This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
The first round of the FedExCup Playoffs is in the books as fan-favorite (ha) Bryson DeChambeau hogged the podium with a four-stroke victory over Tony Finau at the Northern Trust, adding his second win of the year as he leapt to a career-best No. 12 in the Official World Golf Ranking. The field of remaining qualifiers for the second leg of the playoffs is set at the top-100 in the FedExCup standings, as 98 entrants will be teeing it up at the Dell Technologies Championship hosted by TPC Boston this week. We'll take a look at a handful of fantasy trends on Tour as the road to East Lake continues.
VALUE RISING
Billy Horschel
Horschel jumped from 41st to 14th in the FedExCup standings with his T3 at the Northern Trust, marking his second straight top-15 as he continues to improve his likelihood of qualifying for the TOUR Championship. Having led the field in scrambling percentage last week at Ridgewood CC, Horschel carded just three bogeys throughout the entire tournament.
Kevin Na
Also positioned inside of the top-20 in the FedExCup standings, Na has posted two finishes of T19 or better in four starts since his win at The Greenbrier. He most recently tied for 15th at the Northern Trust thanks to a solid performance with the flat stick and 42 of 56 fairways in regulation. Na has finished T6-T11 in the past two editions of the Dell Technologies Championship, so he'll certainly be a viable option in daily fantasy
The first round of the FedExCup Playoffs is in the books as fan-favorite (ha) Bryson DeChambeau hogged the podium with a four-stroke victory over Tony Finau at the Northern Trust, adding his second win of the year as he leapt to a career-best No. 12 in the Official World Golf Ranking. The field of remaining qualifiers for the second leg of the playoffs is set at the top-100 in the FedExCup standings, as 98 entrants will be teeing it up at the Dell Technologies Championship hosted by TPC Boston this week. We'll take a look at a handful of fantasy trends on Tour as the road to East Lake continues.
VALUE RISING
Billy Horschel
Horschel jumped from 41st to 14th in the FedExCup standings with his T3 at the Northern Trust, marking his second straight top-15 as he continues to improve his likelihood of qualifying for the TOUR Championship. Having led the field in scrambling percentage last week at Ridgewood CC, Horschel carded just three bogeys throughout the entire tournament.
Kevin Na
Also positioned inside of the top-20 in the FedExCup standings, Na has posted two finishes of T19 or better in four starts since his win at The Greenbrier. He most recently tied for 15th at the Northern Trust thanks to a solid performance with the flat stick and 42 of 56 fairways in regulation. Na has finished T6-T11 in the past two editions of the Dell Technologies Championship, so he'll certainly be a viable option in daily fantasy formats this week.
Aaron Wise
The impressive rookie has finished top-six in two of his last three starts, ascending to No. 15 in the FedExCup standings as a result. Dating back to the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational earlier this month, he's notched seven scores of 68 or better in 10 tournament rounds. Wise ranks 10th on Tour this season in birdie average and 41st in SG: Total.
Chez Reavie
With back-to-back top-20s at the Northern Trust and PGA Championship, Reavie appears to be past whatever troubles were haunting him on the course during a stretch of five consecutive missed cuts this summer. He's managed to remain inside of the top-30 in the FedExCup standings thanks to a trio of top-six results this season.
VALUE FALLING
Bubba Watson
Watson has been trending in the wrong direction since his win at the Travelers Championship in late June, missing three cuts to go along with just one top-25 in six starts since the victory. He's still seventh in the FedExCup standings, but he may stray from contention at the Dell Technologies Championship and beyond.
Russell Henley
Henley has now missed three cuts in his last four starts since posting three consecutive top-25s from the U.S. Open through The Greenbrier, nearly missing out on the Dell Technologies Championship at 96th in the FedExCup standings. It will take a swift turnaround in order for him to qualify for the BMW Championship, while an extended run in the playoffs doesn't appear likely. Henley's short game has been a major downfall, which doesn't bode well for someone who lacks significant length to make up for spotty scrambling.
Chesson Hadley
Hadley has missed a pair of cuts to go along with no finish better than a T45 in five starts since placing T8 at the Quicken Loans National in late June. There's a substantial chance he falls out of the top-30 in the FedExCup standings after the Dell Technologies Championship given his current trend.
J.B. Holmes
Holmes racked up yet another MC at the Northern Trust, adding his fourth missed cuts in five starts since finishing top-three at both the Travelers Championship and FedEx St. Jude Classic. He owns zero career top-10s at the Dell Technologies Championship in eight appearances, while Holmes ranks just 164th in SG: Putting, 155th in driving accuracy and 138th in GIR percentage.
INJURY UPDATE
Rickie Fowler
A partial oblique tear will keep Fowler sidelined during the second leg of the playoffs at TPC Boston, but the 29-year-old recently managed to work in a practice session for the first time since his T12 at the PGA Championship. At 22nd in the FedExCup standings he's safely in the gate for next week's BMW Championship, but it'd be a stretch for him to make the TOUR Championship if the oblique is still in an issue and would ultimately force him to miss the third leg at Aronimink GC.
