This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
While a polar vortex sweeps a major portion of the continental United States, thousands upon thousands of untamed golf fans gather in beautiful Arizona for this week's Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. The 'People's Open' is a rare chance for players to unapologetically connect with an abnormally rowdy crowd, as displayed at the adrenaline-filled par-3 16th each day. We'll now take a look at several trends in value on Tour from a fantasy perspective and provide a couple injury updates as well.
VALUE RISING
Scott Piercy
The Las Vegas native has made it clear he's an aficionado of desert golf, so it's no surprise Piercy is on his game early at TPC Scottsdale. The 40-year-old currently ranks top-30 on Tour in both driving accuracy and proximity, ascending to 21st in the FedExCup standings thanks in part to three straight top-10s from the CJ Cup through the Mayakoba Golf Classic. Piercy has made the cut in seven consecutive starts and will make it eight at the WMPO.
Trey Mullinax
Mullinax was a ball-striking machine at Torrey Pines last week where he ranked top-5 among the field in SG: Approach, SG: T2G and GIR percentage to notch his first top-25 of the season. He's made four consecutive cuts dating back to the RSM Classic and began his WMPO debut with a four-under 67 on Thursday, collecting four birds and an eagle in the process.
J.T. Poston
Poston is another first-timer at TPC Scottsdale, but he also came out of the
While a polar vortex sweeps a major portion of the continental United States, thousands upon thousands of untamed golf fans gather in beautiful Arizona for this week's Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. The 'People's Open' is a rare chance for players to unapologetically connect with an abnormally rowdy crowd, as displayed at the adrenaline-filled par-3 16th each day. We'll now take a look at several trends in value on Tour from a fantasy perspective and provide a couple injury updates as well.
VALUE RISING
Scott Piercy
The Las Vegas native has made it clear he's an aficionado of desert golf, so it's no surprise Piercy is on his game early at TPC Scottsdale. The 40-year-old currently ranks top-30 on Tour in both driving accuracy and proximity, ascending to 21st in the FedExCup standings thanks in part to three straight top-10s from the CJ Cup through the Mayakoba Golf Classic. Piercy has made the cut in seven consecutive starts and will make it eight at the WMPO.
Trey Mullinax
Mullinax was a ball-striking machine at Torrey Pines last week where he ranked top-5 among the field in SG: Approach, SG: T2G and GIR percentage to notch his first top-25 of the season. He's made four consecutive cuts dating back to the RSM Classic and began his WMPO debut with a four-under 67 on Thursday, collecting four birds and an eagle in the process.
J.T. Poston
Poston is another first-timer at TPC Scottsdale, but he also came out of the gates firing with a bogey-free, six-under 65 during his first round. He's posted a trio of top-25s in his last five starts, rising to 56th in the FedExCup standings. Additionally, Poston ranks top-25 in both scrambling and par-5 scoring this season.
VALUE FALLING
Charl Schwartzel
Schwartzel is in danger of falling outside the OWGR's top-100 for the first time in a decade after missing three straight cuts dating back to the Euro Tour's Alfred Dunhill Championship in December. The South African got out to a rough start in Arizona this week as well, carding a three-over 74 on Thursday with a pair of doubles and bogeys to accompany only three tweeters. He's earned just three total FedExCup points through three events played.
Peter Uihlein
Uihlein appeared to be making strides with back-to-back top-25s at the RSM Classic and Shriners Open to end his 2018 calendar year on a positive note, but he's since missed cuts at the Farmers Insurance Open and Desert Classic to begin 2019. He just elected to withdraw from the WMPO on Friday seemingly out of frustration after playing his first 27 holes in a combined eight-over with virtually no shot at making the cut. It'll be interesting to see if a struggling Uihlein will take next week off and choose not to participate in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Seth Reeves
Reeves began his rookie campaign with five straight cuts made, including a T7 at the Sanderson Farms Championship, but he's now MC'd three weeks in a row from the Sony Open through the FIO. He resides at just 199th on Tour in SG: Total and 209th in par-4 scoring, though he's up to seventh in driving distance as a consolation.
INJURY UPDATE
Kevin Na
Returning from a fractured pinky finger, Na fired a three-under 68 during his first round back in Scottsdale. The 50th-ranked player in the OWGR hadn't teed it up since the Shriners in early November, so his early performance at the Waste Management is a promising sign of a full recovery.
K.J. Choi
The 48-year-old veteran had been absent from the PGA Tour since last year's Memorial Tournament due to an undisclosed injury, but he's back in action at TPC Scottsdale. Choi made a brief appearance at his own Hyundai Insurance KJ Choi Invitational on the Korean Tour in late October, but he ultimately missed the cut by a handful of strokes. He has nine starts remaining on a Major Medical Extension, one of which is being used this week.
