This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
Bouncing back from a stretch of five straight missed cuts, Jhonattan Vegas successfully defended his title at the RBC Canadian Open last week. Charley Hoffman came oh-so-close to a long-overdue win, but failed to finish it off once again. The buzz from Jordan Spieth's Open Championship victory is starting to wear off with the prestigious WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship approaching, so we'll peek at a few trends as the Tour heads to Ohio this week.
VALUE RISING
Ian Poulter
Once upon a time the Englishman was ranked fifth in the Official World Golf Ranking after a 2010 win at the WGC-Accenture Match Play, but he entered 2017 as the 184th-ranked player after a spell of injuries led to mediocre play. Poulter is now back up to 62nd in the world due to nine consecutive cuts made, posting three top-10s during that span. He's out this week but is qualified for next week's PGA Championship thanks to a backdoor third-place finish at the RBC Canadian Open.
Charley Hoffman
Despite being the only player inside the top-15 of the FedExCup standings without a win, Hoffman climbed to 12th with his runner-up finish at the RBC Canadian Open. He has surpassed the $3M mark in earnings for the season thanks to a current stretch of 11 consecutive made cuts, which is quite a lot of money without notching a win. Loaded fields at the upcoming WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship will make it tough for Hoffman to secure that victory, but he
Bouncing back from a stretch of five straight missed cuts, Jhonattan Vegas successfully defended his title at the RBC Canadian Open last week. Charley Hoffman came oh-so-close to a long-overdue win, but failed to finish it off once again. The buzz from Jordan Spieth's Open Championship victory is starting to wear off with the prestigious WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship approaching, so we'll peek at a few trends as the Tour heads to Ohio this week.
VALUE RISING
Ian Poulter
Once upon a time the Englishman was ranked fifth in the Official World Golf Ranking after a 2010 win at the WGC-Accenture Match Play, but he entered 2017 as the 184th-ranked player after a spell of injuries led to mediocre play. Poulter is now back up to 62nd in the world due to nine consecutive cuts made, posting three top-10s during that span. He's out this week but is qualified for next week's PGA Championship thanks to a backdoor third-place finish at the RBC Canadian Open.
Charley Hoffman
Despite being the only player inside the top-15 of the FedExCup standings without a win, Hoffman climbed to 12th with his runner-up finish at the RBC Canadian Open. He has surpassed the $3M mark in earnings for the season thanks to a current stretch of 11 consecutive made cuts, which is quite a lot of money without notching a win. Loaded fields at the upcoming WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship will make it tough for Hoffman to secure that victory, but he has set himself up nicely for a deep playoff run in September.
Jamie Lovemark
Lovemark hasn't missed a cut since the Honda Classic in February, and he also finished worse than T27 just once over his last seven starts. He's top-40 on Tour in the FedExCup standings, SG: Around-the-Green and SG: Tee-to-Green. The 29-year-old doesn't have much PGA Championship experience, but he's playing some of the best golf of his career as he continues seeking his first Tour win.
VALUE FALLING
William McGirt
McGirt hasn't posted a top-25 finish since THE PLAYERS Championship in mid-May, placing no better than T43 in eight starts since then. He withdrew from the RBC Canadian Open last week after 27 holes due to an undisclosed reason, bringing both his form and health into question heading into next week's PGA Championship. McGirt also ranks outside of the top-125 on Tour this season in all of SG: Approach, SG: Around-the-Green and SG: Putting.
Fabrizio Zanotti
Zanotti is a regular on the European Tour, but for the next two weeks he will be stateside in Akron and then at Quail Hollow. The Paraguayan is coming off a pair of missed cuts at the Open Championship and Scottish Open, however, while also failing to record a top-25 in his last eight events. He won the Maybank Championship in February and ascended as high as 76th in the OWGR, but he's now back down to 105th and continues to fall.
Cody Gribble
After a 14th-place finish at the Tournament of Champions in January, the rookie has made just four cuts in 18 starts while posting no finish better than a T41. He's all the way down to 84th in the FedExCup standings, the second-lowest mark among winners on Tour this season. The lowest in that category is D.A. Points, who won the opposite-field Puerto Rico Open. Gribble's October victory at the Sanderson Farms Championship is a distant memory, but he's still qualified for next week's PGA Championship.
INJURY UPDATE
Martin Kaymer (shoulder)
Kaymer announced this past week that he has been dealing with a shoulder injury, one that will keep him sidelined for both the WGC-Bridgestone and PGA Championship. This helps explain a stretch of poor play in recent months, and he's finally taking some time off in order to get healthy. Kaymer intends to return in late August when the European Tour heads to Denmark.
Brandt Snedeker (ribs)
Snedeker's rib/sternum issue has lingered another week and will force him to miss the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. He still hasn't played since the Travelers Championship in late June, but plans on returning to action for next week's PGA Championship with hopes of being healthy for the year's final major and then the playoffs in September.
