By Andy Lack

Hi folks! The calendar golf season is right around the corner, and it’s time to get ready for our drafts. Season long fantasy golf is a concept that Rick and remain extremely bullish on, and I broke down on Monday all of the reasons why we believe it’s a completely untapped ecosystem. The most fun part about fantasy sports is the draft, and in the absence of golf tournaments until the first week of January, I will countdown each week by big board from 100-1. Here’s the upcoming schedule.

• 12/8//2022 (Thursday): Big Board breakdown (100-81)
• 12/12/2022 (Monday): Big Board breakdown (80-61)
• 12/14/2022 (Wednesday): Big Board breakdown (60-41)
• 12/19/2022 (Monday): Big Board Breakdown (40-21)
• 12/21/2022 (Wednesday): Big Board Breakdown (20-11)
• 12/26/2022 (Monday): N/A
• 12/28/2022 (Monday): Big Board Breakdown (10-1)

So without further ado, let’s dive into my rankings!

100. Greyson Sigg (OWGR: 186)

• L12 Months True SG: 98th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 137th
• The Good 
  • Greyson Sigg has been the 98th best player in the world over the last year, the 93rd best player in the world over the last six months, and the 47th best player in the world over the past three months
  • The University of Georgia product has also recorded three top-15s this fall swing, including a ninth at the Sanderson Farms, an 11th at the Butterfield Bermuda, and a 15th at the RSM Classic. After struggling to make cuts at the beginning of last year, Sigg has turned into one of the more reliable players that you will be able to find this late in the draft. He enters January making 11 of his last 13 cuts, including seven in a row.
• The Bad 
  • Is he elite at anything? No, not really. With that being said, the Augusta, Georgia native doesn’t really kill you in anything either. He does not possess one skillset where we can definitively say that the upside is there for him to turn into a truly elite player.
  • Sigg is one of the shortest players on Tour, although both of his top-10s last season came on long-ish courses (C.C. of Jackson, TPC Twin Cities). He reminds me a lot of Brian Harman (Georgia guy!) in the sense that he makes the most out of his talent, and I do believe that he is well rounded enough to have a long career on the PGA Tour. Sigg can get ruthlessly hot with the flat-stick, and he has the birdie-making potential to keep up on the 18ish very easy courses on the PGA Tour schedule, as evidenced by his multiple win 2021 season on the Korn Ferry Tour.
  • Depending on how you want to spin it, this could easily be viewed as a positive, but the biggest reason for his elevation into a top-50 player over the last three months has mainly been due to the flat-stick. Sigg has gained over 4.5 strokes putting in his last three starts heading into the new year. He is by no means a poor ball-striker, and he has flashed some upside (+9.3 strokes ball-striking at the 3M) but the putter has been carrying him of late. I do expect the 27 year-old to rack up top-25s this year in some of the weaker tournaments.
  • I’m not sure the path to the majors exists for him in 2023, although he did finish top-40 at the Sony Open, American Express, Farmer’s Insurance, and AT & T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, so you never know. Sigg is a relatively safe placeholder at the back end of your roster, and I am excited to monitor his improvement this year.

99. Beau Hossler (OWRG: 175)

• L12 Months True SG: 101st
• Age
• 2022 Money List Rank: 78th
• The Good 
  • Beau Hossler is generally not the type of player that I like to target, but when we get this late into the draft, it’s important to start looking for players that possess at least one undeniable skill-set. In the case of Hossler, he’s a top-10 putter in the world over a year plus sample size.
  • The 27-year-old does appear to be trending in the right direction when we shrink the sample size to the last six and three months, and it’s not because his flat-stick is getting any better. Over the past three months, have been *incremental* improvements to his ball-striking from his long-term baseline.
  • Hossler has gained strokes putting in eight of his last 10 starts, and the elite upside is there. He’s gained over 3.5 strokes putting on nine separate occasions last year, including +6.8 at the RSM, +7.8 at the Memorial (T32… he lost 12 strokes ball-striking that week too!), +5 at the Byron Nelson, +7.3 at the Valero, +5.8 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, +5.6 at the Honda Classic.
• The Bad
  • The ball-striking can get aggressively ugly. For the top 150 players in the world over the last year in true strokes gained, Hossler is the third worst iron player, and his off the tee play isn’t much better either.
  • In 24 starts on the PGA Tour last year, Beau only gained on approach in five starts. The University of Texas product is hands down the worst approach player on my big board, and iron play is arguably the most important part of golf. Not ideal!
  • Ultimately, Hossler has one club that will make him a ton of money. I imagine that Denny McCarthy will go way higher in drafts because people just seem to really like Denny, but I prefer the discount on Beau.

98. Brendon Todd (OWGR: 108)

• L12 Months True SG: 74th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 82nd
• The Good 
  • It’s never pretty, but Brendon Todd continues to produce at the PGA Tour level. He’s been a top-75 guy in the world despite being unable to drive the ball over 280 yards. With that being said, he remains a top-10 putter in the world, possesses a top-50 short game, and is quietly a strong wedge player too. 10-15 feet is the money making zone, and Todd ranked fourth on the PGA Tour last year in putting from that range. The 37-year-old drilled over 40% of his looks between 10 and 15 feet. He finished the season ranked third on the PGA Tour in strokes gained putting.
  • I don’t believe that Todd has another two win season in him like we saw in 2019, but he quietly put together nine top-30 finishes last year, including a third at Colonial, and an eighth at the Valero Texas Open. He’s kept the momentum going this fall swing as well, with two top-10s in six starts already to begin the 2023 PGA Tour season.
  • No, you can’t start Todd at Torrey Pines or a major championship, but I would feel pretty comfortable rolling him out at a Colonial, Sedgefield, Harbour Town, TPC Southwind, TPC Scottsdale, Waialae, or Detroit Golf Club, all courses that he’s experienced success at in the past.
• The Bad 
  • The upside with Todd is fairly limited, and I must imagine that he’d need to gain around eight strokes putting to actually win again at the PGA Tour level. Still, even though it feels like he’s only a stones throw away from the Champions Tour, Todd is only 37 years old! The University of Georgia product somehow gained over seven strokes on approach in a solid field less than two months ago at the CJ Cup. His putting prowess gives him a relatively high floor as well, as Todd made 20 of 26 cuts last year. The three-time PGA Tour winner is a reliable back of the bench option that can produce at any of the 15-20ish short, positional courses on the schedule.

97. Luke List (OWGR: 92)

• L12 Months True SG: Not in the Top 150
• 2022 Money List Rank: 47th
• The Good 
  • It seems to have been forgotten to time because he’s been so irrelevant since, but Luke List won arguably the seventh or eighth biggest tournament of the season! Torrey Pines is a big boy golf course that roughly one third of this ranking could only dream of competing at.
  • He gained 14 strokes ball-striking at the Travelers last year and failed to finish in the top-15! For reference, Jon Rahm has gained 14 strokes ball-striking in his entire career. Xander, Cantlay, Finau, JT, etc. have never had a ball-striking week so strong in their entire career! The list goes on.
  • List’s upside with his driver and long irons is as good as anyone in the world, and yet he’s not a top-150 guy right now! There’s a million ludicrous stats with List about the discrepancy between his driver and putter, but let’s stop here and talk about the elephant in the room.
• The Bad 
  • I will always have a soft spot for Luke List because I’ve become friendly with his caddie, but there are certain aspects of his game that are absolutely indefensible. The 37-year-old hasn’t been a top-150 player in the world for the last two years despite being of the best players of the better ball-strikers on Tour.
  • The putter essentially reached new depths in 2022, and there are absolutely zero signs that it’s getting any better. He’s lost strokes putting in eight straight seasons, and 2022 was actually the worst putting season of his entire career (-0.9). Through six events in 2023, he’s losing 1.1 strokes putting per round. This can only be a described as egregious. Scientists will still be studying this years from now!
  • Through six events in the new season, List ranks nearly dead last in three putt avoidance, average distance of putts made, one putt percentage, putting from 10-15 feet, putting average, putting from 15-20 feet, putting from 20-25 feet, putting from four to eight feet, putts per rounds, and strokes gained putting! Every time it seems like he’s hit a new low, the bottom drops even further. So why should we draft him then? Well, he won arguably the seventh biggest tournament of the season last year, and ranked sixth on the year in the strokes gained tee to green. There are a handful players in the top-25 of my big board that could only dream to drive the ball and strike a long iron the way that the Luke List can. He’s the type of player that can win a big boy tournament as a neutral putter, and those are few and far between.

96. Brandon Wu (OWGR: 197)

• L12 Months True SG: Not in the Top 150
• 2022 Money List Rank: 88th
• The Good 
  • This one is a bit of a flier, but I played high school golf against Brandon Wu, and I can assure you that he is here to stay on the PGA Tour. While currently not inside the top-150 in true strokes gained, Wu has shown flashes. After a breakout win at the 2020 Korn Ferry Tour Championship, the Stanford product looked every bit the part on the PGA Tour in his rookie season. He almost tracked down Jon Rahm at the Mexico Championship, gaining a whopping 10.1 strokes ball-striking, and also finished sixth at the Genesis Scottish Open, another windswept track track with a much stronger field. Wu gained 7.3 strokes on approach that week at the Renaissance Club. Starting to see why I’m so bullish? A 17th at the Houston Open and an eighth at the Wyndham where he gained over five strokes ball-striking, also has my attention. Wu has shown in his rookie year that he can compete on big, long, and hard golf courses. A 35th at the U.S. Open as an amateur leads me to believe that he’s got some stones, and Wu is one of my biggest breakout candidates in 2022.
• The Bad 
  • Wu is still largely unproven, and his irons are rather volatile. The 25-year-old six recorded six starts last season where he lost over three strokes on approach, but he’s also gained over two strokes on approach on six separate occasions as well, including the aforementioned 7.3 at the Scottish Open. For what it’s worth, Wu did start to clean up the disaster weeks, and he enters January on the heels of seven made cuts in a row. It really depends on what you are looking for this l. Brendon Todd is a safer option in terms of his range of outcomes, but Wu has the potential to be a league winner.

95. Bryson DeChambeau (OWGR: 62)

• L12 Months True SG: 148th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 162n(d
• The Good  
  • When fully healthy Bryson has shown that his ceiling is the best player in the world. His winning performance at the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot remains one of the most impressive performances in a major championship that I have ever seen, and I’m a bit bummed that said week will be completely lost to history because it happened with no fans during COVID and football season, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Bryson may no longer be relevant to those that never watch his YouTube channel. Point being, Bryson’s best can still hang with Rory’s best, Rahm’s best, J.T.’s best, etc. I can count the number of players on one hand that possess that extra gear, and Bryson is one of them. It’s anyone’s guess if we will ever see that again.
• The Bad 
  • Bryson is one of the five LIV players that I would draft because he has the ability to win a major next year. Oak Hill, for example, sets up beautifully for him. It was nice to see the SMU product finish the season on LIV with a fifth place finish at the team event, but it’s not exactly like he was lighting the world on fire before that. The team championship was the only time he sniffed contention in the seven LIV events that he played last year. Was he battling injury? Probably not, but who can really say. It’s hard to take his word at face value at this point. Still, let’s not forget that he finished eighth at St. Andrews, gaining a whopping 11.9 strokes from tee to green. The upside speaks for itself, and I do believe he is worth a late round flier.

94. Brooks Koepka (OWGR: 48)

• L12 Months True SG: 64th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 97th
• The Good 
  • The reason to draft Brooks Koepka is quite simple. He’s played in 34 majors, made 29 cuts, with 22 top-25s, 16 top-10s, 12 top-5s, three runner-ups, and four wins. The Florida State product finished in the top-10 in close to 50% of the majors that he’s played in, and he’s essentially had a legitimate chance to win over a third of the majors that he’s played in. This is objectively insane, and feels somewhat forgotten given how irrelevant he’s become since his decision to join the LIV Tour. I’m glad that Brooks still gets to play in the tournaments that he “cares” about, because that’s all that fantasy players are going to get out of him in season long format.
• The Bad
  • It’s been a rough year for Brooks, and he hasn’t quite looked like himself since the summer of 2021, where he finished top-six at three of the four majors. In the last year, he still played 19 times, but six of those came on the LIV Tour, and he failed to finish better than 55th in all four of the majors. For someone that measures himself (his words, not mine) on major championship performance, 2022 had to be the most disappointing year of his career. Bryson  dropped out of the top-50 in true strokes gained for the first time since 2014, and he’s about a week or two away from dropping out of the top-50 in the OWGR as well and nay
  • Fear not, he will still be exempt for this year’s major championships, and I do love his fit at both Oak Hill and L.A. CC. I have no real way to quantify his performance on the LIV Tour. In two events, he looked objectively terrible, finishing nearly dead-last in bad fields and losing to his brother, who is a middling Korn Ferry Tour talent at best. Still, I don’t think we can really put a ton of stock into that. He’s been battling injuries, although he hasn’t exactly been transparent about what is actually “hurt,” and how these injuries are actually affecting his play. A few weeks later, he went on to win LIV Jeddah, and again, I have no idea how much stock I should be putting into that either.
  • Ultimately, Brooks is still a player I’m willing to take my chances on with a late round pick. I do believe that DJ, Cam, Niemann, and maybe even Bryson, are safer bets to perform at the majors next year, but if history means anything, we are still getting a transcendantly great major performer in the prime of his career.

93. David Lipsky (OWGR: 208)

• L12 Months True SG: 98th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 103rd
• The Good 
  • While far from a sexy pick, David Lipsky plays a ton of golf and makes a lot of cuts. The Northwestern product played a whopping 30 times last year, and made 20 cuts. As a final round flier, I’ll certainly take it.
  • While he’s yet to breakthrough with a win on the PGA Tour, he was *somewhat* of a prolific winner on the Korn Ferry and European Tour. Lipsky won the 2014 Omega European Masters as a 25-year-old, as well as the 2018 Alfred Dunhill Championship, both on the European Tour. After he realized that he should take his talents to the PGA Tour, he spent the 2020-2021 seasons on the Korn Ferry Tour, where he won the TPC San Antonio Challenge at the Canyons, and finished runner-up at both the MGM Resorts Championship and Emerald Coast Classic at Sandestin. With 15 top-five finishes on the KFT and Euro Tour between 2014 and 2021, Lipsky is a streaky player with upside who tends to get the most out of his good weeks.
  • At the tender age of 34, Lipsky is far from an unproven commodity, despite last season being his rookie year on the PGA Tour. Highlights include a seventh at the Corales Punta Cana, a fourth at the Zurich Classic, and a sixth at the Mexico Open, where he gained a staggering 10 strokes on approach, a number that players with illustrious careers have failed to even sniff.
• The Bad
  • There is not one domineering skill-set Lipsky really excels at, and he ranks outside the top-50 in true strokes gained in all four of the major stat categories. I believe that Lipsky will have a nice career, but there’s no super-star upside. He’s fairly accurate off the tee (30th last year in driving accuracy), but the fact that he is so short (138th in driving distance) severely caps his upside.
  • I don’t see a conceivable path for him to qualify for any of the majors this year, but that’s not why you are drafting him. Lipsky is going to play between 28 and 32 times times next year, and likely cash a check on at least 20 of them. He’s a nice compliment to pair with a LIV long-shot at the end of the draft.

92. Joaquin Niemann (OWGR: 22)

• L12 Months True SG: 12th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 16th
• The Good 
  • It’s hard to really gage the state of Joaquin Niemann’s game since defecting to LIV, but back when he was playing tournaments with strokes gained data, the young Chilean was a bona fide top-20 guy in the world any way you slice it.
  • Over the last year, Niemann, Will Zalatoris, and Scottie Scheffler have been the only three players in the world to rank inside the top-12 in both weighted strokes gained off the tee and weighted strokes gained approach. He’s rock solid around the green (44th) as well, and I would not call him a poor putter either.
  • His “Hello, World” moment came when he blew the field away at Riviera, arguably the sixth biggest event of the year, right after the four major championships and the Players. I’m genuinely bummed he will not be back to defend his title. The two-time PGA Tour winner features one of the most complete games in the world, proving that he can contend at the hardest courses on the PGA Tour, plod his way around short, positional courses, and keep up in a birdie-fest as well. Many seem to forget that he just turned 24 last month, and is over a year younger than Zalatoris, Scheffler, Morikawa, and Hovland! When asked what the most underrated loss was for the PGA Tour, my answer is undeniably Niemann.
• The Bad
  • Since we are only getting him for the major, I wish I felt better about his track record in these events. The good news is that he is qualified for all of them. The bad news is that he has yet to finish inside the top-35 in three appearances at Augusta, has only recorded one top-25 at the PGA Championship in five appearances, just one top-25 in four starts at the US Open, and no finish better than 53rd in three attempts at the Open Championship. Still, I’m far from concerned. Outside of the fact that he is a baby, I love his course fit at L.A. CC, Oak Hill, and Augusta. Given Niemann’s ability to manipulate his ball-flight at ease, the Open Championship may actually end up being the best spot for him. This is purely a talent play, and I absolutely believe that he is a must start at all major championships next year, especially considering the venues.

91. Cameron Smith (OWGR: 3)

• L12 Months True SG: 7th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 2nd
• The Good 
  • Over the past year, Cam Smith has won five times on four different Tours, including the PLAYERS Championship and the Open Championship. While I do not believe that he is the best player in the world, he’s firmly in the conversation.
  • Over the past 12 months, the Aussie has been the seventh best player in true strokes gained, the third best putter in the world, the sixth best iron player in the world, and he also possesses a top-20 short game.
  • He’s exempt into all four majors next year, and even since defecting to LIV, there’s no reason to believe that he is slowing down anytime soon. The 29-year-old finished fourth at LIV Boston, first at LIV Chicago, runner-up at LIV Miami, and first at the Australian PGA Championship.
  • This could be a whole separate article, but the main reason for him elevating into a top-five player in the world has far more to do with his iron play than his short game and putting. The Aussie already possessed a top-20 short game and flatstick when he was ranked 30th in the world.
• The Bad 
  • All we are getting out of Smith next year are the major championships, and I actually prefer DJ’s course fit to Cam’s at at least two of the four tracks. I have some serious concerns about Smith’s ability to compete at Oak Hill, whereas I believe that DJ, Bryson, Brooks, and Niemann set up stupendously for the Rochester gem. On the contrary, it feels like Cam is going to be in the mix at every Masters and Open Championship for a very long time. I have concerns about his future at U.S. Opens, but I believe that L.A. CC will be set up more like Chambers Bay, where Cam finished fourth, than say, Torrey Pines. This is a prime opportunity to steal a U.S. Open.

90. Dustin Johnson (OWGR: 40)

• L12 Months True SG: 14th
• 2022 Money List Rank: N/A on pgatour.com. Strange.
• The Good 
  • Ranking Dustin Johnson ahead of Cam Smith might end up being controversial, but when both players only have four tournaments that are relevant for season long fantasy golf, it all comes down to course fit. Both courses have changed since then, but it’s worth noting that DJ is the only player to have finished top-12 at both the 2013 PGA Championship at Oak Hill, and the 2014 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool. The first time that I played LA C.C, I immediately thought of DJ as well.
  • For what it’s worth, DJ also looked the best on LIV. Outside of one middle of the back finish at LIV Bangkok, DJ finished top-eight at the other seven LIV events, including a win at LIV Boston and LIV Miami. The two-time major winner also sneakily finished 12th at the Masters, 24th at the U.S. Open, and sixth at the Open Championship. All of those performances were of the backdoor variety, but the list of players who can boast top-25s at three of the four majors last year is short, and it’s easy to forget how competitive DJ remained last season. Even in a down year when the 38 year old really struggled with the flat-stick, he remained a top-15 player in the world from tee to green.
• The Bad 
  • Well, you only get him for four events, so you better feel comfortable stashing an extra bench spot. Since this is the last LIV player we’ll talk about, I’ll provide a bit of advice into how I am viewing them. The worst thing you can do is draft a LIV player, get frustrated if he misses the cut at the Masters, and then drop him for Lee Hodges because you like his course fit at Harbour Town. There’s a reason why who I believe is a top-five player of the last 20 years is ranked 90th on my big board. You are banking on him coming through for you four times, which is essentially all you can hope for from the Stephan Jaeger’s, Francesco Molinari’s, David Lipsky’s, Brandon Wu’s, and Luke List’s of the year. Four good starts out any of those guys is a victory.

89. Francesco Molinari (OWGR: 157)

• L12 Months True SG: 103rd
• 2022 Money List Rank: 143rd
• The Good 
  • I’m always willing to take my chances on a former stud, and while I have Francesco Molinari ranked behind Justin Rose, Gary Woodland, Rickie Fowler, and Jason Day, I don’t believe the Italian is cooked either.
  • Molinari actually did show some signs of life last year with a sixth at the American Express, a 17th at the Byron Nelson, a 26th at the Memorial, a 15th at the Open Championship, and a ninth at the BMW PGA Championship.
  • The sixth at the American Express was hopefully a sign of some future success on the West Coast, where the Italian recently moved his family. Molinari spent some time away from the game in the last few years, and I can imagine that moving to California was a big transition if you have lived in Italy your entire life. Now that he’s settled, I expect a full season out of Molinari on the PGA Tour. 15 starts on the PGA Tour, including all four majors, does show a player that is fully committed to playing golf here with the world’s best. I always felt that LIV made a lot of sense for him, so I’m glad that he didn’t take the easy way out.
  • Molinari has already played three times this year during the fall swing, and I was greatly encouraged by the four strokes ball-striking that he gained most recently at the RSM Classic. As previously mentioned, Molinari somehow finagled his way into all four majors last year as well.
• The Bad
  • I’m not sure that he will be exempt for all four majors this year, although I know that he will at least be in the field at the Masters and the Open Championship, both events that he’s experienced a ton of success at. If he qualifies, I actually really like the 10-time worldwide winner’s chances at LA C.C.
  • The risk with Molinari is the same with Justin Rose, Webb Simpson, Gary Woodland, etc. All are former major winners and former top-20 players that have provided little evidence that their best golf is ahead of them. Molinari showed some flashes last year, but they were nothing more than that. I think he is worthy draft pick, but there’s far more safety in a Kevin Streelman or Brendan Steele.

88. Stephan Jaeger (OWGR: 159)

• L12 Months True SG: 119th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 100th
• The Good 
  • Think of Stephan Jaeger as a poor man’s Patrick Reed. Over the past year, the German ranks fifth in true strokes gained around the green. Now, short game is probably the least important of the four major skill-sets, but he’s a pretty good wedge player and putter as well.
  • Jaeger put together a respectful six top 25 finishes over the past year, including a sixth at the Wells Fargo Championship, a fifth at the Rocket Mortgage, and a ninth at the Houston Open. None of these courses have much in common, which just speaks to the fact that his game can travel. Memorial Park is one of the most difficult courses on Tour, features firm and fast Bermuda-grass and heavily contoured green complexes, TPC Potomac is a mid scoring test with a great deal of penalty for wayward driving, and Detroit Golf Club is about a simplistic of a Bent-grass birdie-fest as it gets.
  • Jaeger has gone back and forth between the PGA and Korn Ferry Tours over the past five years, and just based on the fact that he wins a ton of the KFT, he’s proven that he belongs with the world’s best on the PGA Tour as well. Jaeger is up to six wins and 18 top-fives between 2016 and 2021 on the KFT. The level of competition is a big jump, but winning is a skill, and Jaeger has shown that he can close out a tournament on Sunday.
• The Bad 
  • At 159th in the OWGR, the 33-year-old is going to have a difficult path qualifying for the majors/elevated events, but like we’ve seen on the KFT, Jaeger does an excellent job of beating up on weaker competition. I do expect him to be in the mix at many of the non-elevated events next year.
  • It is worth noting that Jaeger is a bit of a liability off the tee, ranking outside the top-100 in driving distance, strokes gained off the tee, and driving accuracy. Short and inaccurate is a recipe for disaster on the PGA Tour, with Patrick Red really being the only player in the modern era to win big-time events despite being such a shaky driver of the ball. Cam Smith is not an elite off the tee of the ball either, but he’s longer, and a far better overall driver of the ball than Reed and Jaeger. It’s certainly something that players can overcome, but I do believe his driver severely caps his upside. If a player is already inaccurate to begin with, why not just chase distance? Jaeger would immediately shoot up these rankings a couple spots in he simply was five to ten yards longer.

87. Russell Knox (OWGR: 185)

• L12 Months in True SG: 91st
• 2022 Money List Rank: 81st
• The Good 
  • Russell Knox put together a sneaky good 2022, mainly buoyed by the fact that he was a top-25 iron player. Over the last six months, Knox has improved his irons even further, ranking top-15 in true strokes gained approach. His putting has shown marked improvement as well. Once a total liability on the greens, Knox trending towards becoming a field average putter is exciting. The Scotsman is a strong enough iron player, and specifically an elite wedge player, that if he can remain not a disaster on the greens, Knox should be drafted.
  • The 37-year-old is coming off his best season since 2019, which included a seventh at the Sony Open, a sixth at the PLAYERS, a 15th at the Charles Schwab, and a 21st at the Wyndham. While he does not possess the illustrious career of a Webb Simpson, there are at least six to eight tracks (Heritage, Travelers, Honda, Pebble Beach, Sony, Colonial, and Phoenix) where he is a fairly comfortable start. Tom Hoge is going to make a massive amount of money on the PGA Tour because he is an elite wedge player, and for some reason the Tour continues to return to wedge heavy courses year in and year out. If you’re looking for a discount on Hoge, Knox is about as good as you can do.
• The Bad
  • It’s certainly plausible that the Jacksonville University product turns back into a bad putter, and prior to this year, the two-time PGA Tour winner has ranked below average in putting for a decade straight.
  • Is the upside there? Knox’s last win on the PGA Tour came at the Travelers in 2016, and he did not actually find himself in contention in any event last year. Knox was certainly lurking at the PLAYERS, but there was not one moment where it felt like he actually possessed a legitimate chance to win. Despite being a top-25 machine, his last actual top-five on the PGA Tour came at the 2018 Bridgestone. Knox is a decent bench stash, but I struggle to find more than six to eight tournaments where he truly should be started.

86. Andrew Putnam (OWGR: 81)

• L12 Months in True SG: 54th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 69th
• The Good 
  • Over the past year, Andrew Putnam has quietly been a fringe top-50 player in the world, despite being an abject liability off the tee. Still, he ranks top-30 in the world in both around the green and putting over a year plus sample size. While those are not the most sticky metrics from year to year, if we shrink the sample size to the last six months, Putnam’s excellence on and around the green have allowed him to become a top-35 player in the world over that timespan.
  • Putnam can indisputably roll the rock, but he falls into that same category as J.T. Poston, Denny McCarthy, Stephan Jaeger, Beau Hossler, etc. of players who are over-reliant on their short game and putting.
  • Still, Putnam deserves respect for completely turning it around after an incredibly slow start to the season. After back to back top-30 finishes at the Sony Open and American Express, the 33-year-old was in legitimate contention on Sunday`y to win at Pebble Beach. After the near miss at Pebble, Putnam looked a bit lost during the summer, but he seemed to have found something at the 3M Open, and the Pepperdine grad has now made 12 cuts in a row, gaining strokes putting in all 12 appearances. This stretch including an awfully impressive top-five at a FedEx Cup playoff event, and a near miss at the Zozo Championship in the o
• The Bad 
  • Putnam has only gained over a stroke off the tee twice in 28 starts last year. Woof.
  • I do not see much of a roadmap for him to qualify for any of the majors, and even if he was to qualify, he doesn’t stand much of a chance at these four venues. I could talk myself into seeing him competing at a U.S. Open at Pebble Beach or Merion, but Oak Hill and L.A. CC might eat him alive. The Pepperine standout finished 31st at the Country Club last year, gaining five strokes putting, which accurately reflects his ceiling. Putnam is dead on arrival at courses such as Torrey Pines and Muirfield Village as well due to the fact that he ranks 188th in driving distance and 186th in proximity from 200 yards plus. Putnam is a really productive player, but it’s important to understand his limitations. Ultimately, the 25-year-old KFT played same said, I’ll adar \31st at Pepperdine and 25h a =t

85. Thomas Pieters (OWGR: 38)

• L12 Months in True SG: 38th
• 2022 Money List Rank: N/A
• The Good 
  • The big-hitting man from Belgium has been a top-20 player in the world over the last six months. Thomas Pieters won the Portugal Masters and HSBC Championship last fall and winter, and he’s recorded six other top-15 finishes since then. More recently, he’s made every single cut since the Masters, including a runner-up at the BMW International Open, and an eighth at the D+D Real Czech Masters, and a third at the French. For lack of articulateness, Pieters is really good, and I’m bullish on his chances to continue to ascend into a Ryder Cup star
• The Bad
  • The concern with Pieters is very simple: He is not a member of the PGA Tour. I have him slightly ahead of the LIV players because last year he played in the Genesis Invitational, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and the PLAYERS Championship, as well as the four majors, which he will be qualified for again in 2023. I do believe he is a threat in the majors, and someone you should feel fairly confident rolling out as one of your top-six in the majors. Do I believe that he is more of a threat at the majors than DJ? No, but the fact that you can also start him at R +R, Riviera, Bay Hill, and even TPC Sawgrass is huge. Pieters should absolutely obliterate Oak Hill, and we’ve already seen him finish top four at the Masters and sixth at the 2018 PGA Championship at Bethpage.I’ve failed to even mention mention his runner-up at Riviera, and he’s got plenty of links form as well.

84. Kevin Streelman (OWGR: 129)

• L12 Months in True SG: 124th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 92nd
• The Good 
  • Some might believe that this is a touch too high for the former Duke standout, but Kevin Streelman remains a rock solid PGA Tour pro despite nearing his mid-40s. The biggest reason for his sustained success is that Streelman is still one of the most accurate drivers of the ball in the world, and he consistently gains strokes off the tee despite featuring below average distance. Streelman ranked sixth on Tour last year in driving accuracy, hitting nearly 70% of his fairways. For this reason, the 44-year-old should be viewed as a threat at courses such as Sedgefield, Pebble Beach, Harbor Town, TPC River Highlands, Muirfield Village, PGA National, Harbour Town, and Colonial, year in and year out.
  • Streelman did flash some upside last year with a runner-up at the Barbasol, a seventh at the Valspar, and he only missed a playoff at the Wyndham Championship by one shot. I get that it’s an alternate field, but +9.2 ball-striking at the Barbasol is impressive. He’s not a poor putter either that we need to be concerned about in a birdie fest.
  • Despite his age, Streelman still plays a ton of golf, and he makes a ton of cuts as well. He’s by no means a sexy pick, but Streelman is the type of player you want to keep at the back-end of your roster given the fact that he can top-25 at pretty much any course on the PGA Tour due to the well-rounded nature of his game.
• The Bad 
  • There doesn’t seem to be a real pathway to the majors for Streelman, but that’s not why you are drafting him anyway. I think most folks know what they are getting with Streelman, but if we are talking steady veterans, my numbers still suggest that he Streelman the one you want out of the Charley Hoffman, Ryan Palmer, Brendon Todd, Luke List, Lucas Glover, Adam Long, Martin Laird group. Give me Streelman over all of those guys.

83. Lucas Herbert (OWGR: 60)

• L12 Months in True SG: 80th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 50th
• The Good 
  • Over the past year, Lucas Herbert has been the fourth best putter in the world, and he also possesses a top-30 short game as well. The Australian has gained strokes putting in a whopping 17 straight measured starts, including +6 at the Italian Open, +5 at the BMW Championship, +8.8 at the PGA Championship, +8.5 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and +8.8 Australian Open as well,
  • If he can figure out to keep the ball on the planet off the tee, Herbert is sneakily one of the longer players on Tour, ranking top-35 in driving distance last year at 312.4 yards. With that being said, the reason why he still remains below average off the tee is because he is ranked 188th on Tour last year in driving accuracy percentage. It does appear that the three-time worldwide winner is continuing to pick up more distance as he’s shot up to fourth in that category, across two events in the 2023 season. If Herbert truly did pick up 10 yards of distance, and he can find a way to just slightly improve his accuracy to field average, the 27-year-old instantly becomes one of the better drivers of the ball in the world.
• The Bad 
  • Over the past year, Herbert has unfortunately been the ninth worst iron player and the 18th worst off the tee player out of all who finished top-150 in true strokes gained last year.
  • Herbert is essentially a somewhat more proven version of Beau Hossler, and I have them ranked accordingly. Both are simply not the type of player that I’m looking to target. From a very simplistic lens, it’s far easier to go from one of the worst putters in the world to one of the best putters in the world than it is to go from one of the worst ball-strikers in the world to one of the best ball-strikers in the world.
  • While not impossible, it’s ‘s a simply a much more likely outcome that his putter regresses than it is for him to make some giant improvement with his long game.
  • Herbert also does play some on the European Tour. He recored 17 starts on the PGA Tour last season. I would hope to target players that record over 20 starts, but 17 is fine. If you are forced to start Herbert 17 times, something else has gone horribly wrong anyway. He did win the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, and finished top-15 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, PGA Championship, and Open Championship. Top 15s at multiple majors last year is nothing to stick your nose up at.

82. Brendan Steele (OWGR: 118)

• L12 Months in True SG: 93rd
• 2022 Money List Rank: 53rd
• The Good 
  • Over the last year, Brendan Steele is actually a top-10 driver of the ball in the entire world. This is true SG as well, so spare me the argument that he’s beating up on weaker fields. The 39-year-old is a top-40 iron player in the world over the last year as well. No need need to discuss his putting in this section. We’ll get there soon.
  • I try and stay out of hyperbole, but is Brendan Steele the most underrated ball-striker in the world? Allow me to make the case. Over his last 15 starts, the 39-year-old has gained over 2.5 ball-striking on seven different occurrences. You simply cannot fake your way into +7.3 ball-striking at the API, +11.8 at the PLAYERS, +9.4 at the PGA Championship, +8.5 at the Memorial, and +11.3 at the Travelers. The reason why no one has noticed is because across those five aforementioned tournaments, he’s lost a combined 13.6 strokes putting.
• The Bad 
  • Over the last year, Steele ranks 148th in putting out of the top-150 in true SG. The short game isn’t much better, as Steele ranks 123rd out of 150 players in true SG: ARG. If we shrink the sample size to the last six and three months, there have been some *incremental* improvements in both categories, so at least there’s some reason for optimism. Still, I’m not sure the upside exists anymore. The last time that Steele gained over a stroke putting in a full tournament was the Sony Open, and the last time he had truly great putting performance came nearly two years ago at the 2021 Honda Classic!
  • Steele will at least be back at the PGA Championship, and I do believe that Oak Hill is a very solid set-up for him. The UC Riverside alumn is a good stash to have on your bench just in case he has a putting exorcism. I would actually feel fairly comfortable rolling him out at some of the more moderate to difficult courses on Tour (TPC San Antion, Muirfield Village, TPC River Highlands, TPC Scottsdale, Bay Hill, etc.) where he isn’t forced to make a million putts just to make the cut.

81. Webb Simpson (OWGR: 118)

• L12 Months in True SG: 139th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 120th
• The Good 
  • No matter how terrible Webb Simpson’s form is, there are roughly five courses where you can automatically plug in the former U.S. Open winner into your starting lineup and feel pretty good about it. There are very few, if not zero, players in this range that I can say that about. Webb is still a great start at the Wyndham, RBC Heritage, the PLAYERS, the Waste Management, and the Sony Open. His value would be even stronger if the Shriners and RSM were also part of the fantasy golf schedule.
• The Bad
  • There’s a very real possibility that Webb might just be cooked. It’s crazy, he’s only 37-years-old, but he’s getting selected as assistant, non-playing captain at on the Ryder Cup. The Wake Forest product provided little reason for optimism last year, with zero top-10s, and just one top-15 in 16 starts last year. This could be viewed as a positive or a negative, but Webb is far more particular about his schedule at this stage of his career, and I would be shocked if he plays more than 18 events this season. I guess the positive spin would be that now he is only going to play the tracks that he genuinely believes he can compete on and suit his style of play.
  • Just like the LIV players, Webb is a risky pick, as he is coming off the worst season of his entire career, but if he can emulate anything close to his career baseline of +1 SG per round, he will be one of the steals of the entire draft.

 

Happy drafting season, and feel free to reach out to me with any questions on the RickRunGood slack channel!

Just missed the Top 100 (Honorable mentions): Danny Willett (OWGR: 94), Patrick Reed (OWGR: 67), S.H Kim (OWGR: 141), Carl Yuan (OWGR: 116), Paul Casey (OWGR: 54), Trey Mullinax (OWGR: 102), Lucas Glover (OWGR: 103), Robby Shelton (OWGR: 171), Davis Thompson (OWGR: 178)