This article is part of our The Reshuffle List series.
Believe it or not -- time flies when you're having fun -- we're just past midway through the third reshuffle period with the conclusion of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. These are a crucial two weeks on the PGA Tour. Three events -- the WGC-Dell Match Play and the Puerto Rico Open this week, with the Shell Houston Open next week -- are left before the next reshuffle, the latter two heavy with reshuffle players. These tournaments may help decide players' fate for the rest of the season in terms of playing opportunities and who stays on the PGA Tour and who goes back to the Web.com Tour.
Here's an update on the Reshuffle List:
Biggest Gainers (if the reshuffle period ended now):
Sam Saunders, +13 spots - A T14 at the Honda Classic and a T22 at the Valspar Championship would help elevate Saunders, who entered the reshuffle period 35th, to 22nd. Saunders has been in the last tee time a lot on Thursday and Friday, needing late surges to make the cut in difficult conditions. Overall, he has eight missed cuts in 11 events, a frustrating season where, except for those two finishes, he can't get much mojo going. He ranks 149th in greens in regulation and 142nd in strokes gained-tee to green, neither helping his cause.
Sung Kang, +7 spots - Kang, who made waves on the West Coast when he shot a 60 during the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, added a T10 finish at the Honda
Believe it or not -- time flies when you're having fun -- we're just past midway through the third reshuffle period with the conclusion of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. These are a crucial two weeks on the PGA Tour. Three events -- the WGC-Dell Match Play and the Puerto Rico Open this week, with the Shell Houston Open next week -- are left before the next reshuffle, the latter two heavy with reshuffle players. These tournaments may help decide players' fate for the rest of the season in terms of playing opportunities and who stays on the PGA Tour and who goes back to the Web.com Tour.
Here's an update on the Reshuffle List:
Biggest Gainers (if the reshuffle period ended now):
Sam Saunders, +13 spots - A T14 at the Honda Classic and a T22 at the Valspar Championship would help elevate Saunders, who entered the reshuffle period 35th, to 22nd. Saunders has been in the last tee time a lot on Thursday and Friday, needing late surges to make the cut in difficult conditions. Overall, he has eight missed cuts in 11 events, a frustrating season where, except for those two finishes, he can't get much mojo going. He ranks 149th in greens in regulation and 142nd in strokes gained-tee to green, neither helping his cause.
Sung Kang, +7 spots - Kang, who made waves on the West Coast when he shot a 60 during the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, added a T10 finish at the Honda and a T22 at the Valspar to his run of T17-T8 finishes at Pebble and Los Angeles. He's a sneaky 47th in scoring average and 36th in scrambling. And at 59th in strokes gained-putting, if that club stays hot he could become one of the sneaky winners of 2016.
Derek Fathauer, +5 spots - Fathauer would see a modest jump if the reshuffle happened today from 11th to sixth courtesy of a T26 finish at the Honda and T12 at Bay Hill. What's working? Take his performance at Bay Hill, where he was eighth in strokes gained-putting. Still looking for his first PGA Tour victory, his game is trending in the right direction.
Rob Oppenheim, +5 spots - Oppenheim has made just one start in this reshuffle period but made the most of it, a T20 finish at Bay Hill helping him move from 29th to 24th. Practically that means an extra start or two but it's also a nice confidence boost. He ranked seventh in strokes gained-putting for the week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Biggest Fallers
No one would fall that much (more than four spots) if the reshuffle happened today. A couple guys to watch, though, are Harold Varner III and Ricky Barnes, who are on the precipice of losing a start or two in the next reshuffle period. Why is this significant? Because they are also, at 269 and 263 points, respectively, about 200 points from clinching their PGA Tour cards for 2016-2017, the equivalent of one or two top-5 finishes. And that means job security, and the ability to relax and go for wins instead of focusing on strong, solid finishes that ensure money and FedEx Cup points.
Varner has missed all three cuts in the three Florida Swing events he played -- the Honda, Tampa and Bay Hill -- while Barnes missed two cuts in two starts, including two rounds in the 80s.
The Nothing Men Update
Abraham Ancer, hasn't made a start in this reshuffle period and continues to be the only Nothing Man left. It also shows the problems in getting playing opportunities when you have yet to cash a check and sit 46th on the Reshuffle List. He did, however, play last week's Chitimacha Louisiana Open on the Web.com Tour, tying for 14th. As he awaits his next start, maybe this finish will give him some momentum.
