This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
When a golfer is ranked No. 1 in the world, it's hard to say he's rising, but somehow Dustin Johnson pulled it off this past week. By winning the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Sunday, Johnson increased his margin over world No. 2 Jordan Spieth to more than 2.1 OWGR points (11.19 to 9.03). But in the court of public opinion, that margin seems even larger after Johnson crushed the elite 34-man field to win by eight strokes. Johnson takes this week off, while Spieth stays in Hawaii for the Sony Open, trying to maintain his No. 2 standing. Meanwhile, the European Tour plays for the first time in 2018, with the BMW SA Open in South Africa. Natives Branden Grace, Charl Schwartzel and Dylan Frittelli head a field that lacks big names.
VALUE RISING
Jon Rahm
By finishing second to Johnson at Kapalua, Rahm leap-frogged Justin Thomas into No. 3 in the OWGR and is right on the heels of Spieth for No. 2. The Spaniard is only the fourth golfer to reach the Top 3 before turning 24, joining Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Spieth. Not too shabby. Rahm could slide back this week as Spieth and Thomas play Waialae, but it wouldn't be a surprise if Rahm is challenging for the top spot some time later in 2018.
Pat Perez
Perez's age keeps going up, but that's not the rising value being discussed here. Now a 40-something, Perez keeps hitting new peaks: he's up to a career-best
When a golfer is ranked No. 1 in the world, it's hard to say he's rising, but somehow Dustin Johnson pulled it off this past week. By winning the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Sunday, Johnson increased his margin over world No. 2 Jordan Spieth to more than 2.1 OWGR points (11.19 to 9.03). But in the court of public opinion, that margin seems even larger after Johnson crushed the elite 34-man field to win by eight strokes. Johnson takes this week off, while Spieth stays in Hawaii for the Sony Open, trying to maintain his No. 2 standing. Meanwhile, the European Tour plays for the first time in 2018, with the BMW SA Open in South Africa. Natives Branden Grace, Charl Schwartzel and Dylan Frittelli head a field that lacks big names.
VALUE RISING
Jon Rahm
By finishing second to Johnson at Kapalua, Rahm leap-frogged Justin Thomas into No. 3 in the OWGR and is right on the heels of Spieth for No. 2. The Spaniard is only the fourth golfer to reach the Top 3 before turning 24, joining Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Spieth. Not too shabby. Rahm could slide back this week as Spieth and Thomas play Waialae, but it wouldn't be a surprise if Rahm is challenging for the top spot some time later in 2018.
Pat Perez
Perez's age keeps going up, but that's not the rising value being discussed here. Now a 40-something, Perez keeps hitting new peaks: he's up to a career-best 16th in the world after tying for fourth at the TOC. Perez is off this week, but the upcoming West Coast Swing is his wheelhouse. He's a former CareerBuilder winner and finished fourth last year at Torrey Pines, so a further jump is well within reach.
Patton Kizzire
Kizzire was a big shot on the Web.com Tour a few years back but had yet to announce himself on the PGA Tour until winning the OHL Classic two months ago. The fact that he tied for 15th this past week alongside some of the elites at Kapalua showed two things: 1) He's not resting on the laurels of his breakthrough win and 2) He wasn't intimated by stepping up in class from a Fall Series event. Kizzire is quietly becoming one of the better putters on Tour.
Tiger Woods
Woods moved from No. 656 in the world to No. 649 since New Year's -- that's more like inching than rising -- but he's heading in the right direction. That number could move back inside 100 if he is able to pull off a win later this month at Torrey Pines.
VALUE FALLING
Justin Thomas
Thomas looked way off his game at a wide-open Kapalua track that in the past has been his specialty. As the defending champion, Thomas fell back to a tie for 22nd this year, struggling mightily with both his scrambling and putting. Now, he's lost his longtime caddie Jimmy Johnson to injury for a while. This week, maybe the star pairing with Phil Mickelson's former caddie, Jim "Bones" Mackay, will rejuvenate Thomas as he defends yet another title at the Sony Open.
Adam Hadwin
The Canadian had a breakthrough season in 2016-17 with a win and four other top-10s, but his last top-10 came way back in early August at the WGC-Bridgestone. In four starts this season, Hadwin doesn't even have a top-30 – and that's pretty hard to do since he just played in a 34-man event. He finished 32nd at Kapalua, ahead of only the injured Brooks Koepka and the outclassed D.A. Points. The concern is Hadwin's putting – he was 18th on Tour last season in strokes gained: putting but stands 117th so far this season.
Phil Mickelson
Mickelson continues to trickle down the OWGR. Not in action since the fall, he has dipped to a world ranking of No. 40, where he has not been since 1993 came to a close. He will now embark on his first full season in more than a decade without longtime caddie Mackay – who was replaced by Mickelson's brother – as he tries to stave off a steeper decline in his age-48 season.
Bubba Watson
Watson is not nearly as old as Mickelson but has fallen a lot farther and a lot faster. The two-time Masters champion is dangerously close to plummeting out of the top-100 in the world – a remarkable development after beginning 2017 at No. 10. Watson had only one top-10 in a full-field stroke-play event last season, finishing sixth at the Memorial. Until he plays well several weeks in a row, Watson will be firmly planted in this category.
INJURY UPDATE
Brooks Koepka
The No. 8 golfer in the world is experiencing severe pain in his left wrist, saying last week, "It feels like someone is jabbing a knife in my hand," according to PGATour.com. Koepka finished last in the TOC field and was also last back in December at the 18-man Hero World Challenge, where he first started feeling the pain. The worst part is the fact Koepka has seen several doctors, and none have been able to figure out the issue. Koepka is not in this week's field at Waialae. The next update regarding his status may not come until later this month, leading up to the Waste Management Phoenix Open, which kicks off Feb. 1.
Jimmy Walker
Walker is in the field for the Sony Open, hoping to reboot a career sidetracked by Lyme disease -- it was just two years ago he won the PGA Championship, but he has not posted a top-10 since the 2017 TOC. The veteran Texan played the Shriner's Open back in November, but he missed the cut. Now, after not even practicing for four months, according to the Golf Channel, Walker is looking to get back on track. One of the best in the world just a few years ago, Walker begins the week at No. 70 in the OWGR.
Graham DeLaet
DeLaet withdrew from the CJ Cup in October, citing continuing back woes, and has not teed it up since. He's not in the field at Waialae, where he notched a top-10 two years ago.
Rory McIlroy and Brandt Snedeker
Both golfers above are working their way back from rib injuries that hampered them last year. McIlroy has not played professionally in months, but Snedeker was able to get back on the course during the fall season. Snedeker was forced to withdraw from the Indonesian Masters, but because of heat exhaustion and not something related to his previous setback. Still, rib injuries are tricky for any athlete, so it's worth keeping tabs on both players until it's clear they are out of the woods.
