Each week on GolfChannel.com, we’ll examine which players’ stocks and trends are rising and falling in the world of golf.
RISING
P-Reed (+8%): If ever there was a good time to reemerge on the world stage, this was it. Reed snapped a 16-month winless drought, put himself in position for a $15 million payday and applied even more pressure on Captain Woods to pick him for the Presidents Cup.
Korn Ferry Tour grads (+5%): Robby Shelton and Kris Ventura were among the biggest splashes on the developmental circuit this season, but there was no more emotional promotion than that of Scott Harrington, the journeyman who put his career on hold last year to care for his cancer-stricken wife. Now she’s in remission and Harrington, after a gutsy Sunday, is headed to the Tour for the first time, at age 38.
Brooks (+4%): Koepka isn’t golf’s Player of the Year just because of his sterling play in the majors and a WGC title. He deserves the crown for another reason: In 2019 he finally found his voice, and it may have helped enact meaningful change, such as ...
Slow play (+3%): After some social-media bickering among a few high-profile members, Tour officials had no choice but to announce that they will take a “deeper look” into their ineffective pace-of-play policy. About time. The 2019-20 season could be interesting.
Jordan (+1%): He shot himself out of The Northern Trust with a Saturday 74, but baby steps: Spieth’s closing 67 (despite hitting just eight greens!) was notable improvement for a player who was the Tour’s second-worst final-round performer this season. At No. 44 in the standings, he still has a chance to achieve his goal of reaching the Tour Championship.
FALLING
Vince India (-1%): In position to potentially earn his PGA Tour card in a few weeks, India is instead headed back to Q-School after a disastrous double bogey on the regular-season finale’s 72nd hole. Ugh.
Tiger (-2%): Now dealing with an oblique injury, in addition to his lingering back stiffness, Woods likely would need a top-11 finish this week to return to East Lake. Is the risk of re-injury really worth it?
DJ (-3%): The 36-hole leader at Liberty National became an afterthought by the end of the weekend. His tie for 24th extended his streak of finishes outside the top 20 to six – his worst slump since 2013.
Catriona Matthew (-5%): In a move that reeks of desperation – and also serves as an indictment of European golf’s lack of depth – the European Solheim Cup captain burned one of her wildcard picks on Suzann Pettersen, who has played in two events since 2017 – both missed cuts.
Jason Day (-6%): Slogging through his worst year since 2012, the former world No. 1 split with legendary caddie Steve Williams after just two months together, a brief partnership that always seemed destined to fail because of their conflicting personalities. Day has, in his words, “severely underachieved” in his career, and unfortunately, he appears no closer to finding a spark.
