Stock Up, Stock Down for Golf's Top Stars
The stock market may be a good place to put your money these days, but if golfers were public companies, which would you bet on and which would you dump?
That is not an easy question. In fact, it may be easier to gauge the success of a business than a pro golfer.
Could you have predicted that the Honda Classic would come down to an aging Padraig Harrington who hadn’t won in seven years and local favorite Daniel Berger, who had never won? Would you have added to your investment in superstar Rory McIlroy who didn’t even make it to the weekend?
You get the picture. Investing is tough, and there are rarely any guarantees.
At any rate, and we don’t mean the inflation kind, a number of pros saw their stock rise or fall in the last few weeks.
Let’s take a look at them.
Dustin Johnson
1 of 9
No one really knew how Dustin Johnson would perform after his self-enforced layoff due to personal issues.
But he made it clear that he still has what it takes to play at the highest level. In four events so far this year, he has made two of four cuts.
Even though he missed the cut badly at the Honda Classic, he gets a nod for coming back strong this year.
In the two in which he went the distance, he tied for fourth at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and finished second at the Northern Trust, basically putting aside any questions about his playing ability.
At 30, the big South Carolinian remains one of the longest hitters on the tour with one of the softest touches around the green. He can putt like hell and knows how to win.
A new father who has sworn off booze and dedicated himself to good health, Johnson has the ability to win multiple times this year, including a victory at one of the majors.
Suggestion: Buy
Ernie Els
2 of 9
Els is sort of the General Mills or Proctor & Gamble of professional golf.
He’s a big, plodding Hall of Famer who has a tremendous history and has provided great dividends.
Although he has a nice future on the Champions Tour, Els' PGA success may have run its course.
He has dropped to 80th in the world and has missed the last three cuts. He has also fallen way back in all major statistical areas.
There is little chance he can compete at the highest level if he continues to drive the ball under 290 yards while also putting and scoring at horrendously low percentages.
He missed the cut at the Masters and the Open Championship last year, two of his favorite majors. It would be far-fetched to believe he will be competitive this year.
Suggestion: Sell
Jason Day
3 of 9
Quite simply, Day’s stock is soaring, and if you know what is good for you, you won’t be a Day trader.
The 27-year-old Australian, who holds a constant place at the top of leaderboards, has risen all the way to fourth in the world rankings.
In four events so far this year, he has finished no worse than a tie for 17th at the Sony Open in Hawaii; he then won the Farmers Insurance Open the following week. It was his second win in his last six events.
His statistics are following suit, as he is first in greens in regulation and 13th in driving distance.
With this kind of early momentum, he must have Rory McIlroy looking over his shoulder. Day has an excellent opportunity to make a run at the No. 1 position in the world rankings.
Suggestion: Buy
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Luke Donald
4 of 9
It looked for a minute that Donald would move up stock-wise.
After missing three previous cuts, he played well at the Honda Classic, shooting rounds of 69-67-74-67 to finish in a tie for seventh place.
That may bode well for the one-time No. 1 player in the world.
But a closer look tells you that a truly resurgent Donald would not have shot 74 in Round 3. Instead, he would have grabbed the lead and never relinquished it.
Once considered a premier player with a chance to win multiple major titles, Donald has had a rough couple of years. He hasn’t won on the PGA tour since 2012 and has struggled with his overall game, especially his putting.
Donald will need more than one good outing to counter his recent history.
Suggestion: Sell
Patrick Reed
5 of 9
One of the hottest players on the PGA tour, Reed looks like the next big American star.
He is literally putting his money where his mouth is. If you recall, Reed became infamous for spouting off about being a top-five player in the world after a win at the WGC-Cadillac Championship.
In his favor, it was his third win in six months but a top-five player?
Things got a bit tough for the 24-year-old Texan after that, and he fell in the ranks to 23rd at the end of 2014.
After making seven straight cuts and winning the Hyundai Tournament of Champions for his fourth tour title, he has now shot up to 15th place in the world.
He is backing up his boasts with some real-time victories, becoming the fifth golfer to earn three wins before he turned 25.
Both his position in the world and his stock are rising fast.
Suggestion: Buy
Padraig Harrington
6 of 9
Just a few weeks ago, we had Harrington looking for a retirement condo on a nice little course along the Irish Sea.
Now, the shockingly resurgent Irishman has shot up in the ranks from 297th to 87th and boosted his overall value.
Where did that win at the Honda Classic come from? He played great, putted marvelously and came up big in the clutch.
Until then Harrington was nowhere on our radar. He hadn’t won in seven years. That’s a long time on the PGA Tour, especially for a guy who won three majors in a 12-month span.
Is this a one-off occurrence or something we can rely on?
Right now, the 43-year-old is riding high and has the pedigree to keep on winning.
Suggestion: Buy
Tiger Woods
7 of 9
Tiger is out for an undetermined amount of time from tournament play, and we don’t know when he is coming back.
This is like Apple saying it doesn’t know when its iWatch will be coming out. Oh yeah, it did say that.
In Tiger’s case, like Apple he is the richest guy in his business sector, but he has so many issues that no one knows where they begin and where they end. That is not a good thing if you are banking on someone to win.
Once the most dominant force in golf, Tiger now rests in 75th place on the world rankings and could fall even farther.
If Tiger decided to play tomorrow, many people would still believe he could win, that despite the swing issues, lack of playing time, injuries and other negatives he faces.
We hate to kick a guy when he’s down, but when you look at Tiger’s stock value, you have reconsider your investment.
Suggestion: Sell
Phil Mickelson
8 of 9
After missing two cuts in a row, it looked like Phil Mickelson was going to speed downhill fast. He is coming off a subpar season in which he failed to win a tournament, and it just looked there would be more of the same in 2015.
Then came last week’s Honda Classic, when we actually saw Phil’s name back on the leaderboard. On the final day, he was just a few back of the leaders at two-under par after consecutive rounds of 67 and 69.
He looked good and putted well. Yes, he blew up in Round 4, but the fact of the matter is that he was in the running.
Perhaps his offseason workout and Paleo diet in which he dropped a bunch of weight really have helped. At least, unlike Tiger, there is no question that he is having self-confidence issues.
“It’s fun to feel the pressure and to be in it,” Mickelson said about his third round. “It was a fun day.”
Call us cautiously optimistic about Phil’s comeback, but at least he is coming back.
Suggestion: Buy
Rory McIlroy
9 of 9
Before you start yelling, realize that this stock watch is for today.
Of course, Rory McIlroy is the most dominant player on the planet right now, so how can anyone say that one poor outing devalues him?
But weren’t you shocked when he shot himself out of the Honda Classic with a 73-74 performance?
OK, so it was his first missed cut in 22 events, and he recently won the Dubai Classic, going 22-under par in the process.
Still, his mind may be down the road at August in April, which we all know he really wants to add to his growing list of major titles.
At the Honda, he had trouble controlling his drives, a possible worry for the longest hitter on tour.
The Honda Classic was McIlroy's first event on American soil this year, but until he plays up to his ability, we are just going to have to consider him a wait-and-see candidate.
Suggestion: Hold
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