Report Card for Rookies on PGA Tour

As the PGA Tour heads toward the quarter pole of the 2013 season (as designated by the year’s first major, the Masters), it’s the perfect time to look at the fresh faces on tour and how they’ve fared to this point.

There have been standouts, average performers and disappointments as the 30 rookies on tour have begun to learn what it takes to play on golf’s highest level.

Following is a grading of the 2013 rookie class.

Failing grades can be improved, but only if play and results improve considerably.

Head of the Class (A)

Russell Henley, James Hahn, Luke Guthrie, Scott Langley, Patrick Reed, Brad Fritsch, Ben Kohles, Nicolas Colsaerts, Peter Hanson, Martin Kaymer

Analysis

By whatever criteria, these 10 players have separated themselves from the rest of the rookie class.

Russell Henley is the only rookie to have won a tournament, stunning the golf world by winning the Sony Open in January.

He’s also the only rookie over $1 million in earnings, although James Hahn ($718,738) has done well there as well.

Nicolas Colsaerts, Peter Hanson and Martin Kaymer are technically rookies because they are competing as PGA Tour members for the first time.

Back a Few Rows (B)

David Lingmerth, Robert Streb, Ross Fisher, Shawn Stefani, Morgan Hoffmann, Scott Gardiner

Analysis

Lingmerth lost in a playoff in the Humana Challenge to make him the leader in this group.

Streb has four top-25 finishes in 10 starts.

Stefani tied for seventh in the Tampa Bay Championship.

Hoffmann tied for 14th in Puerto Rico after three missed cuts.

Showing Potential (C)

Luke List, Steve LeBrun, Alistair Presnell

Analysis

List is second on the PGA Tour in driving distance, but hasn’t parlayed that into good scores yet.

Presnell has struggled as well, but there have been a few glimpses.

Failing Grades (E)

Lee Williams, Derek Ernst, Eric Meierdierks, Henrik Norlander, Joe Affrunti

Analysis

Nobody said it would be easy to earn your way onto the PGA Tour, let alone make a living out there.

These four guys have made it onto the big stage but have yet to produce much more than a bunch of missed cuts.

They’ll have to find their games quickly before it will become impossible for them to earn enough money to stay on the big tour.

Not in the Game Yet (F)

Paul Haley II, Andrew Svoboda, Donald Constable, Si Woo Kim, D.H. Lee

Analysis

No dollars, no sense.

For whatever reason, that’s what these guys have put into their bank accounts in terms of earnings on the PGA Tour.

They’ve had difficulty getting into fields and will continue that because with each reshuffle they’ll become more and more firmly entrenched at the bottom of the rookie list.