This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
A star-studded assembly of the world's top talent is teeing it up this week in the Memorial Tournament days after the conclusions of the Fort Worth Invitational and BMW PGA Championship, where international winners Justin Rose and Francesco Molinari found their grooves. The calendar's second major awaits on the horizon in two weeks, as Shinnecock Hills is set up to play host to the U.S. Open. We'll take a look at several fantasy trends on Tour as Muirfield Village GC serves as a quality tune-up for the coming weeks.
VALUE RISING
Branden Grace
The South African's steady short game has kept him without a missed cut all season, while he most recently finished T5 across the pond at the BMW PGA Championship following a T3 at the AT&T Byron Nelson. Grace ranks top-10 on Tour in both SG: Putting and SG: Around-the-Green, leading to the 18th-best birdie average.
Charles Howell III
It'll be interesting to see how the 38-year-old fares against top-tier talent at the Memorial Tournament and upcoming U.S. Open, but he's finished worse than a T21 just once in his last seven starts. Howell is comfortably in the top-70 in each Strokes Gained category, while also ranking 17th on Tour in GIR percentage this season.
Kevin Na
Na has reached top-50 status in the FedExCup standings thanks to a couple of top-six finishes at the Fort Worth Invitational and AT&T Byron Nelson. In Fort Worth he fired a final-round 61 en route to finishing second among the field
A star-studded assembly of the world's top talent is teeing it up this week in the Memorial Tournament days after the conclusions of the Fort Worth Invitational and BMW PGA Championship, where international winners Justin Rose and Francesco Molinari found their grooves. The calendar's second major awaits on the horizon in two weeks, as Shinnecock Hills is set up to play host to the U.S. Open. We'll take a look at several fantasy trends on Tour as Muirfield Village GC serves as a quality tune-up for the coming weeks.
VALUE RISING
Branden Grace
The South African's steady short game has kept him without a missed cut all season, while he most recently finished T5 across the pond at the BMW PGA Championship following a T3 at the AT&T Byron Nelson. Grace ranks top-10 on Tour in both SG: Putting and SG: Around-the-Green, leading to the 18th-best birdie average.
Charles Howell III
It'll be interesting to see how the 38-year-old fares against top-tier talent at the Memorial Tournament and upcoming U.S. Open, but he's finished worse than a T21 just once in his last seven starts. Howell is comfortably in the top-70 in each Strokes Gained category, while also ranking 17th on Tour in GIR percentage this season.
Kevin Na
Na has reached top-50 status in the FedExCup standings thanks to a couple of top-six finishes at the Fort Worth Invitational and AT&T Byron Nelson. In Fort Worth he fired a final-round 61 en route to finishing second among the field in SG: Approach, so he'll head to the Memorial Tournament with a bundle of momentum on his side.
VALUE FALLING
Sergio Garcia
Since a trio of consecutive top-10s at the WGC-Mexico, Valspar, and WGC Match Play, Garcia has missed the cut in three of his past four starts while descending from ninth to 14th in the OWGR. The Spaniard has failed to post a single top-three finish in the U.S. since his maiden major victory at Augusta last April.
James Hahn
Hahn hadn't missed a cut since the 2017 Northern Trust prior to his current stretch of four consecutive MCs, averaging a 73 throughout his past eight tournament rounds. He also hasn't posted a top-25 finish since the Genesis Open in mid-February, so he's got some work to do these next couple of weeks if he wants any shot at qualifying for the U.S. Open.
Kelly Kraft
Kraft had finally shown a touch of consistency earlier this year with five consecutive cuts made from February's Genesis Open through the Houston Open in late March, but he's since missed six straight cuts. Despite a pair of top-eight finishes this season, he's averaging just $30,124 in earnings per entry while recently falling to 112th in the FedExCup standings.
INJURY UPDATE
Chris Stroud
Stroud suffered a knee injury during last Friday's second round in Fort Worth, ultimately resulting in a withdrawal prior to making the turn. He'll remain sidelined this week rather than trekking to Muirfield Village, while his next chance to return will come at the St. Jude Classic.
Robert Garrigus
The 40-year-old was forced to withdraw from his second round at the Fort Worth Invitational due to a back injury, but he'll take at least a week away from competition to recuperate as he won't make an appearance at the Memorial Tournament. The severity of the injury remains unclear at this point, however, so his status for the St. Jude Classic could be up in the air.
