Golf Barometer: Ollie Ollie Oxen Free

Golf Barometer: Ollie Ollie Oxen Free

This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.

For the second consecutive week on Tour, the field played for second place while a superstar put up video-game-like numbers. Jordan Spieth -- winner of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am by four strokes -- passed the torch to Dustin Johnson, who dominated the Genesis Open and jumped into the No. 1 spot of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in his career.

The game's best seem to be imitating the top college basketball teams this season, as no clear-cut favorite has emerged with both the Masters and March Madness approaching. Any of around 20 teams could reach the Final Four, and it's difficult to peg a top golfer at the moment as all of Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama, Spieth, and now Johnson have enjoyed sizzling stretches over the last several weeks. It's clear which direction those players are headed, but we will examine a few other golfers who are getting hot, rising, falling in value, or injured.

VALUE RISING

Ollie Schniederjans

The three-time All-American turned rookie sensation just notched his third top-10 finish of the season at the Genesis Open, extending his streak of made cuts to six tournaments. The long-hitter ranks 30th on Tour in driving distance and 16th in proximity to the hole on approach shots from over 200 yards. He posted four consecutive sub-70 rounds this past week at Riviera CC. This week he heads into his second appearance at the Honda Classic, where he missed the cut in 2016.

Luke Donald

In consecutive

For the second consecutive week on Tour, the field played for second place while a superstar put up video-game-like numbers. Jordan Spieth -- winner of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am by four strokes -- passed the torch to Dustin Johnson, who dominated the Genesis Open and jumped into the No. 1 spot of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in his career.

The game's best seem to be imitating the top college basketball teams this season, as no clear-cut favorite has emerged with both the Masters and March Madness approaching. Any of around 20 teams could reach the Final Four, and it's difficult to peg a top golfer at the moment as all of Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama, Spieth, and now Johnson have enjoyed sizzling stretches over the last several weeks. It's clear which direction those players are headed, but we will examine a few other golfers who are getting hot, rising, falling in value, or injured.

VALUE RISING

Ollie Schniederjans

The three-time All-American turned rookie sensation just notched his third top-10 finish of the season at the Genesis Open, extending his streak of made cuts to six tournaments. The long-hitter ranks 30th on Tour in driving distance and 16th in proximity to the hole on approach shots from over 200 yards. He posted four consecutive sub-70 rounds this past week at Riviera CC. This week he heads into his second appearance at the Honda Classic, where he missed the cut in 2016.

Luke Donald

In consecutive weeks, Donald finished T23 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and T17 at the Genesis Open, where he was top-20 in both GIR percentage and putts per GIR. Two top-25 results have moved Donald back inside the top 90 of the OWGR in advance of the Honda Classic, where he has four top-10 finishes in his last five starts. Given his recent form and stellar track record at PGA National, Donald's short-term fantasy value is on the rise. However, it may be tough for the 39-year-old to sustain his momentum into May, when he fell off last year until late August.

Adam Hadwin

Through just nine events Hadwin has already surpassed his career high in single-season earnings, and he is currently raking in an average of $126,336 per entry. A T34 at the Genesis Open moved the Canadian inside the top 100 of the OWGR for the first in his career. The 2017 calendar year has seen Hadwin post four top-40 finishes, including a runner-up performance at the CareerBuilder Challenge in January. He is slated to take the next couple weeks off before potentially returning to action at the Valspar Championship.

Tyrrell Hatton

Following a win at the European Tour's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Hatton has posted seven top-25 finishes in as many events worldwide, and he is ranked a career-high 18th in the OWGR as he returns to American soil this week for his Honda Classic debut. Hatton is also qualified for the following week's WGC-Mexico Championship, where he will look to prove his position as one of the world's top 20 golfers.

VALUE FALLING

Brooks Koepka

The talented 26-year-old has not lived up to the hype so far in 2017, posting results of MC-T42-MC over his last three events. Severe issues with accuracy off the tee have led to brutal proximity to the hole numbers on approach shots, which explains why Koepka has been unable to go low in recent weeks. He will look to find some rhythm at the Honda Classic, where he has made three consecutive cuts.

Bubba Watson

Watson's title defense at Riviera goes down as a major disappointment, as he withdrew late in his second round over frustrations with the weather and his game, which left him without a realistic chance to make the cut. He ranked seventh in the OWGR following the 2016 TOUR Championship, but has already fallen to No. 15 after also missing the cut at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in his last start prior to the Genesis Open. He has committed to play in the WGC-Mexico Championship in early March, but he likely won't be a popular pick given his recent form and the level of competition in that event.

Si Woo Kim

You might want to cue your best LeBron James impersonation for this one: Not one...not two...not three...but four consecutive weeks Kim has failed to earn a single penny on Tour, following up a withdrawal at the Farmers Insurance Open with three straight missed cuts. It would appear he is making a very unwise decision to continue playing a busy schedule despite soreness in his lower back, but he is locked and loaded to tee it up once again this week at the Honda Classic -- a tournament in which he has just one career appearance. He made the cut in 2016, but finished third-to-last among those who played the weekend.

Ryan Palmer

2017 has been nothing short of a disaster for the 40-year-old, who has notched four consecutive missed cuts and a T49 in five events since early January. He ranked 61st in the world at the end of his 2015-16 campaign, but has already fallen to No. 88 in the OWGR. On a positive note, Palmer's track record at the Honda Classic could translate into a turnaround in the short run, as he has recorded three straight top-30s, including a runner-up finish in 2014, at PGA National.

INJURY UPDATE

Colt Knost

Knost is set to undergo surgery on his left wrist this week, which had been the cause of some mighty struggles throughout the early portion of the 2016-17 season. He plans to return sometime later this season, but for now there is no clear return timetable.

Willy Wilcox

Wilcox, who underwent wrist surgery in August, participated in this past week's Panama Claro Championship on the Web.com Tour, finishing tied for fifth with a four-round score of eight-under-par. He will return to the big stage this week at the Honda Classic with two events remaining on his minor medical exemption, and he needs just 55.399 FedExCup points or $41,049 in earnings to secure his Tour card moving forward.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bryce Danielson
Bryce covers the PGA for RotoWire and provides input on the golf cheat sheet. He also contributes to the coverage for NFL, NBA and other sports.
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