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 60 through 41.

60. Justin Rose (OWGR: 68)

• L12 Months True SG: 72nd
• 2022 Money List Rank: 89th
• The Good
  • Despite never really feeling like Justin Rose could get into any sort of a rhythm, the Englishman still ranked 72nd in true strokes gained over the last year, and he has remained a top-15 putter in the world over that same time span.
  • Rose remains a threat and a start-able option if he can find his way into the majors. In 17 appearances at the Masters, Rose has made 15 cuts, with 13 top-25s, six top-10s, three top-fives, and two runner-ups.
  • The 42-year-old has also finished top-13 in his last three PGA Championship starts, so he remains relevant in these tournaments. We should not feel bad about rolling him out as a sixth man at any of the majors, particularly the Masters and PGA Championship, where he’s been most consistent in recent years.
  • Rose does remain a very skilled wedge player and long iron player, ranking 16th in proximity 125-150 yards, fifth in proximity 150-175 yards, and 36th in proximity from 200 yards plus, which is incredibly encouraging,
• The Bad 
  • The former U.S. Open winner is far more selective with his starts at this point in his career. He only played 18 times last year, and made 13 cuts, with a sixth at the Farmer’s Insurance Open where he had a legitimate chance to win on the final hole of regulation. Other highlights include a 13th at the PGA Championship where he gained 5.2 strokes on approach, and a fourth at the Canadian Open where he gained over seven strokes ball-striking. Rose is also coming off a ninth at the Houston Open, so I do believe he’s got a bit left in the tank.
  • Last year was the first time in his career where he lost strokes from tee to green, which is not a good sign for his future. Long gone are the days (2012-2018) where he gained over a stroke to the field from tee to green. He came in at -0.35 last year. Not great. Still, he oddly paired it with the best putting season of his career.
  • I’m not quite sure how sustainable this putting run is. Rose ranked second on Tour in putting from greater than 25 feet. He made a ton of bombs, which isn’t exactly repeatable. He was still solid (59th) in putting inside 10 feet, but 188th in putting from 10-15 feet is not encouraging.

 

59. Scott Stallings (OWGR: 56)

• L12 Months True SG: 58th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 23rd
• The Good 
  • Scott Stallings’ place in these rankings is largely due to an impressive hot streak to end last season that saw him advance all the way to the Tour Championship.
  • In nine starts between the end of May and the middle of June, Stallings had six top-15 finishes, four top-10s, and three top-fives, including a runner-up at the BMW Championship, a FedEx Cup playoff event. The reason for this run, where he possessed three legitimate chances to win in a nine start stretch, was largely due to elite iron play. Stallings gained 7.8 on approach at Colonial, 7.2 at the Travelers, and 6.1 at the BMW Championship.
  • Can Stallings repeat this run? It’s certainly possible. The rest of last season was nothing really to write home about, but that nine start stretch carried him to the best season of his career (+0.58 strokes gained).
  • Most of Stallings’ best finishes last season came on Bent-grass birdie-fests, which makes sense given the fact that he is a top-20 player on Tour in proximity 100-150 yards, and top-30 in putting average.
  • The 37-year-old’s last win came all the way back in 2014, but Stallings is still in incredible physical shape, and hits the ball longer now than he did then.
• The Bad 
  • Stallings is still a fairly volatile player who missed 14 cuts in 30 starts last year. With that being said, with seven top-10s last season, he contends at a much higher rate than an average Tour pro.
  • He’s not qualified for the majors, but at 56 in the OWGR, he’s certainly not far away. I’m not sure how much his presence in majors will matter any way, given that he’s only made three of 12 cuts in the majors, with a career best finish of 27th at the 2012 Masters.
  • Ultimately, we saw Stallings’ ceiling last year. He’s largely hit or miss, but has the ability to go on a mini-heater at a moment’s notice. He’s definitely worth having on your roster, but do not expect a major step up in class at this stage of his career.

 

58. Adam Svensson (OWGR: 69)

• L12 Months True SG: 104th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 106th
• The Good 
  • Regular readers are probably well aware of my affection for Adam Svensson, who I advocated for pretty much every single time he teed it up except the week that he actually won. In a way, Svensson illustrates why season long fantasy golf is cool. You can be a macro buyer on a player without having to bet him every single week.
  • The win at the RSM was far from surprising. The Canadian is one of the most accurate drivers on Tour (40th in driving accuracy), despite just ranking 154th in driving distance. He’s an awesome short to middle iron player (seventh in proximity 150-175 yards, and inside the top-70 in every proximity bucket from 100-200 yards).
  • The 28-year-old is far from a liability around the greens too, and he can get stupid hot with the flat-stick. The 9.2 strokes putting that he gained at the RSM was the second time that he has gained over nine strokes putting last year. The combination of accurate driving, great wedge play, and the ability to spike with the putter is going to make Svensson a ton of money on the PGA Tour.
  • The win at the RSM also put him into the majors, although we should not expect much as he’s never played in a tournament that big before.
• The Bad 
  • His driving distance actually appears to be going in the wrong direction (293 to 287 yards), although it’s too small of a sample size to make any assumption on that. Despite losing some distance in 2023, he went from 108th in strokes gained off the tee to 69th.
  • The only other negative that I would point out is that he might have a higher ADP than he should, due to the recent win at the RSM.

 

57. Joel Dahmen (OWGR: 88)

• L12 Months True SG: 87th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 80th
• The Good 
  • There’s certainly a lot to like about Joel Dahmen, who ranks 87th in true strokes gained over the past 12 months, 73rd over the last six months, and 22nd over the last three months. Three months is way too small of a sample size to consider if Joel Dahmen has the ability to be a top-25 player over a sustained period of time. That just might be a belief based on his self-deprecating nature. We are still talking about a player that lead the U.S. Open at the 36 hole mark, and told media that he didn’t believe that he could win.
  • Dahmen has been on absolute fire this fall swing, failing to finish worse than 37th, with five top-20s, three top-10s, and two top-fives. This is easily the best six start stretch of Dahmen’s career, and while his 16th at the Zozo and third at the Mayakoba do not have shot-tracker, he gained over six strokes ball-striking in three out of his last four starts.
  • The 35-year-old is an incredibly accurate driver of the ball (12th in driving accuracy), and he gains strokes off the tee despite ranking 161st in driving distance.
  • Another positive with Dahmen is that there’s some versatility to his game. Running through his best results (2nd Quail Hollow, 1st Corales, 2nd TPC Deere Run, 6th Pebble Beach, 3rd and 6th at the Mayakoba, 10th U.S. Open, 10th PGA Championship, 9th Torrey Pines, 5th Greenbrier, 5th Arnold Palmer Invitational, 5th Memorial Park, 5th Sea Island), Dahmen is every bit as good on long courses as he is short courses. He’s had just as much success on hard courses as he has on easy courses. He’s performed on Bent, Poa, and Bermuda. He’s delivered at extremely straight-forward birdie-fests, and exceptionally difficult major championships set-ups. Dahmen’s game travels and I can’t think of a course on the schedule that I would be opposed to starting to him at.
• The Bad 
  • I could see Dahmen getting over-drafted just because of the recency bias of how well he is currently playing, but anywhere in the fifth round is fair to me. I might even have him too low.
  • It appears to have improved early in 2023, but Dahmen has never gained strokes around the green for a full season in his career, and it’s an aspect of his game that could definitely improve.

 

56. Emiliano Grillo (OWGR: 84)

• L12 Months True SG: 77th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 62nd
• The Good 
  • It’s hard to believe, but Emiliano Grillo has been a top-30 player in the world over the last six months. I like to use 12 months as a true measuring stick, but we may be forced to evaluate Grillo differently given his recent play.
  • It was an ugly start to the season for the Argentinian, but starting at the John Deere Classic where he finished runner-up, Grillo has made 10 of 11 cuts, with six top-25 finishes, and four top-fives. Grillo has been a mainstay on the first page of the leaderboard in the late summer and fall.
  • We know that he’s a great iron player and absolutely one of the best in the world from 125-175 yards, as well as 200 yards plus. The 30-year-old is also a great driver of the ball too, ranking sixth in total driving and 18th in strokes gained off the tee.
  • The only reason why a player with Grillo’s bad-striking chops is winless since the 2015 Frys.com Open is because he is not a very good putter. He first turned pro in 2015, and lost strokes putting for three years straight. He putted quite well (+0.55) in 2018, before things got even worse in 2019 and 2020. 2021 produced another losing season, and it was looking like we were heading that way in 2022 as well before an eight start stretch where he gained over a stroke putting. If Grillo can turn into a more consistent putter, I’m fairly confident that he’ll win this year.
• The Bad 
  • While the putter has definitely improved, Grillo remains a liability around the greens, ranking 127th in scrambling, 167th in sand save percentage, and 129th in strokes gained around the green.
  • Despite the solid play over the past few months, he’s still on the outside looking in for the majors.
  • Grillo is streaky, and he’s hot right now, but when he goes cold, he goes cold. Prior to the John Deere where he turned things around, Grillo made only 11 of 23 cuts with zero top-15 finishes. It remains to be seen whether we get good or bad Grillo in 2023, but 56th feels like a good spot given the risk.

 

55. Dean Burmester (OWGR: 58)

• L12 Months True SG: 89th
• 2022 Money List Rank: N/A
• The Good 
  • After finishing fourth at the Albertsons Boise Open on the Korn Ferry Tour, Dean Burmester secured a PGA Tour card for the 2022-2023 season.
  • At 33-years-old, Burmester is already a proven international player. He started out on the Sunshine Tour in 2013, winning eight times, The South African began playing more often on the European Tour a few years later, and won twice in 2017 and 2021 on that Tour as well.
  • The start to his PGA Tour career was promising as well, with a fourth at the Sanderson Farms, a 37th at the Shriners, a 32nd at the Mayakoba. I don’t even believe that any of these courses were particularly great fits for his game, and I’m excited to see how he performs once we get to some of the more driver heavy courses on the schedule.
  • The driver is the most exciting part of Burmester’s game, and over the last six months, he’s been a top-30 driver of the ball in the world. During that same time frame, he’s also got the sixth-best short game in the world. The 10-time worldwide winner hasn’t missed a beat on the PGA Tour either, gaining over 0.9 strokes around the green in four of his five measured starts this fall swing.
  • With an OWGR of 58, he will at least be in the mix to qualify for all four of the majors, and a T11 at the Open Championship is awfully impressive as well. Shockingly, he lost 0.9 off the tee that week, but made up for it by gaining 6.4 strokes around the green.
• The Bad 
  • While we’ve already highlighted how elite of a driver and short game he has, the iron play and putting is rather weak. Over the last six months, he ranks 132nd out of 150 players in both strokes gained approach and strokes gained putting. The long iron play is strong, but the PGA Tour is mainly made up of wedge heavy courses and the fact that he does not rank inside the top-85 in any proximity bucket from 100-200 is concerning. Burmester has actually put together a pretty solid fall swing despite losing strokes on approach in all four recorded starts. In spite of the poor iron play, I’m still extremely bullish on Burmester’s game and he will be one of the players I will be specifically looking to target on draft day.

 

54. Aaron Rai (OWGR: 134)

• L12 Months True SG: 90th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 94th
• The Good
  • It’s been nice to see Aaron Rai transition seamlessly to the PGA Tour after experiencing some success overseas. The Englishman won both the 2018 Hong Kong Open over Matt Fitzpatrick at 23-years-old, as well as the 2020 Aberdeen Scottish Open at 25-years-old. Rai earned his PGA Tour card through the Korn Ferry Tour Finals prior to the start of last year, and had an impressive rookie season where he played 26 times, made 19 cuts, with just one top-10, a sixth at Torrey Pines, but nine top-30 finishes
  • Rai does a lot well. He keeps the ball in play off the tee (16th in driving accuracy), is a very solid long iron player (32nd in proximity 200 yards plus), and he makes the putts that he needs to (35th in putting from four to eight feet). Those are three skill-sets that tend to go a long way in major championships, but at 134th in the world, that might not be realistic this year.
  • Rai was very close to gaining across the board in all four major skill-sets (he finished last year at -0.04 strokes putting), and he is already in the green with the flat-stick this year. Rai has an extremely well-rounded game that can travel. He’s just as live at Torrey Pines, Muirfield Village, and Memorial Park as he is at El Camaleon, Sea Island, and TPC River Highlands. Think of an extremely poor man’s Xander Schauffele.
• The Bad
  • I already mentioned that we are unlikely to see him at majors, and I’m not so sure about elevated events either. Rai will never be a super-star, or even one tier below a super-star. Yet for the purposes of season long fantasy, Rai is about as rock-solid of a player as you can find before we start getting into the players that will likely play in the elevated events and majors.

 

53. Sebastian Munoz (OWGR: 76)

• L12 Months True SG: 48th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 54th
• The Good
  • There’s certainly enough to like about Sebastian Munoz, who has been a top-50 player in the world in true strokes gained over the past year, and a top-40 ball-striker as well.
  • The Colombian has shown a couple high end flashes with a third at the Byron Nelson, a third at the RSM Classic, and a very impressive 14th at the U.S. Open.
  • Munoz is quite strong off the tee, possessing both above average distance and above average accuracy, good for a ranking of 31st in total driving. He’s a pretty solid iron player as well, ranking 41st overall last season in strokes gained approach. The 29-year-old is both above average with his wedges and his long irons too.
• The Bad 
  • I wish he played more than 25 times last season, but he did make 18 cuts, and three of those missed cuts were the first three starts of the season. After he got through the fall swing, Munoz turned into a model of consistency, making 18 of 22 cuts.
  • The putting needs some work. The former Sanderson Farms Championship winner ranked 124th in strokes gained putting last year, which had a lot to do with the fact that he ranked 160th in putting inside 10 feet, and 157th in putting from 10-15 feet. This is the money making range, and Munoz must improve in this category to realize his potential.
  • At 76 in the OWGR, he’s got his work cut out for him to qualify for the majors, and potentially even the elevated events as well.

 

52. Alex Smalley (OWGR: 91)

• L12 Months True SG: 79th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 84th
• The Good 
  • I’ll always have a soft spot for my fellow former Blue Devil, and I’ve been tracking Alex Smalley’s career closely. Over the last year, he’s been the 79th best player in the world via true strokes gained. That shot up to 65th over the last six months, and to 43rd over the past three months.
  • The 26-year-old finished his season with three straight top-12 finishes: an 11th at the Bermuda Championship, a fourth in Houston, and a fifth at the RSM Classic where he gained over four strokes ball-striking. This now makes it 11 top-25s for Smalley in his young career, with three contending performances (Corales, Mexico, RSM). Smalley has gotten some truly invaluable reps in his rookie season.
  • Will Alex Smalley ever be a super-star? No, but he can be an extremely poor man’s Patrick Cantlay. Smalley was 35th last year in total driving, with both above average distance and above average accuracy. He’s 19th on Tour in proximity from 200 yards plus, which is an incredibly strong indicator for success in major championships. Overall, he’s a pretty solid iron player as well.
  • I love a guy who plays a ton for this format, and Smalley made 20 of 29 cuts last year with a couple high end finishes.
• The Bad 
  • The putting needs some serious work, as Smalley ranks outside of the top-60 in all the major putting metrics last season, but that already seems to be improving in 2023.
  • Similar to Aaron Rai, this is about as good as you are going to get in the middle rounds for a player who is not exempt into the majors and is unsure to play in the elevated events. If he is around for the sixth or seventh round, don’t let him fall any farther.

 

51. Sepp Straka (OWGR: 27)

• L12 Months True SG: 80th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 21st
• The Good 
  • Sepp Straka is not the type of player I would feel great about starting every week, but there are going to be a few times a year where he is inevitably going to show up and find himself in contention.
  • Straka plays a ton of golf, which is a big positive. He made 32 starts last season, and while he only made the weekend 18 times, he had a win, a playoff loss, a 3rd place finish at the Heritage where he was a shot away from a playoff, and he started off this new season by almost winning the Sanderson Farms well.
  • Ranked 27 in the OWGR, the Austrian should have little problem getting into the elevated events and majors.
• The Bad 
  • Major championship success has eluded him thus far. In six major starts, Straka has made four cuts, with a career best finish of 28th at the U.S. Open. A 30th on debut at the Masters is at least encouraging however.
  • The stats are never going to look great because he’s simply too inconsistent and he misses too many cuts, but Straka finished last season ranked 164th in strokes gained approach, and was towards the bottom of the Tour in wedge play. Not ideal. The irons are capable of getting hot, as he’s gained over three strokes on approach five times last year, but he’s also lost over three strokes on approach seven times last season too.
  • All five of his top-10s over the last year have come on Bermuda, which is a positive in the sense that there are a lot of Bermuda courses on Tour. Still, I would like to see him improve on Bent-grass and Poa, two surfaces that have provided more of a challenge for him thus far.

 

50. Kurt Kitayama (OWGR: 42)

• L12 Months True SG: 86th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 51st
• The Good 
  • Similar to Aaron Rai, Kurt Kitayama cut his teeth on the European Tour before earning his PGA Tour card in 2021 via the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. Already a proven winner, Kitayama took down both the AfraAsia Bank Mauritius Open in 2018 and the Oman Open in 2019, both before his 25th birthday.
  • His transition to the PGA Tour was a bit rocky, as Kitayama missed six of his first eight cuts, before almost winning The Honda Classic. Kitayama also almost stole the Mexico Open from Jon Rahm in May, the Genesis Scottish Open from Xander Schauffele, and the CJ Cup from Rory McIlroy! Point being, while Kitayama misses a ton of cuts, he also contends at a fairly high rate and is absolutely fearless.
  • All three of those courses were fairly wide open and driver heavy, which makes sense given the fact that Kitayama is one of the longest players on Tour, ranking 20th in driving distance. His ability to dominate in this category is capped by the fact that he completely sprays it (180th in driving accuracy). Outside of Kitayama’s power off the tee, he’s one of the best players on Tour from 175 yards plus, another skill that will suit him extremely well on tougher golf courses and in major championships. He’s got a rock solid short game too, but the putter comes and goes.
• The Bad 
  • It was his first full season on Tour, so this is forgivable, but I wish he made more than 50% of his cuts. That’s what you get from Kitayama though. He’s got a higher chance to win than many of the players he is ranked around, but he’s also going to get you a bunch of zeros.
  • At 42nd in the world, he should find himself in at least some of the majors. The 29-year-old’s game does fit major style tests, but he’s never finished better than 51st with five missed cuts in eight major starts. I love Kitayama on driver heavy courses, but unfortunately that only makes up a chunk of the schedule. He needs to improve his driving accuracy and wedge play, but Kitayama is a high upside player in the prime of his career whose proven he can win. Certainly a player I have some interest in.

 

49. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (OWGR: 71)

• L12 Months True SG: 67th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 60th
• The Good 
  • Christiaan Bezuidenhout played 24 times last year, making 20 cuts, with a whopping 10 top-25 finishes. With that being said, a runner-up at the John Deere Classic as his lone top-10. He absolutely makes a ton of cuts, but he doesn’t contend at a high rate. Maybe that changes in 2023 however, as Bez finished the season with back-to-back top-fives at the Nedbank Golf Challenge and the JoBurg Open in his native South Africa.
  • The 28-year-old is a pretty solid iron player, ranking 12th in proximity from 150-175 yards, and he delivers both with his short irons and his long irons. Yet where he truly makes his money is with the short game and putting. Bez is the number one player on Tour in scrambling from greater than 30 yards, he’s fourth overall in scrambling, and fourth in sand save percentage, so he’s got one of the absolutely most deadly short games on Tour.
  • He’s also ninth on Tour in putting inside 10 feet, which is incredibly important and a good indicator of putting sustainability. The South African is absolutely automatic from four to eight feet (fifth on Tour) and he’s eighth on Tour in putting from 10-15 feet as well. These are the most important and sticky ranges for putting and proves that this is a skill-set that Bez will have in his arsenal for years down the road.
  • What he’s doing with the short game right now is downright dirty, gaining over four strokes around the green in four straight starts. He’s shown he has the ability to go absolutely unconscious with the flat-stick (+9.5 putting at the BMW Championship, +8.4 at the John Deere Classic, +8.2 putting at the Byron Nelson). Unfortunately, the ball-striking upside really isn’t there yet, as he’s only had two starts last year where he gained over five strokes ball-striking.
• The Bad 
  • Bez really needs to improve off the tee (119th), and he’s never going to possess above average distance (165th). He still needs to be more accurate (57th) to find himself at least as a neutral driver of the ball.
  • At 71st in the world, Bez is far from guaranteed a spot in the majors, and even if he qualifies, he’s failed to finish better than 30th in any of his 11 major starts.

 

48. Harris English (OWGR: 53)

• L12 Months True SG: 125th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 189th
• The Good 
  • Harris English battled injuries last year en route to the worst season of his career, but in both 2020 and 2021, the four-time PGA Tour winner gained over a stroke per round. There have been some signs this fall swing that he is returning to full health.
  • It’s hard to read too deeply into anything that English did last season. He played only 12 times, and already this fall swing, he’s played seven times, with six made cuts, and a ninth at the Fortinet.
  • If the University of Georgia standout can find his way into the majors, English has been a fairly consistent performer, making 19 of 23 cuts, with five top-25s, and two top-10s. He recorded back to back top-fives at the U.S. Open in 2020 and 2021.
• The Bad 
  • There’s more value in looking at the limited statistics we have from English in his seven starts this fall swing than anything he did the prior year. English has yet to figure out the driver, ranking 175th in strokes gained off thee this year. The irons are a bit better (108th), but they still aren’t where they need to be. At least the short game (22nd in strokes gained around the green) never left him, and his putter remains rock solid as well.
  • I have no idea where English will be drafted, but I wouldn’t let him fall too much farther than this. We are still talking about a player in the prime of his career who won twice in the 2021 season.

 

47. Gary Woodland (OWGR: 97)

• L12 Months True SG: 66th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 65th
• The Good 
  • Gary Woodland remains one of the most frustrating players in golf. Over the last year, he ranks 66th in true strokes gained, although if we shrink the sample size to the short term, that number is going in the wrong direction.
  • The 38-year-old played 23 times last year, making just 11 cuts, so he’s been incredibly volatile. The upside is still there though. Woodland recorded five top-10s, including a ninth at the CJ Cup, a fifth at The Honda Classic, a fifth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and a 10th at the U,S. Open where he gained 10.4 strokes from tee to green.
  • Over the last year, Woodland has gained over three strokes ball-striking 10 times, and the irons can really get going as well (+5.2 at Houston, +4.6 at the Fortinet, +6.1 at the Valero, +4.5 at the Valspar).
  • Woodland still has plenty of pop off the tee (ninth in club head speed, 23rd in driving distance), although to become a dominant driver of the ball, he needs to improve his accuracy (141st in driving accuracy).
  • The Kansas native is also one of the better long iron players (30th in proximity 200 yards plus), but the short to middle irons leave plenty to be desired.
  • Woodland still should be set for at least some of the majors from his 2019 U.S. Open win, and he’s definitely done some damage in these bigger events (43 starts, 29 cuts made, 9 top-25s, four top-10s, and a win). He hasn’t really been able to figure out Augusta or the Open Championship yet, but the four-time PGA Tour winner has had some really strong performances at the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship.
• The Bad
  • While not a total liability, Woodland’s putting must improve. He’s been pretty solid inside 10 feet and from four to eight feet, but he ranks outside of the top-100 in putting from 10-15 feet, 15-20 feet, and 20-25 feet. He’s only gained over four strokes putting twice in the last year.

 

46. Rickie Fowler (OWGR: 104)

• L12 Months True SG: 116th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 118th
• The Good 
  • Despite his struggles, Rickie Fowler is heading in the right direction. Over the last year, the five-time PGA Tour winner ranked 116th in true strokes gained. Not ideal, but over the past six months, he improved to 105th, and over the past three months, he’s all the way up to 16th.
  • Last year was incredibly forgettable for Fowler. He played 22 times, and only made 13 cuts, with just three top-25s, a third at the CJ Cup, 21st at the Wells Fargo Championship, and 23rd at the PGA Championship.
  • With that being said, his start to the 2022-2023 year has been far more encouraging. In four starts this fall swing, Fowler already has a runner-up at the Zozo and a sixth at the Fortinet. The reason for the recent improvement from Fowler is that he’s gained over two strokes on approach in three straight starts, with actually some pretty high end off the tee performances (+3.8 at the Fortinet, +4.6 at the CJ Cup), and it appears his distance gains are starting to pay off. Last year was the worst season since his rookie year in 2008, but a rebound feels imminent.
  • I already alluded to the distance he’s gained, but he needs to clean up the accuracy (131st in driving accuracy) to get more value out of his off the tee play. Despite a really up and down season with his irons, the Oklahoma State product is still an above average short iron and long iron player. The short game (31st in strokes gained around the green) has remained awesome as well.
• The Bad 
  • At one point, Fowler was one of the best putters in the world, but he’s really lost touch with that aspect of his game. Last year was his worst putting season of his career, and the only time that he’s lost strokes putting since 2012. He ranked 150th in putting inside 10 feet, 117th in putting from four to eight feet, and outside the top-100 in putting from 10-15 feet, 15-20 feet, and 20-25 feet.
  • Fowler has some work to do to qualify for the majors, but if he can get in, he’s absolutely start-able. The 34-year-old has played in 46 majors, made 38 cuts, with 20 top-25s, 12 top-10s, eight top-ives (including a top-five in every major in 2014, and three runner-ups. Fowler hasn’t gotten to play in as many majors over the last two years as he usually does, but he’s still finished top-25 in both the last two PGA Championships.

 

45. Jason Day (OWGR: 112)

• L12 Months True SG: 45th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 117th
• The Good 
  • Despite being far from the player that he once was, Jason Day has remained a top-45 player in the world over the past year. If we shrink the sample size to the last three months, he’s all the way up to 31st.
  • Last year, Day only played 16 times, with nine made cuts, a third at the Farmer’s Insurance Open, a 15th at the Wells Fargo Championship, and a 17th at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. 2021 and 2022 have been the worst two seasons of his entire career via strokes gained.
  • With that being said, he’s off to a great start this fall swing, with an eighth at the Shriners, an 11th at the CJ Cup, a 21st at the Mayakoba, and a 16th at Houston. The reason for the recent form uptick is vastly due to improved iron play. Day has gained over 3.5 strokes on approach in four of his last five starts. Can we trust it? It’s hard to say, because this aspect of his game can go ice cold too. Earlier last season, Day gained 6.4 strokes on approach at the Wells Fargo, and then promptly lost over three strokes on approach for four straight weeks.
  • While the 35-year-old is no longer an elite putter, he can still certainly roll it. Day ranked 20th in putting from 10-15 feet last year, 16th in three putt avoidance, and 27th in putting average. The short game remains completely in-tact as well.
• The Bad 
  • Day is no longer the dominant driver of the ball that he once was. Other players have lapped him in distance, and his accuracy is just okay.
  • Wedge play has been another serious problem for the 12-time PGA Tour winner, as he ranks 128th in proximity from 100-125 yards, and 163rd in proximity from 125-150 yards. The long irons are just as uninspiring (159th).
  • The Australian has an uphill battle to get into the majors, but if he can, Day remains a threat on these style of courses (35/44 cuts made, 25 top-25s, 16 top-10s, 10 top-fives, four runner-ups, and a win at the majors). He’s got seven top-25s in 11 starts at the Masters, nine top-25s in 13 starts at the PGA Championship, six top-25s in 10 starts at the U.S. Open, and three top-25s in 10 starts at the Open.
  • I don’t love how selective he is with his schedule for this format, but I’m fairly confident that Day is in for a solid year, and I believe that him and Fowler will both find their way back to the winner’s circle.

 

44. Si Woo Kim (OWGR: 79)

• L12 Months True SG: 57th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 59th
• The Good 
  • Si Woo Kim is coming off a relatively quiet season where he ranked 57th in true strokes gained.
  • The former PLAYERS winner played a robust 29 times last year, making 22 cuts, with 13 top-30 finishes, but just a lone top 10 (eighth Sanderson Farms). While Kim was fairly competitive last year, he was never really able to put it all together for one week. With that being said, he’s already off to a great start this season, with an eighth at the Shriners, and a 35th in Houston where he gained 8.8 strokes on approach.
  • Si Woo is a great driver of the ball. He’s got average distance at best (92nd), but he definitely possesses above average accuracy (42nd), and he ranked 28th in total driving last year.
  • The 27-year-old does an excellent job of taking advantage of par fives (24th). The irons have a lot of upside, but are fairly inconsistent. While he’s an above average wedge player, his long irons leave a lot to be desired (170th).
  • The most underrated part of his game is his around the green play. Si Woo ranks 24th in scrambling from 30 yards plus, and 32nd in strokes gained around the green.
• The Bad 
  • The reason why Si Woo really struggled to pop last year is because the putting simply was not there for him. 162nd in putting inside 10 feet, 139th in putting from 10-15 feet, 165th in putting from 15-20 feet is all aggressively poor, and good for an overall ranking of 177th in strokes gained putting last year. There has been no marked improvement this fall swing either, as Kim has lost 5.7 and 3.4 strokes putting in his last two starts.
  • Si Woo is currently qualified for the U.S. Open, but he’s got some work to do to get into the other majors. Even if he gets in, Si Woo really hasn’t been much of a threat, making just 11 out of 23 cuts, with six top-25s, and zero top-10s in majors.
  • Ultimately his ball-striking hasn’t really missed a beat, but the three-time PGA Tour winner needs to putt better to start recording more high end finishes.

 

43. K.H. Lee (OWGR: 37)

• L12 Months True SG: 61st
• 2022 Money List Rank: 30th
• The Good 
  • I have no idea how he does it, but KH Lee continues to pile up results and quietly find himself as a bonafide top-40 guy, who is qualified for the majors, and probably the elevated events as well.
  • Over the last year, Lee ranks 61st in true strokes gained, and inside the top-100 in all four major categories. He does not possess any massive flaws in his game. Lee shoots up to 44th in the last six months, and 38th in the last three months. He’s now got multiple wins under his belt, has played in a Presidents Cup, and is only 31 years old. I think it’s safe to say that his best golf is ahead of him!
  • In his last stroke play start, Lee finished third at the CJ Cup, gaining 8.5 strokes ball-striking. It’s a shame that he has to cool down until January, as that was the second best ball-striking performance of his entire career.
  • Not only does he win, but he’s extremely consistent as well. The South Korean made 20 of 26 cuts last year, and he enters the new year with nine made cuts in a row.
  • Lee is incredibly well rounded, but his driver might be his most consistent weapon (34th in total driving, while ranking above average in both distance and accuracy). Nothing about his iron play or putting really jumps out to me. There is certainly room for improvement in both categories. What’s most important to me is his spiking capability, and Lee still had three starts where he gained over five strokes on approach, and three starts where he gained over five strokes putting.
• The Bad 
  • I guess the next step for Lee is to win something more than a putting contest. In fairness, Lee gained over 7.5 strokes ball-striking in both Byron Nelson wins. The fact that I am even raising this just speaks to the fact that I believe he’s capable of winning bigger events on better golf courses.
  • At some point, Lee will need to get judged on his major performance, and in eight majors, he’s only made two cuts, with no finish better than 37th, which came at this year’s U.S. Open. He’ll get more opportunities this year, and all things considered, Lee is a great option in the middle rounds.

 

42. Adam Hadwin (OWGR: 74)

• L12 Months True SG: 50th
• 2022 Money List Rank: 49th
• The Good 
  • Adam Hadwin put together a fairly impressive 2022, and over the last year, he’s been a top-50 player in the world via true strokes gained.
  • The Canadian played 26 times last year, making 20 cuts, with 10 top-30 finishes, and five top-10s, including a sixth at the Shriners, a ninth at the Players, a seventh at the Valspar, a fourth at the Valero, and an incredibly impressive seventh at the U.S. Open, good for his best major championship finish in his career. Although at 74th in the world, he’s got some work to do to get into this year’s majors.
  • Hadwin possesses an unbelievable short game, ranking 14th last year in strokes gained around the green, and 15th in sand save percentage
  • The 35-year-old is coming off a seventh at the Houston Open where he gained 7.6 strokes on approach, and he was an incredibly reliable iron player last season, putting together eight performances over the last calendar year where he’s gained over three strokes on approach.
• The Bad 
  • The biggest weakness of Hadwin’s game is that he is not particularly great off the tee, ranking 130th in strokes gained off the tee last year. I would not call him a particularly elite long iron player or wedge player either, but he can certainly deliver with his irons.
  • Hadwin is one of the safer middle round options, and a player I will be looking to target in the fourth round and on.

 

41. Thomas Detry (OWGR: 83)

• L12 Months True SG: 95th
• 2022 Money List Rank: N/A
• The Good 
  • Thomas Detry is trending massively in the right direction. Over the last year, he ranked 95th in true strokes gained, but over the last six months, he’s up to 58th, and over the last three months, he’s 54th.
  • Detry is a player who has already had a fair amount of success on the European Tour, but he will be taking his talents to the U.S. this year after gaining a PGA Tour card via the KFT Finals.
  • In 19 starts last year between the European, PGA, and KFT, Detry made 14 cuts, with eight top-30 finishes, a ninth at the Rai Al Khaimah Championship, a 10th at the Genesis Scottish Open, and a fourth at the Albertsons Boise Open. On the PGA Tour, he finished 15th at the Corales Punta Cana, 10th at the Genesis Scottish Open, and 34th at the Open Championship. He’s already off to a great start on the PGA Tour this year. In five starts this fall, he’s finished 12th at the Fortinet, ninth at the Sanderson Farms, 69th at the Shriners, second at the Bermuda Championship, and 15th at the Mayakoba. I don’t even love those courses for him, and I am extremely excited to see what he can do on some of the longer, more driver heavy courses we have coming up next year.
  • In five starts on the PGA Tour this season, Detry has already established himself as one of the bigger hitters on Tour (13th in club head speed, 18th in driving distance). Yet to turn into a downright dominant driver of the ball, he will need to improve his accuracy (183rd in driving accuracy percentage). He’s already sixth in par four scoring, 14th in birdie or better percentage, and he’s a solid long iron player as well.
• The Bad 
  • I still expect Detry to play a few times overseas this year and eat into his PGA Tour schedule. He just played the Nedbank Golf Challenge and Andalucia Masters this fall, two somewhat random Euro events that show that he will still occasionally turn up overseas. I’m still bullish that we will be able to get 16-20 starts out of him on the PGA Tour this year.
  • The putting is generally Detry’s biggest question mark, and although he ranks 12th in putting from over 25 feet, I would not say that’s entirely sustainable, and the fact that he’s 142nd in putting inside 10 feet, and 149th in putting from four to eight feet is very much concerning. Still, the 29-year-old has been showing some serious signs of life with the flat-stick this fall swing (+5.1 BMW Championship, +4.7 Sanderson Farms, +6 Andalucia Masters, +5.9 Nedbank Golf Challenge).
  • He’s got a little work to do to get into the major championships. The big-hitting University of Illinois standout has only played in five majors in his career, making just two cuts, with a career best finish of 34th, which came at St. Andrew’s last year.