrate his 29th birthday (Nov. 14) a week early with nothing other than a breakthrough victory on the PGA TOUR. He was in the hunt at Shadow Creek with a solo fifth and four strokes back of the Jason Kokrak, the only first-time winner of the season thus far. Gooch’s short game and putting was on display throughout the week, and he ranked second in par-5 scoring.

Sepp Straka … Fresh off a T21 on Bermuda for what was his fifth top 25 in his last 12 starts. For a guy who would go extended stretches without making a cut or without a top 25, this is a worthy trend. Even though there’s a new host course this year, he could connect with good vibes in Houston given that he placed T4 in town in 2019 and during a drought in which it was his only payday in nine consecutive starts, but his mojo is mostly about the now. Does his best work on the greens.

Matthew NeSmith … It’s rare for a golfer to appear in Sleepers more than once in a short period of time. Straka got the treatment at Corales and finished T33, but that was in late September and four starts ago. NeSmith sat out the last three weeks but this is his second consecutive start in which he’s been a Sleeper. In his last, he finished T8 at the Shriners, which followed a T17 at the Sanderson Farms. In four starts overall, he’s second on TOUR in greens in regulation, but don’t dismiss the small sample size. During his rookie season of 2019-20 when he qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs, he ranked 22nd in GIR. If he goes for another top 10, he’ll be a Sleeper no more.

Cameron Davis … After restarting the season slowly, the Aussie has been perfect in his last seven starts with a trio of top-15 finishes. The most recent was a T6 at the Sanderson Farms Championship where he flashed a combination of muscle and terrific putting. That tandem defines his strength statistically this season, but he profiled better as a tee-to-green specialist in his first two completed seasons on the PGA TOUR. So, it’s possible that the learning curve is flattening as he cycles through familiar sites. Memorial Park is new to most, but the confidence he’s gained on the greens recently is a timely bonus.

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.