The PGA TOUR is taking a break for the holidays.
For gamers, it’s a nice time to reset and try to digest everything we witnessed in 2022. It’s also a time when many season-long leagues decide to have their drafts for the upcoming year.
With that in mind, I’ve ranked my top 150 golfers for the upcoming year on the PGA TOUR circuit.
To do this, I took a look at weighted performance over the last two years while also factoring in expected playing time. The second part of the equation is always a bit tricky, especially when injuries are involved not to mention people leaving the TOUR which threw a huge wrench into the equation last year.
I will get things started with the first 25 names and then dive into more of the top 150 over the next week.
150. Byeong Hun An
Baseline Ranking: 149
1-Year Starts: 27
Notes: He’s known for his struggles with the putter but he was 36th in Putts per GIR on the Korn Ferry circuit on his journey back to the big stage. His fall-schedule putting stats don’t suggest he’s improved so that will remain the wildcard.
149. Harry Hall
Baseline Ranking: 148
1-Year Starts: 30
Notes: His top-25 ratio on the Korn Ferry Tour is nothing to write home about (11-of-53) but he turned two of those into wins while also snagging two other podium finishes. That big-finish upside is what you like to see in season-long formats that don’t require a lot of micromanaging. If you can draft him and not have to pick the perfect week to start him then you may end up with a few top 5s by year’s end. With 30 starts over the last year, he’s proven to be active, giving himself a lot of chances to pop.
148. Michael Gligic
Baseline Ranking: 147
1-Year Starts: 28
Notes: He surged over the summer with four straight finishes of T31 or better but that remains the best stretch of his career. He couldn’t keep that momentum rolling in the fall with one payday in seven starts but his true ability likely falls somewhere in between those two subsets of finishes.
147. Lanto Griffin
Baseline Ranking: 72
1-Year Starts: 17
Notes: He played through injury for much of 2022 and eventually shut it down in July. He underwent Microdiscectomy surgery in July which hasn’t worked out so well recently for Graham DeLaet or Kevin Chappell. Griffin shared a timeline of returning 5-6 months from the July operation but that seems optimistic. As you see from his baseline ranking, he belongs in the top 100 if healthy, but that is a big question mark. Only draft him if you’re willing to ditch him at the first sign that he’s return will take longer than expected.
146. Austin Cook
Baseline Ranking: 141
1-Year Starts: 28
Notes: Had to perform under pressure at the KFT Finals to regain some status. He got the job done then went 3-for-7 in the fall with a pair of top 30s. His lack of distance limits his upside most weeks but his iron play keeps him on the radar especially on shorter tracks. Cook ranked 57th in strokes gained approach this fall. He has a win and runner-up finish on his PGA TOUR resume so there is a bit of upside deep inside his profile.
145. Peter Malnati
Baseline Ranking: 143
1-Year Starts: 26
Notes: He impressed me with his consistency in 2022, posting a career-high in cuts made (20) last season. He managed that while ranking just 155th in GIR Percentage. His short game remains in the elite category but his ball-striking stats suggest a return to more boom-or-bust outputs.
144. Vincent Whaley
Baseline Ranking: 105
1-Year Starts: 23
Notes: The Georgia Tech alum snagged six top 25s last season, the best single-season tally of his career. Things went South though with just a T61 and two missed cuts in the fall to go along with a few pre-tourney WDs to end the year.
143. Chad Ramey
Baseline Ranking: 146
1-Year Starts: 28
Notes: At this time last year I was really excited about his Korn Ferry stats but I knew his (lack of distance) profile wouldn’t work all that well on most PGA TOUR courses. That played out with missed cuts in 16-of-28 starts during his rookie campaign but he found a win along the way. With some status locked up you might have expected to see some increased efficiency playing more optimal courses for him but he went 2-for-8 in the fall with none of those landing inside of the top 25.
142. David Lingmerth
Baseline Ranking: 140
1-Year Starts: 25
Notes: He popped with three finishes of T11 or better in his last four starts this fall. Was that a product of playing some short, coastal courses or did he find something in his game that he can carry over to 2023? I would lean toward the former but you never know.
141. Scott Piercy
Baseline Ranking: 139
1-Year Starts: 26
Notes: The 44-year-old remains one of the better wedge players out on TOUR and he ranked 16th in total eagles last season (21st in eagle rate). He was just 167th in approaches from 175 to 200 yards and 172nd in approaches outside of 200 yards. Combine that with years of history on him and we know what weeks to start or sit him. Trot him out on courses that put a lot of wedges or short irons into your hand.
140. John Huh
Baseline Ranking: 138
1-Year Starts: 26
Notes: He’s battled injuries in recent years but just pieced together a 26-start season that included a pair of top 10s. He was top 45 in all approach categories inside of 175 yards. Similar to Piercy, you know the style of course that suits him well and you can sit him on weeks where distance is required.
139. Erik van Rooyen
Baseline Ranking: 132
1-Year Starts: 19
Notes: Staying on the theme of injuries, EVR managed just 19 starts over the last year, due to injury. The Minnesota Gopher sat out three months this summer and has just one top 60 in six worldwide starts since returning to action. He made it to East Lake when he was healthy so there is plenty of upside if you take on the injury-risk here.
138. Henrik Norlander
Baseline Ranking: 136
1-Year Starts: 28
Notes: The 35-year-old posted a pair of top 25s this fall and his career cuts-made ratio is strong (78-for-137). He ranked top 60 in fairways hit and GIR last season but 185th in putting. It’s an obvious weakness that would make him a frequent contender if he could seal up.
137. Robert Streb
Baseline Ranking: 127
1-Year Starts: 28
Notes: Streb finished top 75 in the FedExCup race in three of his first five seasons out on TOUR but has managed that feat just once in the next five. He has just two top 25s in his last 32 starts so it’s hard to get too excited about drafting him in any format. The upside comes from the fact that he’s a two-time winner and usually lands a few top 15s each season.
136. MJ Daffue
Baseline Ranking: 134
1-Year Starts: 28
Notes: Established his name via the Monday Q scene which is a good indicator that he can take it low, which is always a good thing for fantasy upside. He’s long off the tee but not the most accurate. That will probably put him more into play on easier courses when missing the fairway has a smaller penalty.
135. Tyler Duncan
Baseline Ranking: 133
1-Year Starts: 26
Notes: The Purdue product matched his career-high with six top 25s last season. The new year hasn’t treated him so well, though, with just one payday in seven starts to kickoff the new season. He finished 45th in strokes gained tee-to-green last season so I’m expecting him to recharge the batteries over the holidays and post some more promising results in 2023.
134. Erik Barnes
Baseline Ranking: 131
1-Year Starts: 30
Notes: The 35-year-old landed seven top 10s on the Korn Ferry Tour last season. This is often the age I associate with prime golf years for a TOUR pro, so let’s see what he can do for a year or two. I’m not expecting a career full of accolades but definitely think he can grab a few top 10s for fantasy owners this year. He ended the fall with one, finding a T10 at the RSM.
133. Nate Lashley
Baseline Ranking: 126
1-Year Starts: 24
Notes: He popped with an impressive tally of top 25s last season (8). That was two better than his previous best season. That is the positive here, you’re getting a lot of top-25 equity but he’s also about to turn 40 and the injuries are becoming more and more common. He’s solid when healthy but he brings more injury risk to the table than many others in the same baseline performance range.
132. Stewart Cink
Baseline Ranking: 100
1-Year Starts: 24
Notes: He’s heading in the wrong direction after a career resurgence in 2021. Cink has gone 16 starts since his last top-20 finish. He becomes Champions Tour eligible in May so there is always the chance you lose a few starts if he decides to play those majors or pick up a senior start or two.
131. Chesson Hadley
Baseline Ranking: 128
1-Year Starts: 26
Notes: He bagged four top 10s last season and he’s now eclipsed $10 million in career earnings. He may not be as consistent as the top tier but he always finds a way to pick up a few big finishes by season’s end. There is a lot of value to that for set-it-and-forget-it league formats but not so great if you need to pick and choose which spots that you think he’ll shine.
130. Zecheng Dou
Baseline Ranking: 135
1-Year Starts: 29
Notes: There was a lot of hype and hope when he earned his TOUR card back in 2017 but he was just a kid. Dou struggled with just four cuts made in 23 starts but has honed his craft on the Korn Ferry circuit since then. Dou has posted 43 cuts made in 60 starts over the last two KFT seasons, a decent indicator that his game has matured. I would be willing to draft him earlier than his current baseline stats suggest because there is probably more wiggle room to grow as he’s still just 25 years old.
129. Ben Taylor
Baseline Ranking: 130
1-Year Starts: 30
Notes: The Englishman didn’t win on the Korn Ferry Tour last season but he did manage five top 5s, certainly worth writing home about. He kept the momentum rolling with a 6-for-7 record to kickstart his PGA TOUR season. Most impressively, he ranks 35th in strokes gained tee-to-green while also being 36th in putting. Will be tough to maintain that pace but certainly worth a flyer in season-long drafts.
128. Cameron Champ
Baseline Ranking: 150
1-Year Starts: 23
Notes: He remains a menace off the tee, ranking 1st in driving distance last season. He managed just eight paydays in 19 starts. Both are the lowest figures of any season to date and he rolled that into just one cut made in six starts this fall. On the bright side, that lone payday was a solo 8th at the ZOZO. It’s a game of quantity over quality for Champ as he’s racked up three wins already in his young career. One for each season that he’s eclipsed 20 starts. As long as he stays healthy he brings a lot of winning upside to the table.
127. Austin Smotherman
Baseline Ranking: 145
1-Year Starts: 27
Notes: The SMU product was steady with a 16-for-25 record during his rookie season with six of those doubling as top 25s. He ranked 49th in strokes gained tee-to-green despite losing more than a third of a stroke (per round) around-the-green. That goes to show how strong his ball-striking was and ball-striking is often the recipe for success when it comes to prolonging a career.
126. Chez Reavie
Baseline Ranking: 125
1-Year Starts: 25
Notes: The straight shooter has eclipsed 15 cuts made in seven straight seasons. One of those was a win at the Barracuda Championship this summer, the third of his TOUR career. He found nothing better than a T45 at the ZOZO, in six fall starts with his only two paydays coming in no-cut events. It was a less-than-ideal start to the new season and the ASU product is now on the wrong side of 40. There is a very real chance we see a big dropoff at this stage of his career but the fact that he won as recently as July definitely tells us there is still hope for next year.
That does it for the first 25 names. There is a blend of consistency, fragility, and upside on the list. As always, don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have any specific questions regarding your upcoming drafts.