This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
The conclusion of the year's fourth and final major tournament signals a shift of focus to the upcoming FedExCup playoffs, while this week's Wyndham Championship serves as a final chance for much of the Tour's lower-ranked players to secure a spot in the field for the Northern Trust. Last week was a doozy with Tiger Woods making a bold Sunday charge before an unflappable Brooks Koepka won his third major championship, inching closer and closer to overtaking Dustin Johnson at No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking. We'll turn our attention to several fantasy trends on Tour with the major schedule behind us.
VALUE RISING
Gary Woodland
Woodland's 10-under total of 130 strokes during the first two days at Bellerive CC broke the PGA Championship's 36-hole scoring record as he entered the weekend in the lead. He failed to maintain such a torrid pace, but ultimately posted his best career finish in a major tournament as he tied for sixth. Woodland had never finished better than a T12 in his 27 previous major appearances, while he's now placed T6-T17-T22 in his past three starts at the PGA, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and RBC Canadian Open.
Adam Scott
Scott was the field's biggest riser in the FedExCup standings at the completion of the PGA Championship, as his third-place finish launched him from 120th to 70th heading into the playoffs. He ranked third among the field in SG: Tee-to-Green and sixth in scrambling at Bellerive CC, while he's now back inside of the
The conclusion of the year's fourth and final major tournament signals a shift of focus to the upcoming FedExCup playoffs, while this week's Wyndham Championship serves as a final chance for much of the Tour's lower-ranked players to secure a spot in the field for the Northern Trust. Last week was a doozy with Tiger Woods making a bold Sunday charge before an unflappable Brooks Koepka won his third major championship, inching closer and closer to overtaking Dustin Johnson at No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking. We'll turn our attention to several fantasy trends on Tour with the major schedule behind us.
VALUE RISING
Gary Woodland
Woodland's 10-under total of 130 strokes during the first two days at Bellerive CC broke the PGA Championship's 36-hole scoring record as he entered the weekend in the lead. He failed to maintain such a torrid pace, but ultimately posted his best career finish in a major tournament as he tied for sixth. Woodland had never finished better than a T12 in his 27 previous major appearances, while he's now placed T6-T17-T22 in his past three starts at the PGA, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and RBC Canadian Open.
Adam Scott
Scott was the field's biggest riser in the FedExCup standings at the completion of the PGA Championship, as his third-place finish launched him from 120th to 70th heading into the playoffs. He ranked third among the field in SG: Tee-to-Green and sixth in scrambling at Bellerive CC, while he's now back inside of the top-50 in the OWGR for the first time since February. The 38-year-old owns two career victories in the playoffs, so his game is coming around at the right time as he'll eventually look to qualify for the TOUR Championship.
Patrick Cantlay
Cantlay's putter failed him at the PGA Championship, but he carded just six bogeys and no doubles or worse all week en route to his fourth consecutive top-30 finish. The 24th-ranked player in the OWGR hit 75 percent of the greens in regulation and was 15th in SG: Off-the-Tee, while he's currently top-15 in the FedExCup standings despite making less than 20 starts this season.
Andrew Putnam
Up to ninth on Tour in GIR percentage this season, Putnam has risen to 89th in the OWGR after beginning the 2018 calendar year outside of the top-350. The Barracuda Championship medalist has missed just one cut in his last 13 starts and has posted a quintet of top-10 finishes during this stretch.
Zach Johnson
Johnson's T19 performance at the PGA Championship was highlighted by a pair of 66s en route to his SIXTH straight top-20 finish dating back to the U.S. Open. The 42-year-old ranks 16th in scoring average and seventh in proximity on Tour.
VALUE FALLING
Peter Uihlein
Uihlein has missed three consecutive cuts from the Euro Tour's Scottish Open through the PGA Championship, which is a major disappointment after posting four top-25s in his previous six starts. He's outside of the top-70 in the FedExCup standings, so he'll have some work to do in order to eventually qualify for the third leg of the playoffs (BMW Championship).
James Hahn
Hahn, who's descended to 100th in the OWGR, has finished no better than tied for 36th in 12 consecutive starts while missing eight cuts during that span as well. He ranks outside of the top-115 on Tour in both birdie average and SG: Putting, having failed to harvest much positive momentum heading into the FedExCup playoffs next week.
Martin Kaymer
Kaymer's T42 at the PGA Championship ended a streak of three straight missed cuts, but he remains outside of the top-125 in the OWGR with two top-10s to eight MCs in 2018. He's appeared in just 11 PGA Tour events this season, ranking outside of the top-200 in the FedExCup standings.
INJURY UPDATE
Louis Oosthuizen
A back injury forced Oosthuizen to withdraw just minutes before his tee time Thursday at the PGA Championship, as the 35-year-old continues to deal with these issues of discomfort. It remains to be seen if he'll elect to tee it up at next week's Northern Trust, though he doesn't have much incentive to rush back as he ranks 71st in the FedExCup standings.
