If you haven’t done so already, check out Part 1 of this article where I ranked the first 25 graduates from the Web.com Tour regular season money.
In part 1, I also went over the simple methodology I used to rank the grads.
With the Web.com Tour Championship now in the books, we have the second set of graduates. This list comes from the top 25 money earners during the Web.com Tour Finals (excluding The 25 from the regular season list).
After ranking The Finals 25, I will include a complete ranking of the 50 graduates, on Page 3. Then on Page 4, I will include the Strokes Gained Ranking for all 50 graduates.
Like I mentioned in part 1, I’m going to combine Strokes Gained in 2017 (Web.com, PGA TOUR, and European Tour) with Age to rank these graduates.
#1 Peter Uihlein
Strokes Gained Rank: 1st
Age: 28
For years he was just known as “the son of the Titleist CEO.” Then he soared through the amateur golf ranks and established a name for himself before heading overseas. Much like Brooks Koepka, the original plan was likely to win a few events overseas and earn invites into bigger events along the way. Instead, he stalled out a bit in terms of top-heavy finishes, got injured along the way, and ended up playing over in Europe for more than 5 years. Finally, he got homesick this year and wants to spend more time back in Jupiter, Florida. He’s ready to test his game against the best in the world, on a weekly basis. Decided to give the Web.com Tour Finals a shot and won on his first attempt. That says all you need to know about his talent and swag level. As a Florida resident and a big fan of hitting butter cuts, we can safely file him somewhere in the Daniel Berger & Brooks Koepka folder.
#2 Tom Lovelady
Strokes Gained Rank: 7th
Age: 24
They say you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. If that’s true, then Lovelady has a great headstart with Justin Thomas as his roommate in Jupiter, Florida. The University of Alabama product hasn’t found the winner’s circle yet but he is 16-for-24 to kickoff his Web.com Tour career. After finishing the regular season ranked 29th on the money list, he posted a T3 in the Finals opening event. That was plenty good enough to secure his status for the upcoming PGA TOUR season. Lovelady doesn’t have any PGA TOUR experience but he does pack plenty of potential as he readies for his rookie season.
#3 Keith Mitchell
Strokes Gained Rank: 6th
Age: 25
A member of the Sea Island Mafia, so you know he already has plenty of experience against a lot of the guys who are now his PGA TOUR peers. In part one of this feature, I talked about the big driving distance flaws between the Web.com and PGA TOUR stats. Mitchell is actually one of the big boys who’s driving distance will translate to the PGA TOUR. Distance-wise, he grades out similarly as guys like Brandon Hagy, Trey Mullinax, Kevin Tway, Grayson Murray, and Ryan Brehm. I would also expect his performance to be similar to that group of golfers. If you followed along closely last year, you probably noticed that all of those were spotty for most of the year but nearly all of them “got hot” and ran off a good run of finishes at some point in the season. Mitchell ranks 7th in Par 5 Birdie or Better on the Web.com Tour this season and 1st in Total Eagles (17). Has winning upside (in weak-field events) but I’m more interested in his scoring prowess as he’ll likely be very fantasy friendly in formats that heavily reward birdies and eagles (FanDuel, for example).
#4 Denny McCarthy
Strokes Gained Rank: 9th
Age: 24
One of the better golfers to come out of the University of Virginia, this youngster is still tapping into his full potential. McCarthy has been a top-25 machine on the Web.com Tour, posting seven in his rookie campaign and 10 more this year (also in line for an 11th as I type this). Proven to be very consistent but lacking any podium finishes thus far. The 24-year-old grew up in the Northeast and now calls Jupiter, Florida, home. Despite the East Coast connection, two of his top four finishes this year have come on the West Coast with the other two coming south of the border. Might end up to be one of those sneaky DFS plays that make cut after cut as a salary saver.
#5 Corey Conners
Strokes Gained Rank: 8th
Age: 25
Didn’t finish any better than T5 but his round-by-round results suggest there is plenty of upside hiding in the young Canadian’s game. Since 2014, there are only seven golfers who have done a better job at consistently gaining strokes over the field each round (on the Web.com Tour). Those golfers? Justin Thomas, Wesley Bryan, Grayson Murray, Fabian Gomez, Patton Kizzire, Chesson Hadley, and Tony Finau. Only Kizzire is winless on the PGA TOUR (has a runner-up finish). He is 1-for-10 in his career on the PGA TOUR, but I expect him to improve that record quite a bit this season. Winning upside here for the 25-year-old who ranked 1st on the Web.com Tour in GIR Percentage.
#6 Sam Saunders
Strokes Gained Rank: 2nd
Age: 30
Just joined the Sub-60 Club last week on the Web.com Tour to secure his card. That happened to be at his home course, not to take anything away from the stellar round/week, but it is worth mentioning. Saunders is coming off a career year on the PGA TOUR but even that was just shy of cracking the Playoffs (and retaining his card). It’s possible that he’s still improving but at 30-years old it’s more likely that he’s stuck in the AAAA-mold. He’s too talented for the Web.com Tour but doesn’t quite have the chops to make it as a regular on the PGA TOUR. On the bright side for gamers, Saunders appears to really take advantage of course knowledge and plays well at the same venue time after time. Looking at his 18 career top 25s, two have come at the Valspar, two at the Honda, two at Glen Abbey, two at the Barracuda, and two in Puerto Rico. It looks like an easy recipe for gamers, only consider rostering him if he’s previously posted a top 25 at that week’s venue.
#7 Seamus Power
Strokes Gained Rank: 5th
Age: 30
Posted an impressive 19-for-25 record during his rookie season. It was a lack of top-heavy finishes that held him back though, finishing 130th in the final FedExCup standings. Could that have been a warmup season as he gets comfortable on PGA TOUR course setups? Or will he always be categorized as a cut-maker? I guess that is what we’ll find out this season, as he finished 25th in the Web.com Tour Finals standings, cutting it very close.
#8 Tyler Duncan
Strokes Gained Rank: 10th
Age: 28
Took him three full seasons on the Web.com Tour to play his way up on merit, but the Purdue Boilermaker got the job done when he opened the Finals with finishes of T24 and T5. He’s built in the Justin Thomas mold, except three inches shorter. Duncan checks in at 5'7" and 145 pounds. Duncan doesn’t quite have the distance of Thomas, though, as Duncan ranked 86th on the Web.com Tour this year in Driving Distance. Instead, he gets it done through accuracy (5th) and putting (18th in putting average). He’s just 0-for-1 on the big stage (inexperienced), making him a bit of a wildcard this year. My gut tells me he will be a golfer we want to target on less-than-driver courses where his lack of distance won’t be punished as well as easy courses where his flat stick will be able to shine.
#9 Tom Hoge
Strokes Gained Rank: 15th
Age: 28
He’s posted a cuts-made ratio greater than 50% in all three seasons he’s appeared in, on the PGA TOUR. However, three of his six top 10s have come in alternated-field events, where FedExCup points are reduced. That helps explain why he’s finished outside the top 130 in the FedExCup standings in all three of those seasons. On two occasions, the TCU product from Fargo has been inside the top 5 after R2 of the St. Jude Classic, so perhaps we should make a note to circle Hoge for that event, as long as he finds a way into the field this year.
#10 Cameron Tringale
Strokes Gained Rank: 14th
Age: 30
Wasn’t that long ago that Tringale was on the short list of “Best Golfers without a PGA TOUR win.” Now he’s lost his card after finishing 133rd in the FedExCup race last year before earning that card back in the Web.com Tour Finals. Perhaps that will be the motivating factor that gets him back on route to the winner’s circle. Prior to last season, the Oklahoma State product had posted six or more top 25s in six straight seasons. He’s never been elite off the tee, but he gained strokes off-the-tee in just 1-of-28 starts last season (three of those were not lasered events, so 1-of-25 in ShotLink events). He’ll need to tidy up his driver if he wants to get back into contended on a weekly basis.
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#11 Jonathan Byrd
Strokes Gained Rank: 3rd
Age: 39
Byrd is a great example of the fine line between PGA TOUR status and Web status. After a 15-for-32 record in his 2002 PGA TOUR rookie season, he’s posted a cuts-made ratio over 50% in every season he’s made an appearance (except for one). That lone exception came in 2013 when he missed three months due to wrist surgery. That’s all it took to derail his consistent PGA TOUR status. Now he’s back on track after shining in the Web.com Tour Championship. He nearly skipped the event after missing the cut in his last two starts and feeling down about his game. Luckily, he changed his mind. The five-time PGA TOUR winner is past his prime, but he’s definitely fantasy relevant, especially in deeper formats where a cut made is all that you need from him.
#12 Matt Jones
Strokes Gained Rank: 12th
Age: 37
Missed out on his card after the 2015-16 season by the narrowest of margins. Still found 20 starts last season on the PGA TOUR, going 12-for-20 but nothing inside the top 10. Twirled four rounds of 68 or better in the Web.com Tour Championship to regain his TOUR status. If we’re looking for a spot to invest in the Aussie, he’s posted four finishes of T15 or better at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and three top-7 finishes at the John Deere Classic. On four occasions, the 2014 Shell Houston Open champion has finished T67 or better in the FedExCup standings.
#13 Shawn Stefani
Strokes Gained Rank: 13th
Age: 35
Had a breakout season in 2015 with 10 top 25s on the PGA TOUR, in 26 starts. Over his next 55 starts, he’s found just six top 25s. Losing his status at the end of the 2016-17 season might have been the kick he needed to get back on track. Missed the cut in the first two Finals events but finished with a pair of top 20s to regain his PGA TOUR card. Stefani won twice back in 2012 on the Web.com circuit (his rookie season) but he’s still searching for his first win on the PGA TOUR. The Texan has nine career top 10s with two of them coming at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. If nothing else, make a note to look closely at Stefani when that event rolls around. Is currently a stepfather but he and his wife are set to have their first child together in December. After his strong finish at the Web.com Tour finale, Stefani cited the change in perspective after the pregnancy news (#PreNappyFactor).
#14 Joel Dahmen
Strokes Gained Rank: 20th
Age: 29
Impressed with his long game during his 2016-17 rookie campaign but also finished outside the top 170 in strokes gained around-the-green as well as strokes gained putting. Only cracked the field in 16 events last year but he gained 2.5+ strokes off-the-tee in three of those starts and 2.5+ strokes approaching-the-green three tournaments, as well. That kind of long game is the stuff of PGA TOUR winners, but he will need to improve his short game. Big Time.
#15 Jonathan Randolph
Strokes Gained Rank: 19th
Age: 29
The Ole Miss product has 10 career top 30s on the PGA TOUR, with four of them coming in alternate-field events. With 149 career rounds on the PGA TOUR, he’s been inside the top 3 after just one of them (never leading or co-leading). Has seven podium finishes in 56 starts on the Web.com Tour, so perhaps he’s still just trying to adjust to the PGA TOUR course styles. Has plenty of talent, but he needs to make a big leap to become fantasy relevant this season.
#16 Bronson Burgoon
Strokes Gained Rank: 16th
Age: 30
Looked very promising in his 2016 rookie season on the PGA TOUR. He went 16-for-27 with seven top 25s to his credit. That fell just short of making the FedExCup Playoffs (131st, needed to finish inside the top 125 to retain his card). On top of that, an injury knocked him out and he wasn’t able to return until July of 2017. From there, he was slow to shake off the rust but entered the Web.com Tour Championship with three top 25s in his last five starts, two of them doubling as top 10s. He is also right in the mix in the finale, as I type this. He’s a born-and-raised Texan, so it might be worth waiting for the Texas Swing. His top three finishes on TOUR have all come on courses with bermudagrass greens.
#17 Alex Cejka
Strokes Gained Rank: 17th
Age: 46
The German has played 355 events on the PGA TOUR. That includes a win at the 2015 Puerto Rico Open. We know he has skills but we also know he has injury concerns, as you’d expect out of a 46-year-old. As for his skill set, I’d call them PB&J skills. He has the peanut butter (approach play) and jelly (around-the-green skills) but he’s missing the bread (off-the-tee and putting). Can’t ignore his career record of 206-for-355 but you also can’t ignore the fact he’s posted just six top 10s since 2011. In the seven seasons prior to that he’d picked up 20 of them. He’s lost a bit of his luster but still worth considering in weaker-field events.
#18 Rob Oppenheim
Strokes Gained Rank: 4th
Age: 37
He’s naturally attracted to bubbles it seems, finishing 26th on the 2015 Web.com Tour money list, 50th in the priority ranking that year. The following year he finished 51st in the priority ranking to just miss his chance to graduate again. This season he finished 27th on the money list, missing out by two spots. However, he showed up big time in the Web.com Tour Finals to play his way back onto the PGA TOUR. This 37-year-old has just three top 30s in 28 career starts, so it’s hard to really get excited about that.
#19 Troy Merritt
Strokes Gained Rank: 18th
Age: 31
Has pegged it in at least 20 starts in each of the past four PGA TOUR seasons. Hasn’t always produced consistent results but usually pops up just enough to keep his card, cracking the FedExCup Playoffs in three of the past four seasons. That wasn’t the case this season as he went 12-for-28 to finish 151st in the FEC race. After a missed cut to kick off the Web.com Tour Finals he rattled off back-to-back top 10s to secure his PGA TOUR card. With 155 career starts on the PGA TOUR, there isn’t much guesswork here. We know he generally hovers around 50% in terms of cuts made and then pops out of the blue, once or twice a year. Owns five podium finishes including the most notable, a win at the 2015 Quicken Loans National.
#20 Martin Piller
Strokes Gained Rank: 22nd
Age: 31
Skipped an event late in the season to be with his wife as she played in the Solheim Cup. He ended up missing out on The 25, but karma played in his favor as he still managed to punch his ticket back to the PGA TOUR after collecting a solo fourth at the DAP Championship. The Texan has just three top 20s in his career on the PGA TOUR, two of them coming in his home state (T4 at 2016 Valero Texas Open and T6 at 2016 DEAN & DELUCA). His closest comparable in my eyes would be Peter Malnati. They both lean heavily on their flat stick which works a little better on the Web.com Tour where courses are not set up as tough, tee-to-green. As we know, Malnati used that flat stick to win on the big stage, gaining nearly 12 strokes putting that week. It will take a similar effort for Piller to reach the winner’s circle. The smart play is to avoid him except for events in Texas, then only consider him in the deepest of formats, as a boom-or-bust option.
#21 Ryan Armour
Strokes Gained Rank: 11th
Age: 34
If you blinked you might have missed him last year on the PGA TOUR. The 41-year-old didn’t find a top 25 until the final event of the regular season (T4 at the Wyndham). It was the fourth top 10 of his career as he eclipsed the 100 start checkpoint on the PGA TOUR. Has proven he can pop on occasion but he’s posted back-to-back top 25s just twice in his career on the PGA TOUR. Good luck guessing when his “form” will arrive.
#22 Steve Wheatcroft
Strokes Gained Rank: 24th
Age: 39
Battled through injuries and illness last year en route to a 9-for-17 record on the PGA TOUR season. That was good for just 179th in the FedExCup race. Wheatcroft is 42-for-71 on the PGA TOUR, a solid ratio for the 39-year-old. Despite the strong cuts-made ratio, Wheatcroft has pieced together just six career top 10s in 150 starts. His upside is a bit limited but his work with the flat stick can hold up against nearly anyone on TOUR.
#23 Chad Collins
Strokes Gained Rank: 23rd
Age: 39
Much like Wheatcroft, he is an aging veteran with little upside (historically). Collins has eight top 10s in 180 career PGA TOUR starts (4.4%) which is very similar to Wheatcroft who sits at 4% after 150 starts. Collins does nearly all of his magic on, or around, the greens. That doesn’t bode well for week-to-week consistency but he certainly has the short-game skills to shine on any given week. In particular, I generally like to target these short-game wizards on easy courses. Adding to that, he’s reached 20-under or better on three occasions (PGA TOUR). His game sets up better for Web.com Tour course setups, but he can still play the role of deep sleeper whenever an easy tee-to-green course rolls around.
#24 Brett Stegmaier
Strokes Gained Rank: 25th
Age: 34
Another golfer we know plenty about. He is on the wrong side of the spectrum when it comes to a cuts-made ratio (28-for-59). The aging Florida Gator has a trio of top 10s in those starts. As you might expect from someone who attended Florida and now calls Florida home, bermudagrass is the place to target the Stegosaurus. Six of his seven career top-25 finishes have come on courses with Bermuda greens.
#25 Nicholas Lindheim
Strokes Gained Rank: 24th
Age: 32
The late bloomer went 9-for-22 in his PGA TOUR rookie season. Putting proved to be his biggest (only?) asset last year as he ranked 35th in strokes gained putting but 180th or worse in the remainder of the strokes-gained sub-categories. Lindheim didn’t pick up the game until he was 19-years-old and didn’t attend college to hone his craft. Despite his lack entry into the game, he doesn’t let that handicap him, winning twice now on the Web.com Tour. However, his early results show that he may be too far behind the boat in terms of tee-to-green play on the PGA TOUR. He lost strokes off-the-tee in every start he made last year and gained strokes on approach in just four starts. It’s really hard to contend when you lean so heavily on the short game.
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Ranking of ALL 50 golfers who earned their 2017-18 PGA TOUR cards through the Web.com Tour:
| #1 Peter Uihlein |
| #2 Abraham Ancer |
| #3 Aaron Wise |
| #4 Austin Cook |
| #5 Beau Hossler |
| #6 Tom Lovelady |
| #7 Keith Mitchell |
| #8 Adam Schenk |
| #9 Sam Ryder |
| #10 Andrew Putnam |
| #11 Denny McCarthy |
| #12 Corey Conners |
| #13 Sam Saunders |
| #14 Seamus Power |
| #15 Andrew Landry |
| #16 Marty Dou |
| #17 Talor Gooch |
| #18 Andrew Yun |
| #19 Chesson Hadley |
| #20 Ted Potter, Jr. |
| #21 Ben Silverman |
| #22 Tyler Duncan |
| #23 Tom Hoge |
| #24 Cameron Tringale |
| #25 Jonathan Byrd |
| #26 Matt Jones |
| #27 Shawn Stefani |
| #28 Conrad Shindler |
| #29 Nate Lashley |
| #30 Stephan Jaeger |
| #31 Joel Dahmen |
| #32 Jonathan Randolph |
| #33 Bronson Burgoon |
| #34 Matt Atkins |
| #35 Lanto Griffin |
| #36 Brice Garnett |
| #37 Alex Cejka |
| #38 Rob Oppenheim |
| #39 Troy Merritt |
| #40 Martin Piller |
| #41 Ethan Tracy |
| #42 Brandon Harkins |
| #43 Xinjun Zhang |
| #44 Roberto Diaz |
| #45 Kyle Thompson |
| #46 Ryan Armour |
| #47 Steve Wheatcroft |
| #48 Chad Collins |
| #49 Brett Stegmaier |
| #50 Nicholas Lindheim |
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Strokes Gained Ranking of all 50 grads
*Strokes Gained looks at performance across PGA TOUR, Web.com Tour, and European Tour during the 2017 calendar year. Number is also adjusted for strength of competition.
| #1. Peter Uihlein 220.24 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #2. Andrew Landry 123.23 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #3. Austin Cook 111.98 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #4. Abraham Ancer 102 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #5. Sam Saunders 101.05 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #6. Andrew Putnam 99.57 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #7. Ted Potter, Jr. 97.84 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #8. Nate Lashley 97.31 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #9. Sam Ryder 87.03 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #10. Chesson Hadley 86.41 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #11. Brice Garnett 86.03 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #12. Jonathan Byrd 84.41 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #13. Rob Oppenheim 83.46 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #14. Seamus Power 82.99 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #15. Kyle Thompson 82.15 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #16. Ben Silverman 82.02 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #17. Adam Schenk 77.17 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #18. Keith Mitchell 75.17 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #19. Tom Lovelady 69.58 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #20. Corey Conners 68.63 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #21. Denny McCarthy 66.54 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #22. Talor Gooch 64.76 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #23. Tyler Duncan 61.91 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #24. Aaron Wise 60.25 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #25. Ryan Armour 57.05 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #26. Andrew Yun 56.29 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #27. Conrad Shindler 56.06 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #28. Beau Hossler 50.69 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #29. Matt Jones 50.53 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #30. Shawn Stefani 46.87 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #31. Cameron Tringale 44.63 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #32. Brandon Harkins 43.7 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #33. Lanto Griffin 40.94 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #34. Stephan Jaeger 39.6 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #35. Tom Hoge 34.92 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #36. Bronson Burgoon 33.33 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #37. Alex Cejka 31.15 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #38. Marty Dou 30.65 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #39. Troy Merritt 26.57 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #40. Roberto Diaz 25.33 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #41. Matt Atkins 24.71 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #42. Jonathan Randolph 24.38 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #43. Xinjun Zhang 21.87 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #44. Joel Dahmen 20.07 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #45. Steve Wheatcroft 19.86 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #46. Martin Piller 15.35 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #47. Chad Collins 14.58 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #48. Ethan Tracy -7.85 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #49. Nicholas Lindheim -30.3 strokes gained in 2017. |
| #50. Brett Stegmaier -37.75 strokes gained in 2017. |
