Sleeper Picks: World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational

Cameron Smith … The 25-year-old Aussie front-loaded his season with a trio of top 10s that cemented a spot inside the top-50 of the Official World Golf Ranking (currently 42nd), but he qualified for the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational when he prevailed at the Australian PGA Championship in early December. From early March through mid-June, he went 10 starts without a top 50 and missed four cuts, but a T29 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and a T20 at The Open have revitalized his season. In six career appearances in the WGCs, he has a pair of top 10s and a solo 23rd.

Corey Conners … After teasing his fellow Canadians with podium finishes at the Sanderson Farms Championship and the Sony Open in Hawaii, he captured his first PGA TOUR title at the Valero Texas Open in early April. The 27-year-old has gone quiet since, however. In the nine individual competitions since the breakthrough, he's missed four cuts and failed to crack a top 30. Still, he's right where he wants to be with his irons upon arrival for his first World Golf Championship, especially at TPC Southwind with its small targets. He leads the PGA TOUR in both Greens in Regulation and Proximity to the Hole. He also ranks 10th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green.

Adam Long … Since his breakthrough victory at the Desert Classic over five months ago, he's missed 11 cuts. However, of his other seven starts, three have gone for a top 25, including a T10 on the stern challenge of Bay Hill in March. Of the three rookies who have won a tournament, he's highest in the FedExCup standings at 55th, and neither Cameron Champ nor Martin Trainer qualified for the field at TPC Southwind. Aside from a nose for the leaderboard when he makes the cut, Long's sharpest tools have him 49th in fairways hit and T39 in proximity to the hole.

Thorbjørn Olesen … In the field as a member of the victorious European Ryder Cup team in 2018, the 29-year-old from Denmark has considerable experience in the WGCs, having made at least three appearances in all four and a total of 15. Seven resulted in a top-20 finish. After an uneventful 2019, he finally turned a corner with a T10 at the BMW International Open a month ago and a T15 in Ireland to open July. Currently 41st on his home circuit in greens in regulation and 51st in putts per GIR.

Shugo Imahira … At 71st in the Official World Golf Ranking, he's the only Japanese golfer other than Hideki Matsuyama (29th) inside the top 100. As Imahira continues to cut his teeth and take his lumps abroad – he's 0-for-7 in the majors, experience that includes an appearance in each this year – he's managed to compartmentalized that learning curve with a flurry of leaderboard appearances at home. In the last three months, he's cashed in all eight starts on the JGTO and connected for six top 10s, including a pair of solo seconds. He's currently second on the circuit in both earnings and scoring average. He's also third in greens in regulation.