This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
UPGRADE
Ken Duke: Maybe life begins at age 44 after all - a hat tip to Duke for notching his first PGA Tour victory. He's basically turned into the new version of Fred Funk, a short-hitting specialist who's always in the short grass (fourth in tee accuracy). Simple names, simple games, but don't discount them on the weekend.
Chris Stroud: There's no shame in losing in a playoff, especially after you chip in to get there in the first place. Clutch is as clutch does. Stroud now has 12 checks for the year and the juicy No. 37 spot on the money list, very much a breakthrough year. If his iron play gets more consistent, we could be talking about a legitimate star in the making.
Webb Simpson: It's been a season of ebb and flow, but with six checks over six figures, Simpson nonetheless stands 15th on the money list without the benefit of a victory. It's a solid year and a nifty validation of the 2012 campaign, with the U.S. Open and all. Simpson isn't a behemoth off the tee, but he ranks nicely in accuracy (70th), GIR (29th) and strokes gained putting (50th). That's a profile that can contend anywhere.
Rickie Fowler: It's a little disappointing to see him just 40th on the money list, but maybe a T10 at the U.S. Open and a T13 in Connecticut will get Fowler going again. Better focus would help on the Par-3s, where he ranks 152nd in scoring average.
UPGRADE
Ken Duke: Maybe life begins at age 44 after all - a hat tip to Duke for notching his first PGA Tour victory. He's basically turned into the new version of Fred Funk, a short-hitting specialist who's always in the short grass (fourth in tee accuracy). Simple names, simple games, but don't discount them on the weekend.
Chris Stroud: There's no shame in losing in a playoff, especially after you chip in to get there in the first place. Clutch is as clutch does. Stroud now has 12 checks for the year and the juicy No. 37 spot on the money list, very much a breakthrough year. If his iron play gets more consistent, we could be talking about a legitimate star in the making.
Webb Simpson: It's been a season of ebb and flow, but with six checks over six figures, Simpson nonetheless stands 15th on the money list without the benefit of a victory. It's a solid year and a nifty validation of the 2012 campaign, with the U.S. Open and all. Simpson isn't a behemoth off the tee, but he ranks nicely in accuracy (70th), GIR (29th) and strokes gained putting (50th). That's a profile that can contend anywhere.
Rickie Fowler: It's a little disappointing to see him just 40th on the money list, but maybe a T10 at the U.S. Open and a T13 in Connecticut will get Fowler going again. Better focus would help on the Par-3s, where he ranks 152nd in scoring average.
DOWNGRADE
Bubba Watson: The Sunday meltdown was one thing, the barrage of blame thrown at his caddie was another. Kudos to announcer David Feherty, who had the right words for Watson's misplaced shot: "Hey, you hit it, Bud." The left-hander still has a lot of growing up to do.
Charley Hoffman: His scoring average is 33rd before the cut, 165th in the third round and 145th in the fourth round. We saw another predictable Sunday collapse last week. Some guys simply can't get out of their own way during crunch time.
Aaron Baddeley: The rally in April goes down as a false positive - Baddeley has now missed seven cuts in a row. He's still an angelic putter (fourth in strokes gained), but it doesn't really help you when your ball striking is in the toilet (125th in distance, 180th in accuracy, 183rd in GIR). Sometimes bad is bad.
Robert Garrigus: The home-run hitters tend to be streaky performers, so it's not a great shock to see Garrigus missing three straight cuts. His withdrawal from the U.S. Open was mostly about performance (an 80 takes you out of contention immediately), but we also have to worry about a possible injury at play. Garrigus isn't helping himself out on the greens, standing 137th in putting.
