This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
The West Coast Swing's penultimate event is underway at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in northern California, where a bloated field of 156 professionals and amateurs alike are spread throughout Monterey Peninsula CC, Spyglass Hill and Pebble Beach Golf Links before a 54-hole cut. Last week on the PGA Tour, Rickie Fowler battled through final-round adversity and was able to capitalize on a late lead at TPC Scottsdale, winning the Waste Management Phoenix Open by two strokes in front of his family. Meanwhile overseas in Saudi Arabia, Dustin Johnson captured his first victory in 2019 but remained behind Justin Rose and Brooks Koepka in the Official World Golf Ranking. We'll now take a look at several fantasy trends on the PGA Tour while brutal weather conditions approach at Pebble.
VALUE RISING
Matt Kuchar
Kuchar found himself in contention at the Waste Management Phoenix Open for what would have been a third win in five starts dating to the Mayakoba, but he ultimately carded a final-round 74 to finish in a tie for fourth. Nonetheless, Kuchar is second behind only Xander Schauffele in the FedExCup standings as the former also ranks top-10 on Tour in driving accuracy, GIR percentage and scoring average this season.
Chez Reavie
Up to seventh in both SG: Tee-to-Green and SG: Total, Reavie's ball striking has been on point while he's yet to miss a cut through eight events. He notched a top-5 result at TPC Scottsdale and began the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with six birdies
The West Coast Swing's penultimate event is underway at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in northern California, where a bloated field of 156 professionals and amateurs alike are spread throughout Monterey Peninsula CC, Spyglass Hill and Pebble Beach Golf Links before a 54-hole cut. Last week on the PGA Tour, Rickie Fowler battled through final-round adversity and was able to capitalize on a late lead at TPC Scottsdale, winning the Waste Management Phoenix Open by two strokes in front of his family. Meanwhile overseas in Saudi Arabia, Dustin Johnson captured his first victory in 2019 but remained behind Justin Rose and Brooks Koepka in the Official World Golf Ranking. We'll now take a look at several fantasy trends on the PGA Tour while brutal weather conditions approach at Pebble.
VALUE RISING
Matt Kuchar
Kuchar found himself in contention at the Waste Management Phoenix Open for what would have been a third win in five starts dating to the Mayakoba, but he ultimately carded a final-round 74 to finish in a tie for fourth. Nonetheless, Kuchar is second behind only Xander Schauffele in the FedExCup standings as the former also ranks top-10 on Tour in driving accuracy, GIR percentage and scoring average this season.
Chez Reavie
Up to seventh in both SG: Tee-to-Green and SG: Total, Reavie's ball striking has been on point while he's yet to miss a cut through eight events. He notched a top-5 result at TPC Scottsdale and began the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with six birdies and an eagle in his first round at Monterey Peninsula CC.
Michael Thompson
Thompson has already finished T17 or better on three occasions in just five starts throughout the early portion of the 2018-19 campaign. He added back-to-back top-15s at the Farmers Insurance Open and Desert Classic, rising to 22nd on Tour in birdie average and 66th in the FedExCup standings.
VALUE FALLING
Pat Perez
Perez returned from a minor thumb injury at the Farmers Insurance Open, but he missed the cut by several strokes and has dropped to No. 77 in the Official World Golf Ranking. The sample size for his season-long statistics is limited with just three measured rounds, but he's outside of the top-200 in SG: Approach and SG: Tee-to-Green. Luckily for Perez, he feels comfortable at Pebble Beach and has made the cut in 14 of 16 career trips to the Pro-Am.
Kelly Kraft
Kraft has missed four straight cuts from the RSM Classic through the Waste Management, descending outside of the top-150 in the FedExCup standings. He ranks just 193rd in SG: Total and GIR percentage, though he did finish runner-up at Pebble Beach in 2017.
Whee Kim
Kim's 2018 campaign included a win at the Korean Tour's Descente Korea Munsingwear Matchplay, a T2 at the RBC Canadian Open and zero missed cuts from the Northern Trust through the Mayakoba Golf Classic where he placed T10. Since then, however, he's missed the cut in five consecutive starts while falling to No. 150 in the OWGR. The 26-year-old resides outside of the top-200 in SG: Off-the-Tee and SG: Tee-to-Green.
INJURY UPDATE
Patrick Cantlay
Citing an undisclosed illness, Cantlay was added to the long list of withdrawals prior to the AT&T Pro-Am this week as he was replaced in the field by Brian Davis. Cantlay is still expected to tee it up at the Genesis Open next Thursday, however, having notched a T4 at the event in 2018.
Kevin Na
Na was able to play all four rounds at TPC Scottsdale in his return from a fractured pinky finger, but he slid into a tie for 60th and elected to withdraw from the Pro-Am earlier this week. With the injury seemingly behind him, Na figures to return next week at Riviera where he's enjoyed back-to-back top-4 finishes.
