This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
The Hero World Challenge and Presidents Cup will provide golf fiends with some entertainment throughout the PGA Tour's upcoming December break, but for now the focus remains on this weekend's RSM Classic as well as the DP World Tour Championship overseas in Dubai. With the European Tour's 2019 drawing to a close, the Race to Dubai's final standings are in flux with names like Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy fighting for the top spot. Meanwhile down in Georgia, a first-time winner could emerge at the Seaside Course if anyone manages to end Brendon Todd's current win streak.
VALUE RISING
Todd missed four consecutive cuts to begin the 2019-20 campaign after retaining his PGA Tour card via the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, so he really came out of nowhere when securing his first victory since the 2014 HP Byron Nelson Championship by four shots at the Bermuda Championship. Complacency didn't set in, however, as Todd then went on to win the Mayakoba Golf Classic just two weeks later, rejoining the top-100 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time since early 2016. Todd doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon, as he enters the weekend in a tie for seventh on Saint Simons Island at the RSM Classic where he fired back-to-back 66s in Rounds 1 and 2.
Ortiz tied for second back home in Mexico last week at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, racking up three consecutive scores of 66
The Hero World Challenge and Presidents Cup will provide golf fiends with some entertainment throughout the PGA Tour's upcoming December break, but for now the focus remains on this weekend's RSM Classic as well as the DP World Tour Championship overseas in Dubai. With the European Tour's 2019 drawing to a close, the Race to Dubai's final standings are in flux with names like Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy fighting for the top spot. Meanwhile down in Georgia, a first-time winner could emerge at the Seaside Course if anyone manages to end Brendon Todd's current win streak.
VALUE RISING
Todd missed four consecutive cuts to begin the 2019-20 campaign after retaining his PGA Tour card via the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, so he really came out of nowhere when securing his first victory since the 2014 HP Byron Nelson Championship by four shots at the Bermuda Championship. Complacency didn't set in, however, as Todd then went on to win the Mayakoba Golf Classic just two weeks later, rejoining the top-100 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time since early 2016. Todd doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon, as he enters the weekend in a tie for seventh on Saint Simons Island at the RSM Classic where he fired back-to-back 66s in Rounds 1 and 2.
Ortiz tied for second back home in Mexico last week at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, racking up three consecutive scores of 66 or better over his final three rounds to fall just one shot shy of the aforementioned Todd atop the leaderboard. This came on the heels of a T4 at the Houston Open for Ortiz, so he's already amassed a trio of top-4 finishes throughout the fall series and risen just over 100 spots in the OWGR during this span. The 28-year-old will look to maintain the momentum during his next expected start at the Sony Open, where he posted a top-30 earlier this year.
The South African hasn't missed a single cut worldwide since the Arnold Palmer Invitational in early March, but more recently, back-to-back top-6s at the WGC-HSBC Champions and Nedbank Golf Challenge positioned Oosthuizen inside of the European Tour's top-10 in the Race to Dubai heading into the DP World Tour Championship. He opened the week at the Jumeirah Golf Estates with consecutive 70s, including eight birdies and an eagle through his first 36 holes at the season finale. Oosthuizen failed to break par in Round 3, but he still enters Sunday's final round in a tie for 20th.
VALUE FALLING
Hughes has missed the cut in four of six starts to begin the season, and although he qualified for the weekend at the RSM Classic, he's well out of contention yet again while struggling with the flat stick. The Canadian will be in danger of falling outside the OWGR's top-250, and he hasn't collected a top-10 since the Charles Schwab Challenge in late May.
Dufner compiled what is now his fourth consecutive missed cut since the Sanderson Farms Championship with another MC this week at the Sea Island Resort. Ranked sixth in the OWGR once upon a time, Dufner has dropped outside of the top-220 and continues to slide with zero top-15s dating back to his last such result at the Memorial Tournament. The putter has been Dufner's biggest issue, but any sign of positive regression on the greens has yet to appear.
INJURY UDPATE
Brooks Koepka (knee)
The knee injury that forced Koepka to withdraw from the CJ Cup may be worse than initially feared, as the World No. 1's absence will likely extend into 2020 after he made the decision to withdraw from the upcoming Presidents Cup in December as well. He'll be replaced on the United States team by Rickie Fowler, who has dealt with an ailment of his own after becoming sick during his honeymoon this fall. The Tournament of Champions could be the venue for Koepka's next tee time, but there's no certain indication he'll be ready by the first week of January at this point.
Michael Kim (wrist)
Kim was unable to make it through his first nine holes on the Plantation Course at Sea Island Golf Club this week, withdrawing from the RSM Classic due to a wrist injury. He's been absolutely ice cold throughout the 2019 calendar year with 23 missed cuts in 27 events played, so his absence likely won't have much of an impact from a fantasy perspective.
George McNeill (back)
MCNeill has posted a pair of top-15s over his previous six starts before teeing it up at the RSM Classic, where a back injury kept him from making the turn at the Seaside Course during Friday's second round. The severity of the injury is unclear at this point, but he'll have plenty of time to recover before potentially appearing next at the Sony Open where he collected a top-10 result back in 2009.
