Sleeper picks: Can Johnny Keefer make noise at Rocket Classic?

NOTE: Sleeper Picks did not appear in Rob’s Power Rankings, but each presents value for the bet specified.

Top 20

Johnny Keefer (+295) ... The No. 1 player on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour has ridden a pair of T3s on the PGA TOUR to find himself at 73rd in the FedExCup as he laces up for the penultimate stop of the regular season at Detroit Golf Club. That positions him sixth among his fellow rookies. Given that he’s risen for only three top 20s in 22 starts (all were top 10s), these odds are shorter than anticipated, but it’s evidence of the gradual ascent in this market at DraftKings for the Rocket Classic. Although the values are muted, the 25-year-old presents the punch of slotting sixth on the PGA TOUR in ball-striking, exactly the default weapon with a new look of a classic track on tap where his muscle off the tee is an edge. More granularly, he’s 10th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, third in greens in regulation and seventh in proximity to the hole.

Top 30

John Parry (+235) ... The oldest PGA TOUR rookie has fared well given how late he’s arrived at this level of the sport. The 39-year-old is 85th in the FedExCup with seven top 30s among 16 paydays in 19 starts. They include a T28 at The Open Championship and a T24 at the 3M Open in the last two weeks. He also connected for a T11 at the U.S. Open six weeks ago, so he’s answering the bell with the Playoffs right around the corner. Instead of succumbing to the pressure, the veteran ball-striker from England appears to be leaning on his experience and wisdom of 271 starts on the DP World Tour where he’s won twice and waited until 2025 to deliver his career year.

Top 40

John VanDerLaan (+295) ... This isn’t just an acknowledgement that he recorded top 40s at the Corales Puntacana Championship and the 3M Open the last two weeks, it’s an endorsement for how he did it and why it’s reasonable to invest in a third straight for a kickback of almost three times the investment. The 30-year-old scaled to the big leagues largely on the strength of his tee-to-green game on the Korn Ferry Tour. A late win on the circuit in 2025 provided the tailwind he needed to cross the finish line inside the bubble, but he was consistently strong with the longest sticks in the bag all season. As a PGA TOUR rookie this year, he’s 19th in ball-striking but crashed into the top 40 in his last two starts with marginally better putting compared to his below-average rate relative to his peers. With the restoration of Detroit Golf Club forcing all golfers to start from scratch on the greens, his skill set off the tee and on approach will play up. Any confidence he’s drawn from coming off his second- and third-best finishes of the season is a timely bonus.

Odds were sourced at DraftKings.

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