This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
Golf's top talent will be dispersed around the globe this week as the Desert Classic, Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and Singapore Open all play host to a handful of highly-ranked players. Last week we saw veteran Matt Kuchar surge to his second win in four starts with a comfortable four-shot victory in Honolulu, but the PGA Tour now embarks on its West Coast Swing with the first leg commencing in La Quinta, California. We'll now take a look at several fantasy trends along with a couple injury updates as the Desert Classic is set to begin.
VALUE RISING
Andrew Putnam
Up to a career-best 45th in the Official World Golf Ranking, Putnam gathered his second top-4 result of the season in Hawaii last week with runner-up honors behind Kuchar. The former leads the Tour in SG: Putting and ranks seventh in SG: Total through eight measured rounds. Putnam will look to maintain momentum this week at the Desert Classic where he notched a T17 last year.
Corey Conners
The Canadian fired a six-under 64 during Sunday's final round at the Sony Open to corral his second top-3 of the season, climbing to 19th in the FedExCup standings. Conners ranks seventh on Tour in GIR percentage and fourth in proximity, but could start to see even better results if he's able to make improvements with the flat stick.
Richy Werenski
Werenski collected his third consecutive top-25 last week at Waialae, bringing his recent stretch of finishes to T15-T3-T23 since the Shriners
Golf's top talent will be dispersed around the globe this week as the Desert Classic, Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and Singapore Open all play host to a handful of highly-ranked players. Last week we saw veteran Matt Kuchar surge to his second win in four starts with a comfortable four-shot victory in Honolulu, but the PGA Tour now embarks on its West Coast Swing with the first leg commencing in La Quinta, California. We'll now take a look at several fantasy trends along with a couple injury updates as the Desert Classic is set to begin.
VALUE RISING
Andrew Putnam
Up to a career-best 45th in the Official World Golf Ranking, Putnam gathered his second top-4 result of the season in Hawaii last week with runner-up honors behind Kuchar. The former leads the Tour in SG: Putting and ranks seventh in SG: Total through eight measured rounds. Putnam will look to maintain momentum this week at the Desert Classic where he notched a T17 last year.
Corey Conners
The Canadian fired a six-under 64 during Sunday's final round at the Sony Open to corral his second top-3 of the season, climbing to 19th in the FedExCup standings. Conners ranks seventh on Tour in GIR percentage and fourth in proximity, but could start to see even better results if he's able to make improvements with the flat stick.
Richy Werenski
Werenski collected his third consecutive top-25 last week at Waialae, bringing his recent stretch of finishes to T15-T3-T23 since the Shriners Open. The 27th-ranked player in the FedExCup standings will pair quality recent form with promising course history at the Desert Classic, having gone T29-T9 in his first two PGA West appearances.
VALUE FALLING
Hideki Matsuyama
Matsuyama butchered his final round at the Sony Open as a three-over 73 sent him 33 spots down the leaderboard and outside of the top-50 overall. Having ascended as high as No. 2 in the OWGR in 2017, Matsuyama has careened to 30th thanks in part to zero top-15 finishes in six starts since October. His lousy short game has been the culprit as of late.
Jamie Lovemark
Lovemark tallied his second missed cut of the season in Honolulu last week, but he's also gone 13 straight starts without a single top-20 finish. The 30-year-old has fallen outside of the top-150 in the OWGR, while he's currently losing strokes in every category except SG: Putting.
Sam Ryder
Ryder began his 2018-19 campaign in electric fashion with top-4s at the Safeway and Shriners Open, but he's now missed back-to-back cuts at the Sony Open and RSM Classic after a mediocre 54th-place result at the Mayakoba. He ranks outside of the top-100 on Tour in GIR percentage, putting from inside 10 feet and driving accuracy.
INJURY UPDATE
Daniel Berger
A sore right wrist has kept Berger away from competition since the Dell Technologies Championship in early September, but he'll make his return at the Desert Classic. He missed the cut during his debut at the event in 2015, so there currently isn't much attraction for Berger in most DFS formats.
Chris Stroud
Stroud is slated to return from a two-month absence this week in La Quinta, having been sidelined since a WD at the Mayakoba due to a sore neck. The 36-year-old has posted just one top-60 finish in 10 career trips to the Desert Classic.
