This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
The U.S. Open at Erin Hills drew mixed reviews last week, but the world's top three golfers at the time all missed the cut, while players such as Trey Mullinax and Chez Reavie finished inside the top 20. Both the "Risers" and "Fallers" from last week's Barometer struggled as Stewart Cink's T46 marked the best finish of either crew. The Tour is now stationed at the Travelers Championship, which includes a surprisingly talented field following the year's second major, with Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, and Jason Day all teeing it up.
Let's take a look at several players whose U.S. Open performances shifted their stock moving forward.
VALUE RISING
Matt Kuchar
"Kuuuuuuuch" has climbed into the top-15 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time since finishing third at the Olympics last August. The 39-year-old's most recent T16 at the U.S. Open was preceded by results of T4-T12-T9 in his previous three starts, putting him over $2M in earnings for the season. He's top-45 on Tour in terms of driving accuracy and GIR percentage, while also ranking 13th in scrambling. He is seeking his first win since 2015's Fiji International, but is on the right path to do so.
Bill Haas
Haas has bounced back nicely after appearing in the "Value Falling" category of the Barometer in late May, finishing no worse than T25 in his past three events. A T5 at the U.S. Open marked his best career finish in a major, as he hit over 80
The U.S. Open at Erin Hills drew mixed reviews last week, but the world's top three golfers at the time all missed the cut, while players such as Trey Mullinax and Chez Reavie finished inside the top 20. Both the "Risers" and "Fallers" from last week's Barometer struggled as Stewart Cink's T46 marked the best finish of either crew. The Tour is now stationed at the Travelers Championship, which includes a surprisingly talented field following the year's second major, with Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, and Jason Day all teeing it up.
Let's take a look at several players whose U.S. Open performances shifted their stock moving forward.
VALUE RISING
Matt Kuchar
"Kuuuuuuuch" has climbed into the top-15 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time since finishing third at the Olympics last August. The 39-year-old's most recent T16 at the U.S. Open was preceded by results of T4-T12-T9 in his previous three starts, putting him over $2M in earnings for the season. He's top-45 on Tour in terms of driving accuracy and GIR percentage, while also ranking 13th in scrambling. He is seeking his first win since 2015's Fiji International, but is on the right path to do so.
Bill Haas
Haas has bounced back nicely after appearing in the "Value Falling" category of the Barometer in late May, finishing no worse than T25 in his past three events. A T5 at the U.S. Open marked his best career finish in a major, as he hit over 80 percent of the greens in regulation at Erin Hills. He's back inside the top 25 of the FedExCup standings and ranks ninth on Tour in GIR percentage.
Xander Schauffele
Paced by a first-round 66, the rookie came out of nowhere to contend at the U.S. Open before Brooks Koepka ran away with his maiden major championship. Schauffele is now on pace to earn his Tour card for a second consecutive season, and a T5 at Erin Hills qualifies him for next year's U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, where he will have another go at the event's jumbo purse.
VALUE FALLING
Tyrrell Hatton
Hatton was tagged as the next big thing on the international golf scene as he ascended to No. 14 in the OWGR earlier this year, but he has since fallen to No. 20 with finishes of MC-T30-T41-T29-MC over his last five starts. Those missed cuts came on the grandest of stages, as he failed to make it through to the weekend at both the Masters and U.S. Open. It appears he will continue to play a majority of his events on the European Tour for the foreseeable future, which will make it difficult to make major moves up the money list and FedExCup Standings.
Adam Hadwin
The Canadian has slowly but surely declined since he followed up his win at the Valspar Championship with a sixth-place finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in mid-March. Hadwin's last five events have included results of T60-MC-T53-T30-T72, and he has fallen to No. 53 in the OWGR after a final-round 80 at the U.S. Open. He is 98th on Tour in SG: off-the-tee and SG: around-the-green, but is looking to turn things around at this week's Travelers Championship.
Jhonattan Vegas
Vegas has now missed the cut at the U.S. Open, PLAYERS Championship and the Masters since April, missing out on some of the season's largest payouts. He made just over $70,000 throughout his past seven events, descending to No. 71 in the FedExCup standings during that stretch. He is struggling to find the fairways off the tee, so the Travelers Championship could be a tough spot for Vegas to bounce back.
INJURY UPDATE
Danny Willett (back)
A back injury forced Willett to withdraw from the U.S. Open after an embarrassing first-round 81, and he also withdrew from THE PLAYERS Championship last month due to a similar back issue following a poor first round. Willett's past five starts have included two WDs, two MCs and a T58, and it is becoming more and more difficult to believe the Englishman won a major just last year. He may take some time off to heal prior to the British Open in late July.
