This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
Highlighted as a "Riser" in the Valentine's Day edition of the Golf Barometer less than a month ago on Feb. 14, Phil Mickelson returned to the winner's circle for the first time since 2013 in Mexico as he also posted his fourth consecutive top-six finish. Not bad for a 47-year-old who has created his own spotlight while long-time rival Tiger Woods hogs plenty of headlines in his return from injury. The PGA Tour is stationed in Palm Harbor, Florida for the Valspar Championship this week, as we look at several trends from a fantasy perspective with the Masters only a month away.
VALUE RISING
Justin Thomas
An electric hole-out for eagle on the par-four 18th during this past Sunday's final round at the WGC-Mexico Championship nearly resulted in what would have been Thomas' fifth win dating back to the PGA Championship in August. He ultimately fell to Mickelson in a playoff, but Thomas still moved up to a career-best No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking with his runner-up finish in Mexico just one week after winning the Honda Classic. The leader in FedExCup points this season also ranks second on Tour in scoring average, eighth in SG: Tee-to-Green and 10th in scrambling.
Bubba Watson
Watson's disappointing 2017 campaign included zero top-three finishes and seven missed cuts in 23 events as he ended the calendar year at just 89th in the OWGR. He started 2018 on the same wave with a missed cut at the CareerBuilder Challenge, but has
Highlighted as a "Riser" in the Valentine's Day edition of the Golf Barometer less than a month ago on Feb. 14, Phil Mickelson returned to the winner's circle for the first time since 2013 in Mexico as he also posted his fourth consecutive top-six finish. Not bad for a 47-year-old who has created his own spotlight while long-time rival Tiger Woods hogs plenty of headlines in his return from injury. The PGA Tour is stationed in Palm Harbor, Florida for the Valspar Championship this week, as we look at several trends from a fantasy perspective with the Masters only a month away.
VALUE RISING
Justin Thomas
An electric hole-out for eagle on the par-four 18th during this past Sunday's final round at the WGC-Mexico Championship nearly resulted in what would have been Thomas' fifth win dating back to the PGA Championship in August. He ultimately fell to Mickelson in a playoff, but Thomas still moved up to a career-best No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking with his runner-up finish in Mexico just one week after winning the Honda Classic. The leader in FedExCup points this season also ranks second on Tour in scoring average, eighth in SG: Tee-to-Green and 10th in scrambling.
Bubba Watson
Watson's disappointing 2017 campaign included zero top-three finishes and seven missed cuts in 23 events as he ended the calendar year at just 89th in the OWGR. He started 2018 on the same wave with a missed cut at the CareerBuilder Challenge, but has since posted four consecutive top-40 results including a win at the Genesis Open. Watson is also qualified for all four major championships this year, adding value in terms of his long-term outlook.
Adam Hadwin
The Canadian has now gone 12 consecutive starts without a missed cut as he heads to the Innisbrook Resort to defend his title at the Valspar Championship. Hadwin most recently finished top-10 in his past two events at the WGC-Mexico Championship and Genesis Open, ascending to 44th in the OWGR. He ranks just 121st on Tour in total driving, but is 30th in SG: Approach, 12th in SG: Around-the-Green and 20th in average proximity from 175-200 yards.
VALUE FALLING
Billy Horschel
Horschel is riding a streak of three consecutive missed cuts heading into this week's Valspar Championship, while most of the blame should be placed on his below-average short game. He ranks just 161st in SG: ATG and 134th in SG: Putting, breaking 70 just once in his last 10 tournament rounds.
Scott Brown
Brown has already fallen more than 20 spots to No. 138 in the OWGR since the end of 2017, posting three missed cuts and no finish better than a T46 in his last six starts. He's still top-70 in the FedExCup standings thanks to a pair of top-six results during the fall series, but that positioning certainly won't hold if he continues to struggle. There hasn't really been a bright spot in terms of Brown's game this season, as he ranks outside of the top-100 in each major Strokes Gained category.
David Lingmerth
Lingmerth would be even lower than 159th in this season's FedExCup standings if it weren't for a proficient putting stroke, while he currently ranks 170th in SG: T2G. The Swede's 2018 results include finishes of MC-T75-MC-T57 in four events, descending outside of the top-150 in the OWGR. Up to this point, he's yet to qualify for a single major championship this year.
INJURY UPDATE
Kevin Na
Na, who is believed to be dealing with some sort of neck injury, was forced to withdraw from the Valspar Championship in what was essentially a last-minute decision. The 65th-ranked player in the OWGR needs to climb into the top-50 by Mar. 26 in order to earn a Masters invitation, but this neck issue may thwart his chances.
