PGA DFS: Korn Ferry Power Rankings & Preview including Viktor Hovland

#20- Matthew NeSmith

Bio & Season Outlook: A twenty-five year old out of South Carolina, was battling to make cuts on the Mackenzie tour just 12 months ago. He was able to get status thru the web.com tour qualifying. He turned pro in 2016, and this will be his first trip to the PGA Tour.

2019 Performance: NeSmith had a good regular season, but not good enough. He needed a win in the second playoff event to secure his PGA Tour card.

Statistical Preview: One of the best ball strikers on tour, ranked first in GIR, 61st in DD and 20th DA, a great combination to have on Tour. He will need to either A, get hot with the putter a couple of times, and have a big finish or two get more consistent with it. He ranked 119th on the KFT last year.

Model Rank: 19

#19-Brandon Hagy

Bio & Season Outlook: An interesting story follows Brandon, who came back to the PGA Tour on a major medical this year. He wasn’t able to fulfill that extension but earned enough FedEx Cup points in the process to be eligible for the Korn Ferry Tour finals. Where he was able to get his card back rather quickly.

2019 Performance: Brandon took all the pressure off, getting 5th at the first Korn Ferry Tour finals event, and improved his priority status by coming in a tie for second at the Bosie Open.

Statistical Preview: In his limited starts on tour this year, Brandon struggled everywhere except for off the tee where he gained .164 strokes on average per round.

Model Rank: NA

#18-Brendan Todd

Bio & Season Outlook: It’s been since 2015 that Todd has secured himself a job for the following season, struggling mightily over the last four years. This year he was able to get in 11 tournaments via his past champions status, and through those starts, Todd was able to earn enough FedEx Cup points to give him an exemption into the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.

2019 Performance: He, along with Hossler, tied for second at the first Korn Ferry Tour Finals event and secured his card. He added a T20 at the Bosie Open a week later.

Statistical Preview: In his limited starts on tour this year, Todd was very good with the putter, gaining just over a half a stroke. He struggled tee to green however losing over a third of a stroke.

Model Rank: NA

#17-Tom Hoge

Bio & Season Outlook: Tom seems to battle that 125 number quite often in his career

2015-132
2016-144
2017-166
2018- 92
2019- 159

He had only one top 10 on the PGA Tour last year in 17 made cuts.

2019 Performance: Hoge had to just make the cut at the second Korn Ferry Tour Final event, after finishing in a tie for 7th in the first one.

Statistical Preview: Scheffler does everything well, 15th in DD, 53rd in DA, 5th in GIR, 45th in scrambling and 12th in putting. Yea he will win in the fall swing.

Model Rank: NA

#16-Anriban Lahiri

Bio & Season Outlook: It’s possible that the peak for this once heralded golfer from India was that top 5 at the PGA Championship a couple of years back. But, alas, he’s back on the PGA tour via the Korn Forn Terry Finals.

2019 Performance: Anirban was able to get his PGA Tour card back after losing, by finishing in the top 10 in each of the first two Korn Ferry Tour finals events. He finished 178th in the FedEx Cup standings this past year with only one top 10.

Statistical Preview: Lahiri struggled tee to green this year, in all three measured stats as well, losing on average of .869 per round, the most coming off the tee, losing .431.

Model Rank: NA

#15-Kramer Hickock

Bio & Season Outlook: Not the best rookie campaign for Kramer on the PGA Tour this season, as the 27-year-old from Texas, will look to get off to a better start this year. He ended the year #161, thus the reason he had to go back to the Korn Ferry Tour and earn his card back!

2019 Performance: Hickock had a grand Korn Ferry Tour finals, making the cut all three events finishing 19th, 5th and 3rd in the three events.

Statistical Preview: Like Lebioda, Hickock really struggled with the putter this year, ranking 184th, but also struggled with his irons ranking 149th. The other two (around the green and off the tee) were both good ranking inside the top 40 on tour.

Model Rank: 16

#14-Cameron Davis

Bio & Season Outlook: The rookie campaign for Davis didn’t go as planned, ranking 160th in the FedEx Cup points list. Still, it was good enough to earn him a spot in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals and over 450K in earnings! Even with expenses, that’s not too shabby! His best finishes were against weaker fields, like the Barbasol Championship and the Puerto Rico Open.

2019 Performance: Davis got his feet wet at the Nationwide Children’s Hosptial Championship, before going T25 and T13 in the next two finals events, good enough to be one of the 25 golfers to make it thru via the KFT finals.

Statistical Preview: Being long off the tee (10th) doesn’t always translate to success, gaining only .197 off the tee for the year, but Cam will need to improve on his short game if he wants to make the top 125, losing over a quarter of a stroke between his putting and around the green game.

Model Rank: N/A

#13-Bronson Burgoon

Bio & Season Outlook: Bronson already had status, in the 125-150 category, but the Korn Ferry graduates rank above these guys at the beginning of the season, so they get first dibs on playing ability. That being said, Bronson had a fast start the season, finishing second at the CIMB Classic, but didn’t make a cut again for almost six months, when he T59th at the Honda Classic.

2019 Performance: After a T19 at the first KFT Finals event, he was in a good position heading into the Boise Open. He finished in a T5 securing his card for the 2019-20 season.

Statistical Preview: Bronson’s only category in which he gained strokes, which was minimal, was off the tee, where he gained .054 per round.

Model Rank: NA

#12-Tyler Duncan

Bio & Season Outlook: After making just shy of a million bucks in 2018, and finishing in 113th in the FedEx Cup standings, Duncan lost his card this year, finishing in 163rd. That sent him back to the Korn Ferry Tour where he got his status right back.

2019 Performance: I guess “right” back isn’t the correct terminology, as Duncan had to get inside the top 8 to secure his card at the Tour Championship and he came in a tie fourth.

Statistical Preview: His iron play was a half a stroke worse this year on average than last year, going from gaining .4 to losing .1. That’s likely the most significant factor of his declining play.

Model Rank: NA

#11-Xinjun Zhang

Bio & Season Outlook: In the golf twitter world this guy is known as the biggest cheater… It’s been proven that earlier in his career he tried to sign for the wrong score, knowingly, and it’s a rap that’s carried with him for a little while now. This will be his second stint on the PGA Tour after not being able to retain his card back in 2018.

2019 Performance: Two wins on the season for Zhang, along with five other top 10’s and an 86% cut made a percentage. Pretty consistent.

Statistical Preview: Stat wise Zhang was good everywhere, and very good on and around the green ranking 6th in putting and 7th in scrambling this season.

Model Rank: 2

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Author

Jason Rouslin

Jason established his roots in the littlest state that could...Rhode Island. But after 29 years of bitter cold, and only being able to play golf 4 months a year, upended those roots and moved to Florida. Now four years later, Jason is a husband to Sarah and father of two boys, James & Myles. A dog and more specifically Lab lover (Bella), he dedicates his time to serve as the lead of PGA content at Awesemo.com. In the time he is not diving into the PGA stats and covering this week's current tournament, you can find him researching and trading stocks, on the golf course, at Disney World, on a hike, or somewhere in between. Want to chat? Have a question about Golf/Stocks or anything else? Hop on twitter and give him a message @dfsgolfer23. You can also contact Jason by emailing [email protected].