This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
The 2018-19 campaign's fourth and final major is already upon us as Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland is primed to host the Open Championship for the first time since 1951. Meanwhile in the states a field of longshots will tee it up at the Barbasol Championship as the FedExCup Playoffs sit less than a month away, though another WGC event still remains on the schedule. We'll take a look at several fantasy trends and a handful of injury updates as the summer rolls on.
VALUE RISING
The 24-year-old Spaniard may not own the most promising track record in three career attempts at the Open Championship, but he enters the 2019 edition coming off a win at the Irish Open and as the eighth-ranked player in the Official World Golf Ranking. Prior to his victory in Ireland, Rahm made additional trips to the podium with top-3 finishes at the Andalucia Masters and U.S. Open as well. He's fourth in SG: Off-the-Tee, first in proximity from 200-225 yards and 32nd in putting from inside 10 feet.
On the heels of a T2 at the Irish Open, Wiesberger notched his second European Tour victory in as many months on Sunday at the Scottish Open by defeating Benjamin Herbert in a two-man playoff. It's been quite an impressive turnaround for Wiesberger, who's quickly ascended to 40th in the OWGR after dropping as low as 378th in early May. His iron play has been a considerable weapon on the Euro Tour
The 2018-19 campaign's fourth and final major is already upon us as Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland is primed to host the Open Championship for the first time since 1951. Meanwhile in the states a field of longshots will tee it up at the Barbasol Championship as the FedExCup Playoffs sit less than a month away, though another WGC event still remains on the schedule. We'll take a look at several fantasy trends and a handful of injury updates as the summer rolls on.
VALUE RISING
The 24-year-old Spaniard may not own the most promising track record in three career attempts at the Open Championship, but he enters the 2019 edition coming off a win at the Irish Open and as the eighth-ranked player in the Official World Golf Ranking. Prior to his victory in Ireland, Rahm made additional trips to the podium with top-3 finishes at the Andalucia Masters and U.S. Open as well. He's fourth in SG: Off-the-Tee, first in proximity from 200-225 yards and 32nd in putting from inside 10 feet.
On the heels of a T2 at the Irish Open, Wiesberger notched his second European Tour victory in as many months on Sunday at the Scottish Open by defeating Benjamin Herbert in a two-man playoff. It's been quite an impressive turnaround for Wiesberger, who's quickly ascended to 40th in the OWGR after dropping as low as 378th in early May. His iron play has been a considerable weapon on the Euro Tour in 2019, ranking top-20 among his peers in GIR percentage, SG: Approach and greens under regulation.
Niemann was constantly restrained by a lousy putter throughout much of the season, but positive developments with the flat stick have resulted in a slew of high finishes. He's gained at least 3.1 strokes putting over his last four tournaments, resulting in top-10s at the John Deere Classic, Rocket Mortgage Classic and Travelers Championship. The 20-year-old Chilean has placed no worse than T31 over his last seven events and ranks 10th on Tour in proximity.
Joining Matthew Wolff and Viktor Hovland as one piece of the Class of 2019's Big 3, Morikawa posted back-to-back top-5s at the 3M Open and John Deere Classic to ultimately secure status on the PGA Tour moving forward. He led the entire field in SG: Approach during his time spent in the Twin and Quad Cities. Additionally, the UC-Berkeley product has fired a 66 or better in six of his last eight rounds.
VALUE FALLING
At 49 years old Mickelson still ranks top-30 in both the FedExCup standings and OWGR, but he's slumping with a quartet of missed cuts and zero top-50s in his last six starts. The 2013 Open champion harnesses the creativity necessary to enjoy the challenges a foriegn challenge like Royal Portrush presents, but Mickelson has lost an average of 1.4 strokes from tee to green over his last 10 tourneys.
To put it kindly, Kim's iron play and putting have been horrendous since late May as he's lost at least 3.8 strokes approach in four of his last six starts and an average of 1.4 strokes with the putter throughout his past five tournaments. Kim is now 160th or worse in both SG: Approach and GIR percentage on the season, sliding to 47th in the FedExCup standings despite a collection of four top-10s. He's made the cut on just one occasion over his last nine attempts dating back to the RBC Heritage.
Dahmen was a hot commodity in DFS formats from March to early May when he racked up six top-30s and runner-up honors at the Wells Fargo Championship in the span of seven starts, but his fortune has since made a turn for the worse. Dahmen has missed three cuts since the Charles Schwab Challenge and earned less than $40,000 over his last five events combined. He's lost an average of 2.2 strokes tee to green per event during this disappointing stretch, so a quick turnaround in his first career Open Championship will be a tough task.
INJURY UPDATE
The reason for Howell's withdrawal from the Open Championship is still unclear, but he elected not to embark on the long trek to Royal Portrush as Brian Harman consequently took the former's spot in the field. Howell just recently tied for sixth at the John Deere Classic and has now finished T35 or better in three consecutive weeks, so the upcoming absence may not be linked to an actual injury. The 40-year-old is a comfortable 13th in the FedExCup standings and fourth in GIR percentage for the season.
The 1995 Open champion was already in line to withdraw from this year's edition at Royal Portrush after being denied the use of a cart during tournament rounds despite battling an arthritic knee, but a potentially life-threatening spider bite also hindered Daly's outlook. He underwent surgery to treat an infection in his abdomen stemming from the bite, and the 53-year-old somehow still plans to tee it up in Kentucky at the Barbasol Championship this week upon returning to the United States. He's either missed the cut or withdrawn in each of his last four starts on the PGA Tour, sliding to No. 1,992 in the OWGR.
Although he's qualified for the Open Championship, Na will not be traveling to Northern Ireland due to a neck injury that has kept him sidelined since withdrawing after his first round of the 3M Open in early July. The Charles Schwab Challenge champion is still positioned well for a potential playoff run at 40th in the FedExCup standings if healthy, however, so he won't risk additional damage to his neck at the year's final major. Na has slipped to 160th on Tour in birdie average this season, but his short game has been respectable as he resides 19th in SG: Around-the-Green.
A nagging back injury has caught up with the 49-year-old as of late, resulting in either a MC or WD in six consecutive events dating to the RBC Heritage. He'll attempt to make it through at least the first 36 holes of the Open Championship this week, though Els was forced to withdraw prior to the recent Scottish Open. Expect extremely low ownership for Els in most formats at Royal Portrush, especially given the re-injury concerns.
