This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
The three-event Florida Swing takes a brief pause following the Honda Classic as a loaded field heads to the Club de Golf Chapultepec for the second annual WGC-Mexico Championship. World No. 1 Dustin Johnson is geared up to defend his title in Mexico, though several international stars such as Tommy Fleetwood and Alex Noren are peaking at the right time as they look to make some noise among the American firepower. We'll turn our attention to various fantasy trends on Tour as February comes to a close, along with a few noteworthy injury updates.
VALUE RISING
Luke List
List had posted results of T26-T26-T12 in three starts leading up to his playoff loss at the Honda Classic, where he ranked fourth among the field in SG: Tee-to-Green and ninth in SG: Putting before falling to Justin Thomas. The 33-year-old has never won on the PGA Tour, but he's one solid finish away from jumping inside of the top-70 in the OWGR for the first time in his career. List, who's well known for his power off the tee as he currently ranks fourth in driving distance, is also 21st in birdie average and seventh in SG: Around-the-Green.
Byeong-Hun An
An reached as high as 24th in the OWGR just less than two years ago following a T2 at the 2016 Zurich Classic, but the South Korean recently fell to 100th after a pair of missed cuts at the RSM Classic and OHL Classic. His fortune changed with the turn of
The three-event Florida Swing takes a brief pause following the Honda Classic as a loaded field heads to the Club de Golf Chapultepec for the second annual WGC-Mexico Championship. World No. 1 Dustin Johnson is geared up to defend his title in Mexico, though several international stars such as Tommy Fleetwood and Alex Noren are peaking at the right time as they look to make some noise among the American firepower. We'll turn our attention to various fantasy trends on Tour as February comes to a close, along with a few noteworthy injury updates.
VALUE RISING
Luke List
List had posted results of T26-T26-T12 in three starts leading up to his playoff loss at the Honda Classic, where he ranked fourth among the field in SG: Tee-to-Green and ninth in SG: Putting before falling to Justin Thomas. The 33-year-old has never won on the PGA Tour, but he's one solid finish away from jumping inside of the top-70 in the OWGR for the first time in his career. List, who's well known for his power off the tee as he currently ranks fourth in driving distance, is also 21st in birdie average and seventh in SG: Around-the-Green.
Byeong-Hun An
An reached as high as 24th in the OWGR just less than two years ago following a T2 at the 2016 Zurich Classic, but the South Korean recently fell to 100th after a pair of missed cuts at the RSM Classic and OHL Classic. His fortune changed with the turn of the calendar, notching finishes of T5-T23-T6-T40 during four starts throughout the first two months of 2018. An's next start will likely be at the Valspar Championship, and he'll be coming off an impressive final-round 65 at PGA National this past week.
Sam Burns
Burns will be a name to keep an eye on down the road after defeating Tiger Woods in their final-round pairing at the Honda Classic en route to a T8 finish. The 21-year-old won the NCAA's Jack Nicklaus Award at LSU as the nation's top collegiate golfer, while he's currently grinding on the Web.com Tour. Burns' top-10 at PGA National earns him an exemption for the upcoming Valspar Championship, however, so he'll get another chance to prove himself as a legitimate fantasy asset in a full-field event at this level.
VALUE FALLING
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy returned from a lengthy winter break in seemingly solid form with top-threes at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and Omega Dubai Desert Classic, but the Englishman has since posted a trio of disappointing results stateside. He missed the cut at Pebble Beach before placing T20 at the Genesis Open and T59 at the Honda Classic. McIlroy hasn't won since the 2016 TOUR Championship, descending to 10th in the OWGR. He's also elected not to play in this week's WGC-Mexico Championship where he placed T7 in 2017.
Rickie Fowler
Following a span of three top-four finishes in three starts -- including a win at the Hero World Challenge -- Fowler has missed the cut in two of his past three events. The MC at this past week's Honda Classic was extra worrisome given the fact he was defending his 2017 title and had finished T6 at PGA National in 2016. It'll be interesting to see if he mentions any potential swing adjustments in Mexico this week.
INJURY UPDATE
Hideki Matsuyama
Matsuyama had originally hoped for his wrist to be healed in time for the WGC-Mexico Championship, but he's chosen to play it safe and sit out until next week's Valspar Championship in order to avoid re-injury. The sixth-ranked player in the world had finished T12 or better in four starts prior to his WD at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Martin Kaymer
Kaymer was able to make it through just one round at the Honda Classic before a wrist injury forced the German to withdraw. His status for the Valspar Championship remains up in the air, as the severity of Kaymer's issue is still uncertain. Kaymer is down to 88th in the OWGR as he hasn't won since 2014.
Brandon Hagy
Hagy, who has been sidelined since the OHL Classic due to a left wrist injury, hopes to return at some point in late April or early May according to Bob Buttitta of VCStar.com. The 26-year-old originally felt pain in his wrist during the first event of the 2017 FedExCup playoffs at the Northern Trust. Several tests would reveal a lack of structural damage, but tendinitis-like symptoms have called for an extended absence from competition.
