This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
A collection of the world's top talent has traveled to China for the fourth and final WGC event of the calendar year, as Shanghai's Sheshan Golf Club plays host to the exclusive 78-entrant event. This also marks the last leg of the PGA Tour's Asian Swing before next week's Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas. We'll take a look at several fantasy trends as well as a couple injury updates while the Fall Series continues.
VALUE RISING
Haotong Li
Li spends a majority of his time on the European Tour, but he's already the top-ranked Chinese player in the world at just 23 years old with five consecutive years of at least 22 professional events under his belt. He most recently notched top-10s at the British Masters and Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, so Li is up to 21st in the Race to Dubai with home field advantage on deck at Shanghai's WGC-HSBC Champions.
Marc Leishman
Leishman underwhelmed during the final three majors of 2018 as he eventually fell outside of the top-20 in the OWGR, but he's racked up four top-25s in his last five starts and a five-shot win at the CIMB Classic. The early leader in FedExCup points ranked 19th on Tour in birdie average last season, so he'll look to at least replicate that again in 2019.
Adam Scott
Scott returned to a stretch of mediocrity following back-to-back top-5s at the PGA Championship and Northern Trust, placing T49-T51-T50 in his next three appearances. The Aussie
A collection of the world's top talent has traveled to China for the fourth and final WGC event of the calendar year, as Shanghai's Sheshan Golf Club plays host to the exclusive 78-entrant event. This also marks the last leg of the PGA Tour's Asian Swing before next week's Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas. We'll take a look at several fantasy trends as well as a couple injury updates while the Fall Series continues.
VALUE RISING
Haotong Li
Li spends a majority of his time on the European Tour, but he's already the top-ranked Chinese player in the world at just 23 years old with five consecutive years of at least 22 professional events under his belt. He most recently notched top-10s at the British Masters and Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, so Li is up to 21st in the Race to Dubai with home field advantage on deck at Shanghai's WGC-HSBC Champions.
Marc Leishman
Leishman underwhelmed during the final three majors of 2018 as he eventually fell outside of the top-20 in the OWGR, but he's racked up four top-25s in his last five starts and a five-shot win at the CIMB Classic. The early leader in FedExCup points ranked 19th on Tour in birdie average last season, so he'll look to at least replicate that again in 2019.
Adam Scott
Scott returned to a stretch of mediocrity following back-to-back top-5s at the PGA Championship and Northern Trust, placing T49-T51-T50 in his next three appearances. The Aussie bounced back with a top-10 at the CJ Cup, however, where he fired a final-round 63 featuring seven birdies and an eagle. He maintained the positive momentum during the first round of the WGC-HSBC Champions, carding a three-under 69 to position himself T10 heading into Day 2.
VALUE FALLING
Russell Knox
Knox has gone seven straight events without anything better than a T35 since winning the European Tour's Irish Open in July. He's also mixed in a trio of missed cuts during this span, tumbling outside of the top-60 in the OWGR as a result.
Michael Kim
Kim's post-win hangover stemming from his mid-July John Deere Classic victory has extended from August through October, failing to post a single top-60 finish in six consecutive starts. He profiles as an above average putter with limited upside as his ball striking lags behind. Kim ranked outside of the top-170 in both driving accuracy and GIR percentage last season, falling to 189th in SG: Tee-to-Green.
INJURY UPDATE
Eddie Pepperell
Pepperell was a late withdrawal from the WGC-HSBC Champions with an agonizing back injury, but the Englishman hopes to be back at full strength for the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai on Nov. 15. He's currently listed in the field for next week's Turkish Airlines Open, but a withdrawal announcement could be coming in the near future.
Henrik Stenson
Stenson is absent from this week's WGC-HSBC Champions as he continues to recover from a minor elbow procedure, having played through the issue at the Ryder Cup en route to an impressive 3-0 record in France. It remains to be seen if Stenson will wait until the turn of the calendar to return, though he's already chosen not to play in next week's Turkish Airlines Open.
