This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.
Seven events into the 2014-15 schedule, the PGA Tour is now on hiatus, to resume with the traditional year-opener, the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, on Jan. 9.
Even though the biggest thunder in autumn golf came away from the PGA Tour, with young Americans Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka providing the jolts, the ramifications are sure to be felt stateside.
Koepka announced himself in grand style, winning the penultimate event of the European PGA Tour Final Series (think: FedEx Cup playoffs) to reach the top 35 in the world and assure himself of a full slate of majors and WGC events in 2015. He's on many experts' short lists to be the next breakout star on the PGA Tour.
Spieth, of course, has been the next breakout star for a couple years now, despite being only 21 years old. He had a three-week stretch on three continents that would be a good year, or career, for some golfers. Spieth finished third, one shot out of a playoff, in the Phoenix Open in Japan, then won the prestigious Australian Open, then came home to dismantle the elite field in Tiger Woods' Hero World Challenge (The Hero is officially a PGA Tour event, even though it doesn't award FedEx points).
Here's a look back at some of the notable golfers during the 2014 portion of the 2014-15 PGA Tour season. Next week, we'll look ahead to 2015.
Robert Streb
If you had the 27-year-old Oklahoman leading the point standings at this point,
Seven events into the 2014-15 schedule, the PGA Tour is now on hiatus, to resume with the traditional year-opener, the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, on Jan. 9.
Even though the biggest thunder in autumn golf came away from the PGA Tour, with young Americans Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka providing the jolts, the ramifications are sure to be felt stateside.
Koepka announced himself in grand style, winning the penultimate event of the European PGA Tour Final Series (think: FedEx Cup playoffs) to reach the top 35 in the world and assure himself of a full slate of majors and WGC events in 2015. He's on many experts' short lists to be the next breakout star on the PGA Tour.
Spieth, of course, has been the next breakout star for a couple years now, despite being only 21 years old. He had a three-week stretch on three continents that would be a good year, or career, for some golfers. Spieth finished third, one shot out of a playoff, in the Phoenix Open in Japan, then won the prestigious Australian Open, then came home to dismantle the elite field in Tiger Woods' Hero World Challenge (The Hero is officially a PGA Tour event, even though it doesn't award FedEx points).
Here's a look back at some of the notable golfers during the 2014 portion of the 2014-15 PGA Tour season. Next week, we'll look ahead to 2015.
Robert Streb
If you had the 27-year-old Oklahoman leading the point standings at this point, give yourself a hand. While it's unrealistic to think Streb can be in this position long-term, he looks like a comer. He notched three top-10s in five starts, including his first career win in the McGladrey Classic. Streb has shown a nice progression, from 126th in the point standings as a rookie in 2013 to 71st last season. He's looking at a lot higher finish than that in 2015.
Ben Martin
Martin captured his first title in the Shriners Open the week before Streb won, and now sits third in points. It's interesting in that much more has been anticipated from Martin than Streb, even though their careers have some parallels. Both are 27, and Martin finished 76th in the standings last season, his second full go-round on the PGA Tour.
Bubba Watson
Watson is the lone big-name golfer to make a big dent in the fall series, though that came overseas in the WGC-HSBC Champions, which he won in a playoff. That left Watson fourth in points with his lone start so far. The victory showed how good Watson can be when the Good Bubba shows up -- and shows up at courses not named Augusta National.
Nick Taylor
Taylor won the Sanderson Farms Championship opposite Watson's win in China. And, while that won't get Taylor in the Masters, it will get him into The Players, the PGA and the Tournament of Champions, while securing his card through 2016-17. He's 12th in the standings, and of all the fall-series winners, the rookie in only his 13th start seems like the biggest fluke. Proceed cautiously.
Tony Finau
The rookie finds himself 14th in the standings after four top-15s in five starts. More important, this moved the Web.com Tour grad to the top of the reshuffle list, from a starting point of ninth. He'll get plenty of chances to keep the good times rolling. And, if you're into bloodlines, he's the second cousin of Milwaukee Bucks rookie Jabari Parker.
Max Homa, Sam Saunders
Two of the more notable Web.com Tour graduates haven't been all that notable, especially Saunders, the grandson of Arnold Palmer. Homa played five times and made three cuts, but with only one top-30. He's 91st in the standings and now 16th in the reshuffle. Saunders, meanwhile, made only two of five cuts with no top-30s. That leaves him 153rd in the standings, and he's fallen 27 spots in the reshuffle, to 37th. It doesn't look especially encouraging for either golfer to crack the top 125 this season.
Ryan Armour, Tyrone Van Aswegen
Armour and Van Aswegen are joined in the most unenviable of ways: They both played five times, missed four cuts and secured only one point in their lone cash of the season. They technically sit tied for last in the point standings.
Richard Sterne
Technically, because Stern has zero points. The South African is the Web.com graduate with perhaps the most acclaim. He has six Euro wins and knocked off Zach Johnson, a No. 1 seed, 5-and-4 in the first round of the WGC-Match Play Championship earlier this year. Sterne began the season sixth in the reshuffle, but after missing three cuts in three tries, he's plunged to 48th, and getting playing time will now be an issue.
Brandt Snedeker
Snedeker played the weekend in all three of his starts, securing two top-10s. Certainly a promising sign for him after a dismal 2013-14. How dismal? Snedeker, who began 2014 inside the top 15 in the world, will finish it outside the top 50 (now 55th), meaning one of the sport's top putters is going to have to play his way into the Masters in 2015.
Next week: A look ahead to 2015 in fantasy golf.
