This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
For the select few of PGA Championship qualifiers who elected to also tee it up at this week's AT&T Byron Nelson, weather delays and chilly morning temps in Dallas are certain to cause frustration while their true competition enjoys extra practice reps at Bethpage Black. Making matters worse is the presence of an MDF situation as 83 entrants made the original 36-hole cut, so the field will once again be chopped down upon the eventual conclusion of the postponed third round. In the meantime, we'll take a look at several fantasy trends around the PGA Tour along with injury updates for a handful of household names.
VALUE RISING
Sabbatini has gone since early February's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am without a missed cut, ultimately placing top-40 in eight consecutive events from the Honda Classic through the Wells Fargo Championship. He's currently enjoying a stretch of three straight top-20s, including a T3 at the Zurich Classic alongside teammate Brian Gay. The 43-year-old isn't slowing down this week either, entering the weekend in solo-fifth at the AT&T Byron Nelson with 11 birdies to just one bogey throughout his first 36 holes in Dallas.
Joining Sabbatini in the grizzled vet club, Palmer paired with Jon Rahm to win the Zurich Classic as the 42-year-old surpassed the $2M mark in season earnings for the first time since 2013-14. Palmer has missed four cuts in 2019 already, but he's provided a pleasant ceiling with four finishes of T7 or better since
For the select few of PGA Championship qualifiers who elected to also tee it up at this week's AT&T Byron Nelson, weather delays and chilly morning temps in Dallas are certain to cause frustration while their true competition enjoys extra practice reps at Bethpage Black. Making matters worse is the presence of an MDF situation as 83 entrants made the original 36-hole cut, so the field will once again be chopped down upon the eventual conclusion of the postponed third round. In the meantime, we'll take a look at several fantasy trends around the PGA Tour along with injury updates for a handful of household names.
VALUE RISING
Sabbatini has gone since early February's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am without a missed cut, ultimately placing top-40 in eight consecutive events from the Honda Classic through the Wells Fargo Championship. He's currently enjoying a stretch of three straight top-20s, including a T3 at the Zurich Classic alongside teammate Brian Gay. The 43-year-old isn't slowing down this week either, entering the weekend in solo-fifth at the AT&T Byron Nelson with 11 birdies to just one bogey throughout his first 36 holes in Dallas.
Joining Sabbatini in the grizzled vet club, Palmer paired with Jon Rahm to win the Zurich Classic as the 42-year-old surpassed the $2M mark in season earnings for the first time since 2013-14. Palmer has missed four cuts in 2019 already, but he's provided a pleasant ceiling with four finishes of T7 or better since the CJ Cup. Through his first two rounds at the AT&T Byron Nelson, Palmer ranks top-10 in both SG: Off-the-Tee and GIR percentage.
Rebounding from a streak of seven missed cuts in a row earlier this season, Power followed back-to-back top-6s at the RBC Heritage and Zurich Classic with another top-15 at the Wells Fargo Championship. The Irishman is on pace to join the top-100 in the FedExCup standings as he seems to be figuring things out with the flat stick, currently ranking 31st on Tour in putting from inside 10 feet.
Aside from a withdrawal at the Valspar Championship, Lee has now made the cut in nine consecutive starts as he enters the weekend at Trinity Forest in a tied for 67th. The Korean has gained an average of 4.6 strokes tee-to-green over his past five tournaments and has gained strokes off-the-tee in eight consecutive measured events.
VALUE FALLING
The 2017 RSM Classic champion has been boom or bust with a trio of top-15s to accompany missed cuts in half of his 14 events played this season, including an MC in Dallas this week. Cook's lack of power off the tee really limits his potential on a handful of lengthier venues on Tour, though his short game has also been brutal as he ranks just 208th out of 213 in SG: Around-the-Green. Slipping to No. 147 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Cook failed to qualify for next week's PGA Championship.
Champ was the talk of the town throughout the fall series when he won the Sanderson Farms Championship and looked to be a heavy favorite for future Rookie of the Year honors, but he's gone since the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in early February without making a single cut. He's dead last on Tour in SG: Around-the-Green and just 187th in FIR percentage, although he's No. 1 in terms of driving distance. Champ will be making his PGA Championship debut at Bethpage Black next week, but it should be noted he's gained strokes from tee-to-green in just one of his last nine starts.
Uihlein posted a top-25 at the Corales Championship after nursing a back injury earlier this spring, but a stretch of four straight missed cuts followed as he didn't earn a penny from the Valero Texas Open to the Wells Fargo Championship. He advanced through the 36-hole cut at the AT&T Byron Nelson, but he's collected only five total birdies and is actually losing strokes tee-to-green.
INJURY UPDATE
Leishman was one of the favorites among a weak field heading into the AT&T Byron Nelson, but he withdrew prior to Thursday's first round due to a questionable back injury. His situation will continue to be monitored ahead of the PGA Championship, but he likely just wanted a few extra days to prepare and feel fresh for Bethpage Black next week. Leishman has gained strokes on his approach shots in eight straight showings en route to ranking 36th in GIR percentage, but he's been wildly inconsistent with the putter.
With bad weather rolling into Dallas, Howell also elected to withdraw from the AT&T Byron Nelson with what is supposedly a hip injury. He's still listed in the field for next week's PGA Championship, so don't expect the hip to be a major concern moving forward.
A bit more concerning than the aforementioned impairments to Leishman and Howell, An was forced to withdraw from his previous start at the Wells Fargo Championship before his final round due to a neck injury, which came on the heels of a missed cut at the RBC Heritage. Nonetheless, he notched a top-10 as recently as the Valero Texas Open and plans to tee it up at Bethpage Black next week. An's ball striking has been solid as he ranks fifth on Tour in SG: Tee-to-Green, but he's lost an average of 3.2 strokes putting over his past 10 tournaments.
Thomas will be making his first appearance since the Masters at next week's PGA Championship, playing in back-to-back majors as a wrist injury kept him sidelined rather than traveling to Charlotte for the Wells Fargo Championship. The 26-year-old has not lost strokes from tee-to-green in an event since the 2017 Quicken Loans National, so he'll be a threat to contend at Bethpage if comfortability with the wrist has improved.
The one-time major champion has withdrawn his name from the field for the upcoming PGA Championship due to a wrist injury, though he probably should have taken time off many weeks ago. Schwartzel has missed the cut in five of his last six starts, with the lone made cut coming against an anemic field at the Corales Championship where he didn't even finish top-60. He'll be replaced at Bethpage by Bronson Burgoon.
