Sam Ryder

Ryder was not the most consistent golfer this season, but when he was on, he made it count. He first caught out attention at the Farmers Insurance Open in January, where he held the lead on Sunday only to falter down the stretch on his way to a T4. He popped up again at the Valero Texas Open where he finished T3. His play from there was spotty, but he found some consistency late in the season where he made eight consecutive cuts. Ryder is an interesting player in that his first five seasons on the PGA Tour weren't anything special, but this past year was much better. He's turning 34 this season, so he could be a late-bloomer, or this past year might end up being a fluke. The jury is still out on Ryder, which means he's no better than a yellow light in salary cap leagues.

In Ryder's five seasons on Tour, he's kept his card every season but never finished better than 100th in the FedEx Cup Standings. He didn't show much in the second half of the season, making just 5-of-13 cuts with zero top-20s. Ryder doesn't stand out in any category and mediocre across the board, giving him limited upside for fantasy players.

Talk about consistency - Ryder has finished between 101st and 109th on the FedEx Cup Standings in his four years on tour. Unfortunately, none of those seasons have resulted in a win and he struggles to elevate in bigger events with his best finishes coming in the fall or opposite-event fields. He's a decent iron player but average at best in the other aspects of the game. It's hard to get excited about him from a fantasy standpoint.

Inconsistency was the story of Ryder's season as he had more missed cuts than made ones. His best finish came at the Puerto Rico Open - an alternate event in which he finished tied for third. Ryder does seem to do a good job of taking advantage of some of the weaker field events and finding a few top-10s every year to keep his card, but he doesn't do anything particularly great to envision a breakout season in 2020-21.

Ryder's rookie season, two seasons ago, was a success. He managed to post a runner-up finish, earned over $1 million and secured his PGA Tour card for the following season. His Sophomore effort, was nearly identical. His best finish last year was a 3rd-place finish, but he again topped $1 million and secured his card for the following year. Ryder is young and he could just be ramping-up to something big, but to this point, we haven't seen a lot to indicate that a big jump is imminent.

It's amazing what one high-end finish can do for a guy on the PGA Tour. In Ryder's case, his high-end finish came in the form of a runner-up at the John Deere Classic. He also carded a top-5 at the Houston Open, but behind those two starts, it was mostly a struggle for Ryder. Ryder started 26 times last season and managed only three top-25s. As for the positives, Ryder played fairly well down the stretch, especially when compared to the first-half of his season. Ryder will be a guy to keep an eye on in the fall. If he plays well, he'll make for a good salary cap option for those starting in January. For those starting this fall, he's a coin flip and probably carries a little too much risk at this point.

A dominant, eight-stroke victory at the Web.com's Pinnacle Bank Championship in July combined with four additional top-five finishes vaulted Ryder up to No. 2 on the 2017 money list, thus earning a PGA Tour card for the first time in his career. Through 23 events on the Web.com Tour this past season, Ryder made 16 cuts to go along with 10 top-25s, but missed the cut on his biggest stage at the U.S. Open after earning medalist honors with a 62 at his sectional qualifier. The 27-year-old won't have experience on his side, but harnesses enough game to compete at the next level as a rookie, having ranked first in total driving and third in ball striking on the Web.com Tour.