This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
Superstars of the sport in Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm made their pushes throughout Sunday's final round at Torrey Pines, but it was Aussie Marc Leishman who continuously found the bottom of the cup when he needed to the most, despite failing to hit many fairways en route to his win at the Farmers Insurance Open. The Greatest Show on Grass occupies the next stop on the schedule for the PGA Tour heading into Super Bowl weekend, so we'll take a look at several trends from a fantasy perspective as 132 entrants join a frenzied crowd at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
VALUE RISING
Hoge collected his third top-6 finish of the season this past week at the Farmers Insurance Open where he not only ranked second among the field in SG: Tee-to-Green, but led his peers in scrambling as well. He's averaged $214,046 in earnings per event throughout his past three starts dating to a T12 at the Sony Open. Hoge's iron play has been especially sharp as made evident by 11.1 strokes gained on approach shots the past two weeks at the American Express and the aforementioned FIO.
Despite bogeying his final hole of the day, a 10-under 62 during Friday's second round at Torrey Pines last week gave Palmer a two-shot lead heading into the weekend. He failed to capitalize on the opportunity by carding seven final-round bogeys, but Palmer still posted his fifth top-25 in six starts to begin the 2019-20 campaign.
Superstars of the sport in Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm made their pushes throughout Sunday's final round at Torrey Pines, but it was Aussie Marc Leishman who continuously found the bottom of the cup when he needed to the most, despite failing to hit many fairways en route to his win at the Farmers Insurance Open. The Greatest Show on Grass occupies the next stop on the schedule for the PGA Tour heading into Super Bowl weekend, so we'll take a look at several trends from a fantasy perspective as 132 entrants join a frenzied crowd at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
VALUE RISING
Hoge collected his third top-6 finish of the season this past week at the Farmers Insurance Open where he not only ranked second among the field in SG: Tee-to-Green, but led his peers in scrambling as well. He's averaged $214,046 in earnings per event throughout his past three starts dating to a T12 at the Sony Open. Hoge's iron play has been especially sharp as made evident by 11.1 strokes gained on approach shots the past two weeks at the American Express and the aforementioned FIO.
Despite bogeying his final hole of the day, a 10-under 62 during Friday's second round at Torrey Pines last week gave Palmer a two-shot lead heading into the weekend. He failed to capitalize on the opportunity by carding seven final-round bogeys, but Palmer still posted his fifth top-25 in six starts to begin the 2019-20 campaign. The 43-year-old ranks seventh in SG: Off-the-Tee, 15th in birdie average, 20th in rough proximity and 10th in par-4 birdie or better percentages.
Cappelen grabbed a share of the first-round lead at the Farmers Insurance Open despite playing his first 18 holes on the more difficult South Course layout at Torrey Pines, as the rookie would eventually go on to tie for 21st while joining the top-100 in the early FedEx Cup standings. He was a four-time All-American at the University of Arkansas before turning pro, though at 29 years old he now ranks 34th on the PGA Tour in driving distance and has made the cut in seven of nine events to begin the 2019-20 season. He'll make his TPC Scottsdale debut this week after recent finishes of T6-T21 at the American Express and the FIO.
VALUE FALLING
Four consecutive missed cuts from the Mayakoba Golf Classic through the American Express are threatening to bounce Henley outside of the top-250 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He's averaging a dismal $10,260.25 in earnings per event through eight starts this season, while ranking 156th in SG: Off-the-Tee and 192nd in birdie average. Henley has placed T16 or better in two of his last three trips to TPC Scottsdale, but Henley's ball striking is certainly an issue heading into the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
A rough effort from Stanley in 2019 caused the two-time winner on the PGA Tour to fall from 33rd in the OWGR to 61st by the time his season came to an end at the Northern Trust. Unfortunately for Stanley, the descension has not ceased as he now comes in at No. 130 in the OWGR after missing the cut in four of his last five tourneys. He's lost strokes on approach shots in each of his first three starts of 2020, and his outlook at TPC Scottsdale isn't great given he's missed the cut here in consecutive showings the past two years.
Cook's disappointing 2019 campaign resulted in a caddie change as he elected to move on from Vijay Singh's former looper, Kip Henley. Cook began the new season on a high note with a top-15 performance at the Greenbrier and he added another top-20 result during the fall series at the Houston Open, but he's also already missed six cuts in nine starts. He ranks 148th or worse in SG: Approach, birdie average, scrambling and one-putt percentage.
INJURY UPDATE
Mahan's bothersome knee injury became apparent when he carded a nine-over 45 during his first nine holes of Round 2 on the South Course at Torrey Pines, ultimately forcing him to withdraw instead of making the turn. The severity of the issue in unknown at this point, but he's notched two missed cuts and a WD in three total starts this season. Mahan's next chance to return may come at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am where he finished solo second back in 2011.
