Who's Hot, Who's Not on the PGA Tour Ahead of the PGA Championship
The PGA Tour's best are headed into the final turn. With the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational this week, the PGA Championship next week and the FedEx Cup Playoffs looming, it's an important time to have one's game together to solidify season goals—be they a major win or merely making it deep into the playoffs.
We'll take a look at a handful of the game's most notable figures to see who's trending in the right direction and who, well...isn't.
Recent form, key stats and performance relative to expectations are the critical ingredients in determining a player's temperature.
Who's up? Who's down?
Read on to find out.
(Relatively) Hot: Tiger Woods
1 of 8
While Tiger Woods is still a massively disappointing figure relative to the bar he set in the early 2000s, missing cuts in majors and all, he does appear to be making some progress.
Coming off a missed cut at the Open Championship, Woods tied for 18th at the Quicken Loans National. He hit 64.2 percent of fairways for the week and 73.6 percent of greens in regulation. He was 16th in the field in strokes gained-putting and second in driving distance.
And hey, he's not wallowing in the abyss of injury, compensation and re-injury anymore.
Heading to Whistling Straits, where Woods finished tied for 24th and tied for 28th in his previous two PGA Championship efforts, fans at least have to be optimistic the golfer will make the cut.
Not: Phil Mickelson
2 of 8
Forty-two times a winner on the PGA Tour, Phil Mickelson certainly hasn't performed atrociously this year. However, he hasn't won, he has just three top-10 finishes and he hasn't threatened in either of the last two majors.
The possibility of a repeat of his PGA Championship performance from last year, when he nearly chased down Rory McIlroy at Valhalla, seems remote.
Recently, Mickelson tied for 64th at the U.S. Open, finished 31st at the Scottish Open and tied for 20th at the Open Championship.
Hot: Rory McIlroy
3 of 8
In a sense, saying a guy who recently blew out his ankle is rising in the PGA Tour stock market is ridiculous. Here's the rationale, though: When McIlroy ruptured an ankle ligament on July 4, it seemed possible the star could miss the remainder of the season.
And while it's uncertain whether he'll be able to tee it up at Whistling Straits, his Instagram post indicates he's doing intense, load-bearing exercises utilizing the ankle, thus allowing for the possibility of a PGA Championship defense.
It's based on the surprising progress he's made in his recovery and rehabilitation (and the possibility that he'll tee it up next week) that McIlroy's stock is up.
McIlroy tied for third at Whistling Straits in 2010.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Not: Ryo Ishikawa
4 of 8
Although he finished 10th at last week's Quicken Loans National, Ryo Ishikawa isn't having an impressive 2014-15 season.
In his seven starts prior to the top-10 finish, Ishikawa missed three cuts and finished 70th or worse three times.
He's fallen from 102nd to 189th in the Official World Golf Ranking and has just two top-10 finishes on the year.
The once-promising 23-year-old seems to be in no danger of winning a major anytime soon. He missed the cut at Whistling Straits in 2010.
Hot: Jordan Spieth
5 of 8
This is an easy one. Blue-chipper Jordan Spieth's stock has ticked steadily upward this year. The 22-year-old Masters and U.S. Open champion missed out on the playoff that decided the Open Championship by just a stroke.
He's won four times this season, has won two of his last three starts and hasn't finished worse than fourth his last four times out.
Not: Keegan Bradley
6 of 8
Keegan Bradley hasn't done much of anything on the PGA Tour this year. He hasn't cracked the top 20 in his last three starts and missed the cut in his most recent start (the Open Championship).
He tied for 27th at the U.S. Open and for 22nd at the Masters. While the finishes are OK, they aren't what you'd hope for from a three-time PGA Tour winner and a major champion.
The 2011 PGA winner, Bradley doesn't look like a major contender. This is an important week for Bradley, who won the WGC Bridgestone Invitational in 2012. If he can't put together a strong showing at a course on which he's won, his PGA Championship prospects will be even dimmer.
Bradley has tumbled from 28th to 46th in the Official World Golf Ranking since the year began.
Hot: Rickie Fowler
7 of 8
Rickie Fowler began the year as the No. 10 golfer in the Official World Golf Ranking. He's now ranked fifth, an indication that he's been one of the world's best golfers over the past two seasons.
Looking at Fowler's recent form, Fowler won The Players Championship in May and the Scottish Open the week prior to the Open Championship. He finished second at the Quicken Loans National in his most recent start.
While missed cuts at the Memorial and the U.S. Open aren't a good sign, Fowler's strong showing at the Quicken Loans National is encouraging.
Perhaps most importantly, Fowler, who tied for third at last year's PGA Championship, has to be motivated to finish the major season strong as he's emerged as a routine contender in golf's most significant tournaments.
Not: Dustin Johnson
8 of 8
After Dustin Johnson couldn't seal the deal at the U.S. Open when he three-putted from inside 20 feet, those keen on him may have been given pause.
Even more concerning for those waiting for DJ to win the big one: his weekend rounds of 75 at the Open Championship, which saw him tumble from the top of the leaderboard into a tie for 49th.
Johnson's power game is second to none, but what's befallen him in these past two major championships doesn't improve his prospects for the PGA Championship. Thus: not hot.
That said, the South Carolinian does have an aptitude for Whistling Straits: He finished tied for fifth at the 2010 Open Championship.
Stats via PGATour.com.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
