This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
UPGRADE
Tiger Woods: A lesser man would have asked out of The Barclays, given the nasty back spasms, but Tiger persevered and came within an eyelash of forcing a playoff. Say what you want about the mechanical wonks in his game now, but the desire and competitive fire is never going away. He's still very much in the running for Player of the Year, despite the goose egg in the major column.
Matt Every: He's had the reputation as a streak player, not that the runs always carry over week to week. But after seeing Every cash T5 and T9 checks in consecutive events, he deserves a legitimate chance to contend at Deutsche Bank this week. He finished a respectable T35 over this track last season, and this year he's showing more length off the tee and better iron play.
Stuart Appleby: It's doubtful we'll see him last longer than the second round of the playoffs, but let's doff the cap for Appleby making 14 cuts in 16 attempts, including last week's T41 at The Barclays. It doesn't sound like a major check, but it enabled Appleby to jump 27 spots in the FedEx Cup standings and live to play another week. And remember he hardly qualified for the playoffs in the first place.
Jason Kokrak: The T9 finish came pretty much out of nowhere - two trunk slams preceded it - but perhaps the immediacy of the playoffs brought out Kokrak's best form. The Canadian product is dangerous for
UPGRADE
Tiger Woods: A lesser man would have asked out of The Barclays, given the nasty back spasms, but Tiger persevered and came within an eyelash of forcing a playoff. Say what you want about the mechanical wonks in his game now, but the desire and competitive fire is never going away. He's still very much in the running for Player of the Year, despite the goose egg in the major column.
Matt Every: He's had the reputation as a streak player, not that the runs always carry over week to week. But after seeing Every cash T5 and T9 checks in consecutive events, he deserves a legitimate chance to contend at Deutsche Bank this week. He finished a respectable T35 over this track last season, and this year he's showing more length off the tee and better iron play.
Stuart Appleby: It's doubtful we'll see him last longer than the second round of the playoffs, but let's doff the cap for Appleby making 14 cuts in 16 attempts, including last week's T41 at The Barclays. It doesn't sound like a major check, but it enabled Appleby to jump 27 spots in the FedEx Cup standings and live to play another week. And remember he hardly qualified for the playoffs in the first place.
Jason Kokrak: The T9 finish came pretty much out of nowhere - two trunk slams preceded it - but perhaps the immediacy of the playoffs brought out Kokrak's best form. The Canadian product is dangerous for his power off the tee (sixth in distance), even if he doesn't always know where it's headed (174th in accuracy). Something clicks for him on Sunday, where he ranks a solid 32rd in scoring average.
Daniel Summerhays: Make it four six-figure checks in six starts for the nephew of Champions Tour player Bruce Summerhays; the BYU kid is starting to put things together. Summerhays only ranks 121st in total driving, but somehow he's a respectable 78th in scoring average despite any one shiny component stat (to be fair, he ranks above the tour average in the major putting numbers). A little confidence goes a long way with the 29-year-old breakout candidate.
DOWNGRADE
Geoff Ogilvy: Perhaps that 2006 U.S. Open will go down forever as the major Phil Mickelson and Colin Montgomerie gave away, not the trophy Ogilvy won. Ogilvy has missed 11 cuts in majors since that victory, and this year he wasn't even good enough to make it to the second round of the FedEx Cup. An embarrassing miss inside of three feet on No. 18 cost Ogilvy a place inside the Top 100; just like that, he's one and done. Ogilvy had outstanding putting stats from 2009-2012, but he collapsed in that area this year, slipping to 154th in strokes gained on the green.
Charley Hoffman: He's still in the playoff field, based on what he did during the meat of the season. But after watching Hoffman kick it around during last weekend (closing with a 79-74), you can't imagine he'll be at this dance much longer. Weekend fades are becoming his calling card: his scoring by round ranks this way: 40th, sixth, 63rd, 180th.
HOLDING STEADY
Kevin Chappell: The pressure to bag your first-ever PGA Tour victory is enormous, and we saw it swallow up Chappell during the fourth round of The Barclays. Chappell was in outstanding position to win before a Tin Cup meltdown on the final seven holes: he fell from minus-13 to minus-6 over that juncture. The Fresno product probably can take this bitter pill as a learning experience, and based on what he's shown the balance of the year (53rd on the money list), a victory is a reasonable bet for 2014. The only club holding him back is the putter (157rd in strokes gained).
