This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
It will be hard to top Week 1 of the FedExCup Playoffs, as the event went to a showdown between arguably the two best golfers in the world, but the second leg possesses an incredibly deep field so anything is possible. This week's tournament will showcase just 100 golfers competing for their share of an $8.75M purse, and the top 70 in the standings after Labor Day will advance to the next leg. TPC Boston, a lengthy Par-71 course, will once again host this week's event, now knows as the Dell Technologies Championship. Let's examine a few golfers before play begins Friday.
VALUE RISING
Louis Oosthuizen
After completing his career Grand Slam of runner-ups in majors at the PGA Championship, Oosthuizen went T10 in the first week of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. He finished T3 in GIR at the event, as well as 10th in SG: Approach. The South African finds himself heating up as he heads toward TPC Boston, where has finished T2, T12, and T8 in three career visits. He will look to add on to an impressive nine top-25 finishes this season.
Chez Reavie
After missing 7-of-11 cuts this spring, Reavie rolls into Week 2 of the postseason riding a streak of nine consecutive made cuts. He finished T10 last week at The Northern Trust, which vaulted him from 63rd to 40th in the FedEx Cup rankings. He has only finished one round over par in his previous eight strolls: Sunday at the Wyndham Championship, and he was only one shot above the number. Two of those previous eight rounds he played at even par, while five were under. The 35-year-old ranks 11th in par-4 scoring average and 36th in SG: Approach, both key stats at TPC Boston.
Patrick Cantlay
Cantlay, who returned this year from serious back issues, has seen his value rise steadily throughout the year. The former amateur stud jumped from 78th to 50th in the FedEx Cup standings after a T10 at the Northern Trust. He has been below the radar most of the year due to steady absences between tournaments, but the reasoning was to maintain his health coming off the aforementioned back issues, and there have been no reported setbacks. Although he has played in just ten tournaments, Cantlay made it to the weekend in each of them, going 10-for-10 in cuts made. The 25-year-old's consistency has kept him in the mix in nearly every event he has entered this year, and he seems primed for a breakthrough performance.
VALUE FALLING
Danny Lee
After making seven consecutive cuts during a May through July stretch, Lee withdrew from the John Deere Classic with an undisclosed injury. He followed that up with a T32 in a relatively weak field at the RBC Canadian Open, andhas since missed three consecutive cuts. He has had just one round of his previous six at even par, while the rest have all been over. The 27-year-old out of South Korea has fallen to 62nd in the FedExCup Standings, and is trending in the wrong direction at the wrong time.
Si Woo Kim
Kim is pretty much the definition of a hit-or-miss play, and he has provided many more misses recently. Ever since winning THE PLAYERS Championship in May, he has missed 4-of-7 cuts to go along with two separate WDs. Kim has also not been close to contention since finishing T13 at the US Open. The 22-year-old is a wild card, which brings intrigue, but he finished under par just twice over his last 16 rounds.
William McGirt
McGirt has been up-and-down this season, but has seen more downs of late. After missing 4-of-5 cuts, including one WD, he has seen his FedExCup ranking plummet to 96. He will need quite the weekend to reach the Top 70, but does not have any momentum suggesting he will do so. The 38-year-old is 132nd in SG: Approach, just 190th in Par-4 scoring, and went under par just twice in his last 12 rounds.
INJURY UPDATE
Graham DeLaet
DeLaet, who withdrew from The Northern Trust due to back soreness, is back in the field this week. He may not care for fantasy golf, but still needs a strong performance this week in order to jump into the top 70 of the FedExCup rankings, as he currently sits at 74. He chose not to push it last week, as he likely knew he would need a strong performance at TPC Boston to extend his sesaon.
Brandt Snedeker
Snedeker will remain sidelined this week as he continues to deal with a rib injury. He has been out since participating in the Travelers Championship the last weekend of June, but remains 68th in the FedEx Cup rankings. Thus, his season is presumably set to come to an end, as just a couple golfers need to pass him in the rankings to knock him out of the top 70. The 36-year-old will continue to rest, and look to bounce back when the new season begins in October.
