This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
An anticlimactic final four at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play was outclassed in viewing enjoyment by the opposite-field Corales Championship, where the always-entertaining Joel Dahmen secured his maiden PGA Tour win by one shot over Rafael Campos and Sam Ryder in windy conditions along the Caribbean coast.
The upcoming Valero Texas Open's strength of field is mightier than that of the recent Honda Classic, but you can almost smell the azaleas as most of the game's top players spend this week preparing for the Masters instead of migrating from Austin Country Club to TPC San Antonio.
We'll examine a handful of names that are shifting in value ahead of 2021's first major, along with several injury updates with Masters implications.
VALUE RISING
Despite falling half a point shy of forcing a playoff with Jordan Spieth to advance out of pool play at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, Fitzpatrick still managed to collect his sixth consecutive top-20 result, a streak that dates back to the European Tour's Omega Dubai Desert Classic in late January. The Englishman rebounded from an opening loss to the aforementioned Spieth by convincingly defeating Corey Conners 5 & 4 before also taking care of business against Matthew Wolff on Friday. From The Genesis Invitational through THE PLAYERS Championship, Fitzpatrick finished T5-T11-T10-T9 while ascending to a career-best 16th in the Official World Golf Ranking. A red-hot flat stick produced an average of 3.98 strokes gained: putting per event over his last four measured starts, and he
An anticlimactic final four at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play was outclassed in viewing enjoyment by the opposite-field Corales Championship, where the always-entertaining Joel Dahmen secured his maiden PGA Tour win by one shot over Rafael Campos and Sam Ryder in windy conditions along the Caribbean coast.
The upcoming Valero Texas Open's strength of field is mightier than that of the recent Honda Classic, but you can almost smell the azaleas as most of the game's top players spend this week preparing for the Masters instead of migrating from Austin Country Club to TPC San Antonio.
We'll examine a handful of names that are shifting in value ahead of 2021's first major, along with several injury updates with Masters implications.
VALUE RISING
Despite falling half a point shy of forcing a playoff with Jordan Spieth to advance out of pool play at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, Fitzpatrick still managed to collect his sixth consecutive top-20 result, a streak that dates back to the European Tour's Omega Dubai Desert Classic in late January. The Englishman rebounded from an opening loss to the aforementioned Spieth by convincingly defeating Corey Conners 5 & 4 before also taking care of business against Matthew Wolff on Friday. From The Genesis Invitational through THE PLAYERS Championship, Fitzpatrick finished T5-T11-T10-T9 while ascending to a career-best 16th in the Official World Golf Ranking. A red-hot flat stick produced an average of 3.98 strokes gained: putting per event over his last four measured starts, and he also gained strokes both off the tee and around the green in each tournament during that span.
Casey was trending in the wrong direction as the turn of the calendar year approached, posting results of MC-T69-T35-T38 from the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open through the November edition of the Masters. However, his 2021 campaign commenced with a T8 performance at The American Express and a win overseas at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. He then added a T12 at the Saudi International before returning stateside, where he proceeded to notch three consecutive top-10s at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Arnold Palmer Invitational and THE PLAYERS Championship. The 43-year-old Englishman gained an average of 6.1 strokes from tee to green per event over his last five starts. Casey also ranks top-15 on the PGA Tour in all of total driving, SG: Approach and scrambling.
Perez's run to the semifinals at this past week's WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play was preceded by a T9 at THE PLAYERS Championship, where he gained no less than 1.62 strokes in each SG subcategory while racking up 18 total par-breakers. His comeback effort in the third-place matchup against Matt Kuchar fell short, but Perez's fourth-place finish allowed him to jump three spots in the OWGR to a career-best No. 30. The Frenchman, who owns three solo-seventh results or better on the European Tour since the BMW PGA Championship, is now slated to make his second career Masters appearance. He advanced to the weekend in his Augusta National debut this past fall.
VALUE FALLING
English remains inside of the top 10 in the FedExCup Standings thanks to five top-10s and a win at the Sentry Tournament of Champions earlier this season. However, he missed back-to-back cuts at the Farmers Insurance Open and the Waste Management Phoenix Open before placing just 66th out of 71 finishers at the WGC-Workday Championship. He barely defeated Brendon Todd 1-up at Austin Country Club last week and lost his next two matches to Erik van Rooyen and Daniel Berger. English lost an average of 2.83 strokes from tee to green per tournament over his last four measured starts, and he now ranks outside of the top 100 on Tour in SG: Approach.
A pair of withdrawals at the Farmers Insurance Open and the WGC-Workday Championship bring Wolff's health into question, especially considering his decision to skip THE PLAYERS Championship entirely. An apparent hand injury led to the first of his two WDs, but it's unclear whether or not the same issue has contributed to his lousy form since a 73rd-place finish at the CJ Cup in October. He finished no better than T36 in any of his past eight starts in stroke-play settings, and currently resides a woeful 203rd in driving accuracy and 204th in SG: Around-the-Green through 29 measured rounds to begin the 2020-21 campaign.
Redman amassed a trio of top-4 finishes from the Wyndham Championship in mid-August to the Bermuda Championship in early November, but he's since placed T61 or worse in eight straight starts while missing five cuts during this brutal stretch. He has rapidly descended from 76th to No. 150 in the OWGR, squandering all the progress he made in recent months and hurting his chances of appearing in a major championship in 2021. Redman's short game has been his Achilles' heel this season, but he's also just 174th in birdie average and 158th in proximity from 175-200 yards.
INJURY UPDATE
Two weeks have passed since Woods shared that he returned home for the next steps in what figures to be a lengthy recovery from the serious lower-leg injuries he sustained in a car accident in late February. He's also not far removed from a fifth back surgery, so there's no sense in guessing when he may again be ready for tournament golf.
Surgery to correct a dislocation and ligament damage to Koepka's right knee has kept the four-time major champion sidelined since a T2 at the WGC-Workday Championship, but he has not yet officially ruled himself out for the Masters. A return at Augusta National would be accompanied by minimal opportunities to prepare, and it's entirely possible he's facing a much-lengthier rehab process. His status will continue to be monitored, and a statement regarding his Masters availability is likely on the horizon.
The two-time Masters runner-up is nursing a back injury that forced him to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer Invitational and kept him from playing in THE PLAYERS Championship. Rose tied for second at the European Tour's Saudi International in early February, but he has otherwise underwhelmed since a missed cut at the RSM Classic. Course history favors Rose at Augusta National, but he'll be a risky consideration in fantasy formats with the injury factored into the equation.
A shoulder injury forced Strafaci to withdraw from his most recent start on the PGA Tour at late February's Genesis Invitational, but he appears to be back at full strength after winning the Georgia Cup hosted by the Golf Club of Georgia this past weekend. The reigning U.S. Amateur champion is slated to make his Masters debut next week in what will be his second career major appearance.
