This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
The PGA Tour's Florida Swing is in the rearview mirror as this weekend's WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play has provided a collection of the game's top talent with an opportunity to enjoy a unique format while preparing for the first major championship of the year, also known as the Masters Tournament. While the action unfolds throughout Sunday afternoon's championship match between Scottie Scheffler and Kevin Kisner, we'll take a look at several players that are trending in fantasy value as March turns to April. Additionally, keep scrolling for injury updates on a trio of household names.
VALUE RISING
Heading into the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, Lowry had racked up seven straight top-25 finishes from the DP World Tour Championship Dubai through the Valspar Championship. This stretch includes a runner-up effort at the Honda Classic, which marked his best finishing position since placing second at the Hong Kong Open in January of 2020. The Irishman, who turns 35 years old in early April, has gained a collective 22.6 strokes from tee to green over his last 12 rounds.
Noren has placed T12 or better in three of five starts dating back to the WM Phoenix Open, and he's gone six consecutive starts without a missed cut to reach the top 50 in the FedExCup standings. Throughout this six-event span, he's gained at least 2.3 strokes from tee to green in each tournament, but he also sits 34th in SG: Putting on the season.
Fellow rookie
The PGA Tour's Florida Swing is in the rearview mirror as this weekend's WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play has provided a collection of the game's top talent with an opportunity to enjoy a unique format while preparing for the first major championship of the year, also known as the Masters Tournament. While the action unfolds throughout Sunday afternoon's championship match between Scottie Scheffler and Kevin Kisner, we'll take a look at several players that are trending in fantasy value as March turns to April. Additionally, keep scrolling for injury updates on a trio of household names.
VALUE RISING
Heading into the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, Lowry had racked up seven straight top-25 finishes from the DP World Tour Championship Dubai through the Valspar Championship. This stretch includes a runner-up effort at the Honda Classic, which marked his best finishing position since placing second at the Hong Kong Open in January of 2020. The Irishman, who turns 35 years old in early April, has gained a collective 22.6 strokes from tee to green over his last 12 rounds.
Noren has placed T12 or better in three of five starts dating back to the WM Phoenix Open, and he's gone six consecutive starts without a missed cut to reach the top 50 in the FedExCup standings. Throughout this six-event span, he's gained at least 2.3 strokes from tee to green in each tournament, but he also sits 34th in SG: Putting on the season.
Fellow rookie Davis Riley drew a ton of attention en route to his runner-up performance at the recent Valspar Championship, but Young has still enjoyed a better first year on the PGA Tour while climbing to 15th in the FedExCup standings through 12 starts with two second-place finishes of his own at the Sanderson Farms Championship and the Genesis Invitational. Young is second to only Cameron Champ in driving distance this season, but the former also ranks seventh in birdie average and 11th in par-4 scoring average. From the Farmers Insurance Open through the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Young gained an average of 4.6 strokes off the tee per event.
VALUE FALLING
Wolff appeared to be rebounding from a disappointing 2021 campaign when he finished second at the Shriners Children's Open before placing T5-T11 at Mayakoba and the Houston Open last fall, but he's since missed three cuts and posted five straight results of T61 or worse on the PGA Tour. He notched a zero in the points column during the group stage at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play this past week, and he's lost a combined 29 strokes from tee to green across five starts dating to The American Express. Wolff is just 199th on Tour in SG: Approach from a season-long perspective.
The Englishman has yet to make a single cut in the United States through the first three months of the calendar year, producing five consecutive MCs from the WM Phoenix Open to the Valspar Championship. He's dropped outside of the top 100 in the OWGR as a result, so Wallace didn't even crack the primary alternate list at this week's WGC event. Wallace ranks just 205th on Tour in SG: Tee-to-Green this season, while putting has been a concern as well, losing an average of .303 strokes per round on the greens. Luckily for Wallace, he'll now head back to TPC San Antonio where he finished third at last year's Valero Texas Open.
Lee picked up steam on the international stage and joined the top 50 in the OWGR when he finished T2-T8-T4-T16-T4-T35 from the Andalucia Masters to the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, but he's struggled to find similar success while stateside. He missed three consecutive cuts from the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am to the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and he failed to advance out of a relatively weak Group 12 at Austin Country Club. In those three stroke-play events dating to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Lee lost a collective 16.4 strokes from tee to green while also losing 4.2 with the flat stick.
INJURY UPDATE
This past week at Austin Country Club, DeChambeau made his first appearance since withdrawing from the Saudi International in early February due to wrist and hip injuries. However, DeChambeau failed to win a match in Group 9 at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play where he tied Richard Bland before losing to Lee Westwood and Talor Gooch. DeChambeau actually plans to tee it up at the upcoming Valero Texas Open as well, lending a final opportunity to shake off the rust ahead of the Masters in early April.
Matsuyama suffered neck, shoulder and back injuries on the way to his T20 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which ultimately forced him to withdraw from THE PLAYERS Championship before removing himself from WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play consideration as well. His condition has been improving while receiving treatment throughout the recent hiatus from competition, and he's slated to play in the Valero Texas Open before attempting to defend his 2021 Masters triumph at Augusta National.
Casey conceded all three of his matches during the group stage at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play due to back spasms, so he'll head into the Masters accompanied by a huge question mark surrounding his health. Casey posted a solo-third effort at the PLAYERS Championship just two weeks ago, gaining 7.1 strokes on the field with his irons alone. There are definitely risk-reward decisions to be made when it comes to lineup consideration for Casey at Augusta from a DFS perspective.
