This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
The Tour heads across the country from the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club to PGA National for the Honda Classic in what will be one of three tournaments hosted by the state of Florida throughout the next four weeks. The window to qualify for the upcoming WGC-Mexico Championship will also be closing in the near future, with the top-50 in the Official World Golf Ranking after the Honda Classic securing a spot. Last week's "Risers" included Phil Mickelson and Kevin Chappell as both went on to finish top-20 at the Genesis Open, while "Faller" Wesley Bryan missed the cut by four strokes. We'll now take a look at several trends on Tour as we embark on the Florida Swing.
VALUE RISING
Rafael Cabrera-Bello
Cabrera-Bello has hovered around the No. 20 spot in the OWGR since the FedExCup playoffs last fall, as he hasn't missed a cut in 12 consecutive starts. He's finished T40 or worse just twice during this stretch, posting four top-10s in the process. Most recently at the Genesis Open, the Spaniard displayed above-average accuracy off the tee and was solid in terms of putts per GIR.
Scott Stallings
Stallings had recently fallen to 305th in the OWGR after his second consecutive missed cut at the Farmers Insurance Open, but finishes of T23-7-T4 in his last three starts have bumped him up to 143rd. The 32-year-old is now top-50 in the FedExCup standings after putting well on the Poa Annua greens during the West Coast Swing.
Sam
The Tour heads across the country from the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club to PGA National for the Honda Classic in what will be one of three tournaments hosted by the state of Florida throughout the next four weeks. The window to qualify for the upcoming WGC-Mexico Championship will also be closing in the near future, with the top-50 in the Official World Golf Ranking after the Honda Classic securing a spot. Last week's "Risers" included Phil Mickelson and Kevin Chappell as both went on to finish top-20 at the Genesis Open, while "Faller" Wesley Bryan missed the cut by four strokes. We'll now take a look at several trends on Tour as we embark on the Florida Swing.
VALUE RISING
Rafael Cabrera-Bello
Cabrera-Bello has hovered around the No. 20 spot in the OWGR since the FedExCup playoffs last fall, as he hasn't missed a cut in 12 consecutive starts. He's finished T40 or worse just twice during this stretch, posting four top-10s in the process. Most recently at the Genesis Open, the Spaniard displayed above-average accuracy off the tee and was solid in terms of putts per GIR.
Scott Stallings
Stallings had recently fallen to 305th in the OWGR after his second consecutive missed cut at the Farmers Insurance Open, but finishes of T23-7-T4 in his last three starts have bumped him up to 143rd. The 32-year-old is now top-50 in the FedExCup standings after putting well on the Poa Annua greens during the West Coast Swing.
Sam Saunders
Saunders failed to reach $700K in earnings during each of his first three seasons on Tour, but the 30-year-old is now on pace to do so in 2018 after posting four consecutive top-26 finishes since the Sony Open. Widely known as Arnold Palmer's grandson, Saunders will look to continue making a name for himself as he climbs into the top-200 of the OWGR for the first time in his career.
VALUE FALLING
Kyle Stanley
Following a T10 at the Sony Open in Hawaii, Stanley's West Coast Swing included disappointing results of T51-MC-MC. He's missed back-to-back cuts for the first time since August, while he's outside of the top-165 on Tour in both SG: Approach and SG: Around-the-Green.
Jhonattan Vegas
The streaky Venezuelan has missed back-to-back cuts after finishes of T11-T7 in his previous two starts at the CareerBuilder Challenge and Sentry Tournament of Champions, while he hadn't missed a single cut since last summer's PGA Championship before this recent slump. He could certainly use improvements with his performance off the tee, as he currently ranks 160th on Tour in total driving. On a more positive note, he'll now head to PGA National where he's finished top-12 in two of his past three appearances.
Zac Blair
After beginning the 2017-18 season with a pair of top-30s at the Safeway Open and Sanderson Farms Championship, Blair has missed the cut in six of his last seven events to fall outside the top-400 in the OWGR. A severe lack of distance off the tee has resulted in Blair ranking near the bottom on Tour in terms of birdie average and par-five scoring.
INJURY UPDATE
Nicholas Lindheim
Lindheim was forced to withdraw from the Genesis Open due to an illness last week, but he'll return to action at the Honda Classic. The 309th-ranked player in the world hasn't made a cut since the Sony Open in early January as he heads to PGA National for the first time in his career.
D.A. Points
Points cited a neck issue as his reason for withdrawing from this week's Honda Classic, which he announced via Twitter. He's also slated to undergo an MRI, which should give us insight into how long the 41-year-old could be sidelined. He's ranked just 181st in the FedExCup standings this season, so his absence shouldn't have much of an impact from a fantasy sense.
