This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
The many distractions that might accompany a week in Las Vegas didn't restrict a handful of competitors from reaching the 20-under-par mark at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open as TPC Summerlin remains a relatively elementary challenge on Tour. Sixty entrants finished at 10-under or better for the tournament, while a playoff duel between Patrick Cantlay and Kevin Na provided plenty of drama late Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile in Europe, a marquee name earned medalist honors on native soil as the Race to Dubai heats up. We'll now take a look at several trends from a fantasy perspective during the fall series.
VALUE RISING
A recent missed cut at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship proved to be a major fluke for Rahm, who had finished T13 or better in nine consecutive starts dating back to the U.S. Open prior to the MC in Scotland. His rebound effort was brilliant this past week at the Mutuactivos Open de España as Rahm played his final 36 holes in a collective 36-under-par, surging to a five-shot victory. The 24-year-old has now overtaken the No. 1 spot in the European Tour's Race to Dubai while proving he's more than deserving of top-5 honors in the Official World Golf Ranking.
The Canadian fell one stroke shy of forcing a playoff with Cameron Champ at the Safeway Open, but Hadwin maintained his positive momentum at TPC Summerlin where he fired an eight-under 63 on Sunday and ascended 17 positions into a tie for
The many distractions that might accompany a week in Las Vegas didn't restrict a handful of competitors from reaching the 20-under-par mark at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open as TPC Summerlin remains a relatively elementary challenge on Tour. Sixty entrants finished at 10-under or better for the tournament, while a playoff duel between Patrick Cantlay and Kevin Na provided plenty of drama late Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile in Europe, a marquee name earned medalist honors on native soil as the Race to Dubai heats up. We'll now take a look at several trends from a fantasy perspective during the fall series.
VALUE RISING
A recent missed cut at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship proved to be a major fluke for Rahm, who had finished T13 or better in nine consecutive starts dating back to the U.S. Open prior to the MC in Scotland. His rebound effort was brilliant this past week at the Mutuactivos Open de España as Rahm played his final 36 holes in a collective 36-under-par, surging to a five-shot victory. The 24-year-old has now overtaken the No. 1 spot in the European Tour's Race to Dubai while proving he's more than deserving of top-5 honors in the Official World Golf Ranking.
The Canadian fell one stroke shy of forcing a playoff with Cameron Champ at the Safeway Open, but Hadwin maintained his positive momentum at TPC Summerlin where he fired an eight-under 63 on Sunday and ascended 17 positions into a tie for fourth overall. He carded just three bogeys throughout 72 total holes at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, leading the entire field in GIR percentage along the way. Hadwin hit an unbelievable 90.28 percent of greens in regulation, thanks in large part to gaining over five strokes on approach shots and hitting 47 of 56 fairways.
Sheesh, if only he could putt. Finau added a top-10 overseas at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship before returning to the states for the Shriners Open, where he led his peers in SG: Tee-to-Green and driving distance en route to a T9. The flat stick is still a glaring issue for Finau, however, as he lost over 4.5 strokes on the greens at TPC Summerlin. He gained an average of 7.3 strokes from tee to green over his last five events of the 2018-19 season, and just a sliver of positive regression with the putter could boost him into contention for a win soon.
The Englishman followed up his third-place effort at the TOUR Championship with a win at the Euro Tour's Porsche European Open, but he kept climbing in the OWGR with a T11 in his ensuing start at the esteemed BMW PGA Championship. Casey hasn't missed a single cut since the Masters in April, providing a quality floor with six top-30s since the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. He's currently 18th in the Race to Dubai heading into his Italian Open debut.
VALUE FALLING
Walker has missed five consecutive cuts worldwide, and despite originally appearing in the list of entrants for the upcoming Houston Open, Walker has already withdrawn from the event prior to Thursday's first round due to an undisclosed reason. The 40-year-old has dropped outside of the top-150 in the OWGR and lost strokes off the tee in seven straight tournaments. His next chance to return will come at the CJ Cup, where he placed T29 in 2018.
Malnati made the cut in nine consecutive starts from the AT&T Byron Nelson through the Barbasol Championship this summer, but he's since either MC'd or withdrawn in five of six appearances dating to the Wyndham Championship. He failed to avoid the big numbers at TPC Summerlin, amassing four bogeys and four doubles in 36 holes to ultimately miss the cut by five shots. Malnati's putter has been cooperative since mid-July, but that's just about it. The Golf Club of Houston won't feel like a very inviting venue for Malnati to turn things around this week, either, as he's missed the cut in each of his first three trips to this destination.
A measly four total birdies in two rounds at the Shriners Open left Hickok four strokes shy of the cut line at TPC Summerlin, marking his third straight MC as he'll remain outside of the OWGR's top-200. Hickok picked up steam throughout the Korn Ferry Tour Finals with finishes of T19-T5-3 from the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship to the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, but he's struggling against the elevated competition. On the bright side, Hickok gained nearly four strokes on approaches in Las Vegas, but his putting was horrendous.
INJURY UPDATE
Jones withdrew during the Sanderson Farms Championship and then sat out of the Safeway Open due to a back injury, but he appeared to be past the issue at the Shriners Open on the way to a T29, which included an eight-under 63 in Round 2. He averaged an impressive six birdies per round in Vegas and ranked eighth in driving distance, so the back shouldn't be much of a concern heading into the Houston Open where he defeated Matt Kuchar in a playoff back in 2014.
