Richy Werenski

Werenski broke through for his maiden win, albeit in the Barracuda. But being an oppo event, it's not like where half his season earnings came there. He had two top-3s and seven total top-25s, finishing 39th in points. He appears to be on the rise.

What a crazy season for Werenski. He notched four top-25s in the 2018-19 season, but only one in his final 22 starts. He finished just outside the top 125 during the regular season and just inside the top 25 in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals to retain his playing privileges on the PGA Tour. This is Werenski's fourth season on the PGA Tour, and if it's like his previous three, it will be a battle all season just to stay in the top 125. Ball striking is where he needs to improve the most, as the only strokes gained category he ranked inside the top 100 was putting. Werenski has earned $850k to $1.1 million in each of his previous three seasons on the PGA Tour. He will need to take advantage of the fall portion of the schedule, as he did last year, if he wants to get back into the playoffs in 2019-20.

Werenski did just enough to keep his card during his rookie season two years ago and he did just a little bit more than that last season. His two seasons on the PGA Tour have been remarkably similar in that he posted a runner-up finish in each and six top-25s. He missed more cuts in his second season than his first, but he did play in six more events. Werenski made just one more cut last year than the year prior, yet he earned almost $200k more. While most of his stats were similar across his two season, he did make a huge improvement in his short game. Werenski gained nearly 100 spot in strokes-gained around the green last season. It's a good sign that he was able to improve in one area and not regress in another. If Werenski can continue that trend, he'll see improvement in his overall numbers again this season. While he'll likely improve again this season, it might not be enough of a jump to justify a salary cap selection this season.

Werenski started the 2016-17 well, but a slump from February through June nearly derailed any hopes of retaining his card. A strong finish saved Werenski though and he's good to go for the upcoming season. Werenski's season on the whole was not very impressive, but goal number one for any rookie is to simply retain the playing privileges for the following season, so in that respect, the season was a success. Werenski's number is low enough that he's a decent candidate for salary cap leagues as it won't take much to significantly improve this season.

Werenski had a successful 2016 on the Web.com Tour, demonstrated by his win at the BMW Charity Pro-Am in May and three second-place finishes. Most impressive is that those seconds came at three times of the year — February, April, August. One thing that separates rookies who make the PGA Tour from those who stay on the PGA Tour is complete game consistency, and finishing high like that at different times of the year really helps. He ranked 16th in total driving but 73rd in putting, something he'll need to improve for the PGA Tour. He can contend once or twice, but stringing together multiple good appearances may be tough unless the putter improves.