This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
The latest first-time winner on Tour emerged this past week at Torrey Pines, as 22-year-old Spaniard Jon Rahm's back-nine heroics at the Farmers Insurance Open propelled him to a three-stroke victory. It would be quite a feat if another first-timer came away with the victory at the upcoming Waste Management Phoenix Open, as household names such as Jordan Spieth, Hideki Matsuyama, Rickie Fowler, and Justin Thomas -- not to mention the emerging Rahm -- are all set to tee it up. While it clearly remains to be seen who will be holding the trophy Sunday, one thing is for certain -- the atmosphere at this week's event will not disappoint.
VALUE RISING
Keegan Bradley
Bradley added to his already-impressive 2016-17 resume at the Farmers Insurance Open, where he surged 20 spots up Sunday's leaderboard with a final-round 67, resulting in his sixth top-25 in seven events this season. He currently ranks 15th in the FedExCup standings and is already nearing the $1 million mark in terms of earnings, thanks in large part to impressive ball striking while at the same time hitting 75.51% of his greens in regulation. Putting woes have kept Bradley out of the winner's circle thus far, but his consistency from tee to green has produced quality results. He will have a great opportunity to keep the momentum going this week, as TPC Scottsdale requires golfers to be at their best in terms of ball striking, and GIR percentage also serves as a key statistic. It should
The latest first-time winner on Tour emerged this past week at Torrey Pines, as 22-year-old Spaniard Jon Rahm's back-nine heroics at the Farmers Insurance Open propelled him to a three-stroke victory. It would be quite a feat if another first-timer came away with the victory at the upcoming Waste Management Phoenix Open, as household names such as Jordan Spieth, Hideki Matsuyama, Rickie Fowler, and Justin Thomas -- not to mention the emerging Rahm -- are all set to tee it up. While it clearly remains to be seen who will be holding the trophy Sunday, one thing is for certain -- the atmosphere at this week's event will not disappoint.
VALUE RISING
Keegan Bradley
Bradley added to his already-impressive 2016-17 resume at the Farmers Insurance Open, where he surged 20 spots up Sunday's leaderboard with a final-round 67, resulting in his sixth top-25 in seven events this season. He currently ranks 15th in the FedExCup standings and is already nearing the $1 million mark in terms of earnings, thanks in large part to impressive ball striking while at the same time hitting 75.51% of his greens in regulation. Putting woes have kept Bradley out of the winner's circle thus far, but his consistency from tee to green has produced quality results. He will have a great opportunity to keep the momentum going this week, as TPC Scottsdale requires golfers to be at their best in terms of ball striking, and GIR percentage also serves as a key statistic. It should also be noted that Bradley notched a top-25 finish in four of his last five attempts at this electric venue.
Tony Finau
The long-hitting 27-year-old was a staple near the top of leaderboards throughout three events in January, finishing T9 at the Tournament of Champions, T20 at the Sony Open, and most recently, tied for fourth at the Farmers Insurance Open. There had been major consistency concerns with Finau throughout the first half of 2016, but he has since proven to be much more reliable, missing just one cut since struggling at the PGA Championship in late July. Finau's recent cut-making acumen and his promising upside could be a lethal combination if he keeps playing at this rate. He resides in the No. 72 slot of the Official World Golf Ranking and is 10th on Tour in strokes gained: off-the-tee throughout 2017. He missed the cut at 2016 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, but notched a top-25 in his previous attempt.
Kyle Stanley
The 226th-ranked golfer in the OWGR has quietly been a pleasant surprise on Tour this season, making the cut in five-of-six events, including three in a row. Stanley is No. 40 in the FedExCup standings with four top-25 finishes dating back to a T22 at the Safeway Open in mid-October. He has been an excellent ball striker thus far in 2017, ranking sixth on Tour in SG: off-the-tee and third in GIR percentage (78.70%), but he could certainly use improvements with the putter in order to increase his overall efficiency. Stanley is a past winner at the Waste Management Phoenix Open (2012), so his recent form plus tournament history could foreshadow a high finish this week.
Mackenzie Hughes
Hughes enters the Waste Management Phoenix Open as the highest-ranked rookie in the FedExCup standings at the No. 5 slot, just barely ahead of recent winners Jon Rahm and Hudson Swafford. Unlike the three golfers previously mentioned in bold, Hughes has actually used the putter to his advantage, currently ranking 16th on Tour in strokes gained: putting. He has already proven his upside with a win at the RSM Classic in November, but seven made cuts in eight attempts also demonstrates Hughes' ability to compete against varying strengths of competition. Tough foes no doubt await the young Canadian in his Phoenix debut this week, but a reliable putting stroke could result in a made cut at the very least.
VALUE FALLING
Bryson DeChambeau
The "golf scientist" has amassed just 29 FedExCup points during the 2016-17 season despite appearing in seven events, missing four cuts, including recent back-to-back failures at the CareerBuilder Challenge and Farmers Insurance Open. DeChambeau's ball striking has been acceptable at times, as he ranks 49th on Tour in SG: tee-to-green, but he is No. 145 in terms of SG: putting as he continues to experiment with unique setups. Struggles with finding both fairways and greens in regulation have plagued the 23-year-old of late, but he is not in the field this week and will have a chance to recuperate.
Harold Varner III
Five consecutive made cuts from The Barclays in late August through the Shriners Hospitals Children Open in November preceded what has become a demoralizing streak of four consecutive missed cuts, including all three of his January events. Varner's first-round 78 at Torrey Pines last week ultimately led to him missing the cut line by seven strokes, and he sat ahead of just 13 total golfers on the leaderboard by the end of Friday's second round. The 5-foot-9 long-hitter has not broken 70 in his last four consecutive tournament rounds, but he still ranks fifth in SG: off-the-tee and 15th in driving distance despite struggling severely with his putting and overall short game. The Waste Management Phoenix Open could present a solid chance for Varner to turn things around given his power and ability to hit greens in regulation, but he does not have the best track record at TPC Scottsdale following a missed cut in 2016.
Brian Stuard
Stuard's 2016-17 season has included four missed cuts in nine events to go along with just one top-30 finish, which came at the 32-man SBS Tournament of Champions. He was part of the modified cut at the Farmers Insurance Open after a third-round 77 sent him packing early despite making the 36-hole cut. Expectations were not overly high for Stuard this season despite his win -- the first of his career -- at last year's Zurich Classic, but he currently sits outside of the top 100 in the FedExCup standings despite having one of the busier schedules thus far. He did finish T10 in his last effort at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, however, so he will have an opportunity to get back on track in Arizona.
INJURY UPDATE
Willy Wilcox
Wilcox appeared set to return to action last week after recovering from August wrist surgery, but he was not quite ready and was ultimately forced to withdraw prior to the first round. While he was unable to tee it up as expected, the delay was not a long one, and Wilcox has elected to officially make his 2017 debut at this week's Waste Management Phoenix Open. He had one of the best finishes of his career at the event in 2016, posting a T6 thanks to a final-round 65. He is a risky -- albeit low-priced -- fantasy option this week due to his lengthy absence, but he seems comfortable with the course and atmosphere at TPC Scottsdale.
