Weekly PGA Recap: Who's Wearing the Pants Now?

One guy is the rock star of the tour, which by professional golf standards isn't saying much. The other guy is blander than a librarian, which by professional golf standards is really saying something.

Rickie Fowler and Jason Dufner won golf tournaments a half a world apart on Sunday, each delivering important messages about the state of their games, not to mention fantasy strategy.

Fowler was grouped with Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy in the first two rounds of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and, while ranked sixth in the world coming in, he definitely began the week as a third wheel. By Sunday, if there was any doubt beforehand, he went from third wheel to the Big 4, joining No. 1 Spieth, No. 2 Jason Day and No. 3 McIlroy atop the OWGR.

It was the fourth big tournament that Fowler has won in the last nine months, though he has yet to win the biggest tournaments -- the majors -- that the other three have. Collectively, they have won 19 times in the last year, six for Spieth, five for Day and four apiece for McIlroy and Fowler.

But Fowler stood out for more than just his golf in the normally staid United Arab Emirates. Long known for a flat-billed cap and all-orange garb, the 28-year-old Fowler sported high tops and "joggers." The high tops had fat Velcro straps, which on TV looked more like ankle monitoring devices. Joggers, as I just learned, are a lot like sweat pants, which is what us regular folk often wear while sleeping or walking the dog.

No matter, Fowler's continued emergence now complicates who will wear the pants in your lineups. If you own any of the Big 4 in your auction league, you're set (I do not; I'm not set). In daily fantasy play, good luck deciding which one (or two?) to go with in a given week, as they all will have similar values. This coming week, Fowler heads to San Diego, where he will be joined by defending champion Day. The odds still favor the field over one of those two, but you'll need a lot of cojones to bypass both in your lineup. Spieth and McIlory will reunite next month at Riviera, but it may be early March at the WGC-Cadillac Championship before we see all four at once.

On a smaller scale, Dufner's two-hole playoff win over David Lingmerth at the CareerBuilder Challenge (formerly the Bob Hope) in La Quinta, Calif., also caused some ripples. It was Dufner's first win since the 2013 PGA Championship, first win since a well-publicized divorce and first win since losing more than 20 pounds. As we wrote here just last week, "Dufner won't return to the top 10 in the OWGR and he won't win another major, but he surely could win a tournament." Now, after beginning the week No. 120 in the world and climbing to 60, he surely could return to the top 20-30 this year, and that's more than high enough to affect lineup strategy.

Even though Dufner is so sedate on the course he makes someone like, oh, say, Matt Kuchar look like a wild man, he does have a sneaky sense of humor, as evidenced when he responded to a tweet from Spieth congratulating him and Fowler on their victories.

@JordanSpieth@RickieFowler@JasonDufner the "new" big 3....

— Jason Dufner (@JasonDufner) January 25, 2016

Rory McIlory

McIlroy could've moved to No. 2 in the world with a tie for second, but Belgium's Thomas Pieters birdied the 72nd hole to claim solo second, leaving McIlroy third with Henrik Stenson. He won his duel with Spieth, albeit not with Fowler. Still, it was a sound performance for McIlroy after a sub-par-for-him 2015, and Abu Dhabi left us with indications it may be a bigger year for him and Fowler than Spieth, and perhaps Day. That's because ...

Jordan Spieth

Spieth, after rallying for a backdoor T5 that never had him in the victory conversation, told reporters that he is "very tired." And he attributed that to his worldwide travels in the so-called offseason to Asia, Australia and Middle East. We'll see how he responds this week in Singapore (more travel!). Then comes a week off, followed by consecutive tournaments at Pebble Beach and Riviera. In a schedule already compressed because golf is returning to the Olympics this summer, Spieth, even at 22, is taking on a lot. Plus he has the pressures of being No. 1. Much like we saw McIlroy take a small step back after his top-notch 2014, it could happen to Spieth and maybe even Day, even though the Aussie has largely been off since October, after the birth of his second child. On the other, McIlory will be itching to get back to where Spieth and Day are, and Fowler is still hungry to get there for the first time.

Henrik Stenson

As Fowler moved to No. 4 in the world, Stenson dropped a spot to No. 6. But in his first start since knee surgery on Dec. 9, Stenson showed he is still a world force with his T3 showing in an elite field. Stenson still doesn't play in the States as much as some Euros, but he is almost always in the mix. Stenson has the best active steak of PGA Tour cuts made at 30. It's hard to see him breaking through for a major, but he not hard to envision him contending in each of them.

Byeong-Hun An

The Korean youngster was part of the six-way tie for fifth with Spieth, his fourth top-10 in his past five starts. An was the European Tour's 2015 Rookie of the Year, and he is inside the top 30 in the OWGR. He'll be in all the majors and WGCs and, despite being just 24, should be heard from in a few of them.

David Lingmerth

Lingmerth shot 62-65 on the weekend to force a playoff with the front-running Dufner, and it appeared he would win before Dufner sank a dicey 11-footer for par on the first extra hole. Lingmerth then found a hazard on the second playoff hole, sealing his fate. Still, the Swede, who broke through at the Memorial last year for his maiden PGA Tour win, is clearly headed for a second. He's 6-for-6 in cuts this season, with four top-25s.

Phil Mickelson

Well, well, who have we here? Mickelson made his season debut a stellar showing, tying for third, his best finish in seven months. It was his first appearance since splitting with longtime swing coach Butch Harmon. We're not ready to jump back on the Mickelson bandwagon (or even a Mickelson bicycle) just yet. He's playing the next three weeks, beginning at his hometown Torrey Pines, so we'll learn a lot more about where his game stands. It seems to be a vigorous schedule for a 45-year-old.

Kevin Na

Na is a little like a poor man's Stenson in that he always seems to be in the thick of things, while usually not winning. Na finished in a three-way tie with Mickelson and Andrew Loupe, giving him four top-3s already this season. He's third in the FedEx and creeping near the top 20 in the world. But Na remains stuck on one career win, way back in 2011. It sure seems like another is coming, but so far it hasn't come (I know, that sounds like something Yogi would say).

Andrew Loupe

Loupe is an interesting case. He made only 5-of-15 cuts last season with just one top-10 and needed the Web.com Tour to retain his card. This season, he's only 3-for-6 in cuts but with three top-10s, including his career best T3 alongside Mickelson and Na. Loupe made more on Sunday ($301,600) than he did all last season. Now, while there's obvious and stark improvement in Loupe's results, the CareerBuilder is a birdie-fest and isn't always a true indicator of how a golfer will fare on more-stingy courses. So consider that when considering Loupe.

Jamie Lovemark

Lovemark is another golfer with eye-opening advancement so far in 2015-16, with three top-10s in seven starts after a T6 at La Quinta. He had had all of one top-10 in 64 prior career starts. Lovemark has had one full season on tour, in 2014, then went back to the Web.com Tour, where it seems he has vastly improved his game.

Will Wilcox

After a stretch of four straight top-25s last summer, the unorthodox Wilcox became a bit of a darling among gamers. By now, the honeymoon should be over, as he missed the cut on Saturday, failing to finish a tournament for the fourth time in five tries since a season-opening T10 at the Frys. And even that featured a Sunday falter. Talk about unrequited love!