Golf Draft Kit: 2018-19 Best Values

Golf Draft Kit: 2018-19 Best Values

This article is part of our Golf Draft Kit series.

Below are our Best Values for the 2018-19 PGA Tour season.

A player's grade is based solely on his value for 2018-19. The value compares 2017-18 earnings vs. 2018-19 projected earnings. A player like Rory McIlroy might earn a "D" grade or lower, but that is no indication of how he will play this year. It is simply a result of how his 2018-19 projected earnings compare to his 2017-18 earnings.

Improvement percentage (2017-18 earnings vs. 2018-19 projected earnings) is the factor that drives the grading process. Anything positive is a good score, though a slight positive score might just reflect inflation in prize money.

Ranking includes only 2018-19 PGA Tour card winners who played at least 10 events on last year's tour:

• Top 125 on FedEx Cup Points List
• Notable Exempt Players not in Top 125 (E)
• Non-Rookies from Web.com Tour Top-25 Money List (W)
• Non-Rookies from Web.com Tour Finals (F)
• International Newcomers (I)
• Conditional Status Players who Finished 126-150 on Points List (C)

Click column headers to sort.

GOLFER2017-18 EVENTS2017-18 EARNINGS2018-19 PROJ. EARNINGSIMPROVE%GRADE
1. Sam Burns - W 11 $495,916 $1,900,000 283.1% A
2. Dylan Frittelli - F 11 $331,177 $1,250,000 277.4% A
3. Sergio Garcia - C 15 $878,354 $3,000,000 241.5% A
4. Bill Haas - E 25 $638,414 $1,600,000 150.6% A
5. Joaquin Niemann - I 13 $1,209,958 $3,000,000 147.9% A
6. Robert Streb - F 29 $411,606 $1,000,000 143.0% A
7. Sangmoon Bae -
Below are our Best Values for the 2018-19 PGA Tour season.

A player's grade is based solely on his value for 2018-19. The value compares 2017-18 earnings vs. 2018-19 projected earnings. A player like Rory McIlroy might earn a "D" grade or lower, but that is no indication of how he will play this year. It is simply a result of how his 2018-19 projected earnings compare to his 2017-18 earnings.

Improvement percentage (2017-18 earnings vs. 2018-19 projected earnings) is the factor that drives the grading process. Anything positive is a good score, though a slight positive score might just reflect inflation in prize money.

Ranking includes only 2018-19 PGA Tour card winners who played at least 10 events on last year's tour:

• Top 125 on FedEx Cup Points List
• Notable Exempt Players not in Top 125 (E)
• Non-Rookies from Web.com Tour Top-25 Money List (W)
• Non-Rookies from Web.com Tour Finals (F)
• International Newcomers (I)
• Conditional Status Players who Finished 126-150 on Points List (C)

Click column headers to sort.

GOLFER2017-18 EVENTS2017-18 EARNINGS2018-19 PROJ. EARNINGSIMPROVE%GRADE
1. Sam Burns - W 11 $495,916 $1,900,000 283.1% A
2. Dylan Frittelli - F 11 $331,177 $1,250,000 277.4% A
3. Sergio Garcia - C 15 $878,354 $3,000,000 241.5% A
4. Bill Haas - E 25 $638,414 $1,600,000 150.6% A
5. Joaquin Niemann - I 13 $1,209,958 $3,000,000 147.9% A
6. Robert Streb - F 29 $411,606 $1,000,000 143.0% A
7. Sangmoon Bae - F 17 $184,057 $375,000 103.7% A
8. Jordan Spieth 23 $2,793,536 $5,250,000 87.9% A
9. Hideki Matsuyama 21 $2,687,477 $4,750,000 76.7% A
10. Ben Martin - C 20 $532,936 $900,000 68.9% A
11. Jhonattan Vegas 27 $1,137,444 $1,900,000 67.0% A
12. Daniel Berger 23 $1,721,763 $2,800,000 62.6% A
13. Wesley Bryan - E 23 $498,166 $800,000 60.6% A
14. Kevin Chappell 23 $1,608,338 $2,500,000 55.4% A
15. Ollie Schniederjans 27 $1,303,610 $2,000,000 53.4% A
16. Tyrrell Hatton 16 $1,943,360 $2,900,000 49.2% B
17. Russell Henley 23 $1,516,438 $2,200,000 45.1% B
18. Kevin Tway 31 $1,397,544 $2,000,000 43.1% B
19. Austin Cook 29 $2,448,920 $3,500,000 42.9% B
20. Peter Malnati - F 28 $420,001 $600,000 42.9% B
21. Grayson Murray 22 $1,056,628 $1,500,000 42.0% B
22. Jason Dufner 22 $1,497,655 $2,100,000 40.2% B
23. Alex Noren 18 $2,699,150 $3,750,000 38.9% B
24. Jon Rahm 20 $3,992,678 $5,500,000 37.8% B
25. Jason Day 20 $5,087,461 $7,000,000 37.6% B
26. James Hahn 26 $1,386,301 $1,900,000 37.1% B
27. J.J. Spaun 27 $1,978,906 $2,700,000 36.4% B
28. Joel Dahmen 28 $1,476,838 $2,000,000 35.4% B
29. Adam Scott 21 $2,237,641 $3,000,000 34.1% B
30. Emiliano Grillo 25 $2,493,163 $3,300,000 32.4% B
31. Cody Gribble - E 25 $302,593 $400,000 32.2% B
32. Jamie Lovemark 26 $1,377,286 $1,800,000 30.7% B
33. Luke List 29 $2,710,736 $3,500,000 29.1% B
34. Tiger Woods 18 $5,443,841 $7,000,000 28.6% B
35. David Hearn - C 21 $622,383 $800,000 28.5% B
36. Charley Hoffman 25 $1,400,637 $1,800,000 28.5% B
37. Robert Garrigus - C 27 $702,030 $900,000 28.2% B
38. J.T. Poston 22 $940,661 $1,200,000 27.6% B
39. Patrick Cantlay 23 $3,963,962 $5,000,000 26.1% B
40. Danny Lee 30 $1,269,386 $1,600,000 26.0% B
41. Cameron Tringale - F 26 $179,459 $225,000 25.4% B
42. Roberto Díaz - F 25 $235,635 $295,000 25.2% B
43. Peter Uihlein 26 $1,797,715 $2,250,000 25.2% B
44. Anirban Lahiri 24 $1,441,205 $1,800,000 24.9% C
45. Cameron Smith 24 $3,622,607 $4,500,000 24.2% C
46. Corey Conners - C 28 $728,296 $900,000 23.6% C
47. Byeong Hun An 24 $2,599,264 $3,200,000 23.1% C
48. Russell Knox 27 $1,424,030 $1,750,000 22.9% C
49. Ryan Blaum 28 $980,877 $1,200,000 22.3% C
50. Trey Mullinax 24 $1,148,245 $1,400,000 21.9% C
51. Abraham Ancer 30 $1,676,695 $2,000,000 19.3% C
52. Adam Hadwin 25 $1,932,488 $2,300,000 19.0% C
53. Harris English 31 $799,450 $950,000 18.8% C
54. Jimmy Walker 23 $2,027,312 $2,400,000 18.4% C
55. Rickie Fowler 20 $4,235,237 $5,000,000 18.1% C
56. Sean O'Hair 22 $1,104,865 $1,300,000 17.7% C
57. Matt Kuchar 24 $1,720,097 $2,000,000 16.3% C
58. Shane Lowry - C 19 $696,897 $800,000 14.8% C
59. Sam Ryder 26 $1,046,166 $1,200,000 14.7% C
60. Tommy Fleetwood 19 $3,935,147 $4,500,000 14.4% C
61. Brandt Snedeker 25 $2,448,970 $2,800,000 14.3% C
62. Johnson Wagner - C 21 $656,322 $750,000 14.3% C
63. Tom Lovelady - C 28 $700,783 $800,000 14.2% C
64. David Lingmerth - C 26 $616,758 $700,000 13.5% C
65. Brooks Koepka 17 $7,094,047 $8,000,000 12.8% C
66. Hunter Mahan - F 21 $457,337 $515,000 12.6% C
67. Beau Hossler 28 $2,449,707 $2,750,000 12.3% C
68. Chad Campbell - C 28 $801,960 $900,000 12.2% C
69. Henrik Stenson 16 $2,680,487 $3,000,000 11.9% C
70. Matt Jones - F 23 $538,681 $600,000 11.4% C
71. Branden Grace 18 $1,529,289 $1,700,000 11.2% C
72. Richy Werenski 32 $1,081,283 $1,200,000 11.0% C
73. Ryan Moore 22 $1,986,608 $2,200,000 10.7% C
74. Denny McCarthy - C 22 $498,341 $550,000 10.4% C
75. Rafa Cabrera Bello 20 $2,449,869 $2,700,000 10.2% C
76. Keith Mitchell 29 $1,641,260 $1,800,000 9.7% D
77. J.B. Holmes 24 $1,595,942 $1,750,000 9.7% D
78. Brandon Harkins 30 $1,148,115 $1,250,000 8.9% D
79. Rory McIlroy 18 $4,410,296 $4,800,000 8.8% D
80. Patrick Rodgers 30 $1,287,040 $1,400,000 8.8% D
81. Michael Kim 27 $1,379,736 $1,500,000 8.7% D
82. William McGirt 26 $933,327 $1,000,000 7.1% D
83. Talor Gooch - C 27 $654,200 $700,000 7.0% D
84. Nick Watney 26 $1,402,833 $1,500,000 6.9% D
85. Tony Finau 28 $5,620,138 $6,000,000 6.8% D
86. Dustin Johnson 20 $8,457,352 $9,000,000 6.4% D
87. Harold Varner III 27 $1,223,064 $1,300,000 6.3% D
88. Mackenzie Hughes - E 28 $518,476 $550,000 6.1% D
89. Marc Leishman 25 $3,771,221 $4,000,000 6.1% D
90. Tyler Duncan 31 $944,021 $1,000,000 5.9% D
91. Bud Cauley 17 $900,591 $950,000 5.5% D
92. Si Woo Kim 31 $2,276,114 $2,400,000 5.4% D
93. Hudson Swafford - E 22 $569,391 $600,000 5.4% D
94. Adam Schenk - F 28 $474,923 $500,000 5.3% D
95. Charl Schwartzel 20 $1,710,179 $1,800,000 5.3% D
96. Tyrone Van Aswegen - C 31 $763,584 $800,000 4.8% D
97. Scott Stallings 30 $1,147,573 $1,200,000 4.6% D
98. Andrew Landry 27 $2,642,179 $2,750,000 4.1% D
99. Louis Oosthuizen 17 $1,731,493 $1,800,000 4.0% D
100. Justin Thomas 23 $8,694,821 $9,000,000 3.5% D
101. Fabian Gomez - F 28 $437,032 $450,000 3.0% D
102. John Huh 29 $974,538 $1,000,000 2.6% D
103. Scott Brown 32 $1,076,678 $1,100,000 2.2% D
104. Zach Johnson 25 $1,957,635 $2,000,000 2.2% D
105. Kyle Stanley 26 $3,916,001 $4,000,000 2.1% D
106. Sam Saunders 26 $981,936 $1,000,000 1.8% D
107. Seamus Power 28 $791,018 $800,000 1.1% D
108. Ryan Palmer 22 $1,484,445 $1,500,000 1.0% D
109. Kevin Kisner 25 $2,972,285 $3,000,000 0.9% D
110. Brian Harman 25 $2,733,463 $2,750,000 0.6% D
111. Andrew Putnam 28 $2,387,382 $2,400,000 0.5% D
112. Kelly Kraft 31 $1,496,253 $1,500,000 0.3% D
113. Xander Schauffele 27 $4,047,538 $4,000,000 -1.2% F
114. Derek Fathauer - C 28 $708,712 $700,000 -1.2% F
115. Chris Kirk 29 $1,824,111 $1,800,000 -1.3% F
116. Kevin Streelman 27 $1,523,642 $1,500,000 -1.6% F
117. Stephan Jaeger - F 26 $422,260 $415,000 -1.7% F
118. Martin Laird 22 $1,017,580 $1,000,000 -1.7% F
119. Troy Merritt 27 $1,326,989 $1,300,000 -2.0% F
120. Kevin Na 26 $3,578,316 $3,500,000 -2.2% F
121. Sung Kang 29 $1,243,309 $1,200,000 -3.5% F
122. Gary Woodland 27 $3,108,907 $3,000,000 -3.5% F
123. Aaron Baddeley - C 27 $725,928 $700,000 -3.6% F
124. Paul Casey 20 $3,641,771 $3,500,000 -3.9% F
125. C.T. Pan 30 $1,881,787 $1,800,000 -4.3% F
126. Shawn Stefani - C 25 $523,204 $500,000 -4.4% F
127. Jason Kokrak 29 $1,794,431 $1,700,000 -5.3% F
128. Graeme McDowell - C 20 $581,024 $550,000 -5.3% F
129. Nick Taylor 30 $899,373 $850,000 -5.5% F
130. Whee Kim 30 $1,920,340 $1,800,000 -6.3% F
131. Bronson Burgoon 24 $1,179,616 $1,100,000 -6.7% F
132. Billy Horschel 27 $4,315,200 $4,000,000 -7.3% F
133. Nicholas Lindheim - C 26 $593,842 $550,000 -7.4% F
134. Brian Stuard 32 $1,089,763 $1,000,000 -8.2% F
135. Charles Howell III 28 $2,179,725 $2,000,000 -8.2% F
136. Jim Furyk - C 15 $660,010 $600,000 -9.1% F
137. Patrick Reed 26 $5,006,267 $4,500,000 -10.1% F
138. Rory Sabbatini 27 $1,126,057 $1,000,000 -11.2% F
139. Lucas Glover - C 18 $789,382 $700,000 -11.3% F
140. Brice Garnett 30 $1,466,224 $1,300,000 -11.3% F
141. Michael Thompson - C 19 $563,972 $500,000 -11.3% F
142. Tom Hoge 31 $1,358,542 $1,200,000 -11.7% F
143. Brendan Steele 22 $2,291,128 $2,000,000 -12.7% F
144. Camilo Villegas - E 14 $229,439 $200,000 -12.8% F
145. Bryson DeChambeau 26 $8,094,489 $7,000,000 -13.5% F
146. Justin Rose 18 $8,130,678 $7,000,000 -13.9% F
147. Aaron Wise 29 $3,486,407 $3,000,000 -14.0% F
148. Keegan Bradley 27 $4,069,464 $3,500,000 -14.0% F
149. Steve Stricker - C 12 $582,566 $500,000 -14.2% F
150. Scott Piercy 26 $1,882,337 $1,600,000 -15.0% F
151. Pat Perez 23 $2,962,641 $2,500,000 -15.6% F
152. Alex Cejka 24 $1,198,541 $1,000,000 -16.6% F
153. Vaughn Taylor 25 $965,691 $800,000 -17.2% F
154. Martin Piller - C 28 $847,304 $700,000 -17.4% F
155. Chez Reavie 28 $2,700,018 $2,200,000 -18.5% F
156. Ted Potter, Jr. 28 $1,976,198 $1,600,000 -19.0% F
157. Ben Crane - C 21 $620,646 $500,000 -19.4% F
158. Stewart Cink 25 $1,887,208 $1,500,000 -20.5% F
159. Chesson Hadley 30 $2,768,863 $2,200,000 -20.5% F
160. Bubba Watson 24 $5,793,748 $4,500,000 -22.3% F
161. Ben Silverman - C 28 $793,140 $600,000 -24.4% F
162. Webb Simpson 26 $5,376,417 $4,000,000 -25.6% F
163. Ian Poulter 20 $2,714,450 $2,000,000 -26.3% F
164. Ryan Armour 32 $2,485,203 $1,800,000 -27.6% F
165. Patton Kizzire 29 $3,541,151 $2,500,000 -29.4% F
166. Brian Gay 30 $2,152,501 $1,500,000 -30.3% F
167. Francesco Molinari 20 $5,065,842 $3,500,000 -30.9% F
168. Satoshi Kodaira 18 $1,471,462 $1,000,000 -32.0% F
169. Phil Mickelson 24 $4,595,187 $3,000,000 -34.7% F

RotoWire golf writers Len Hochberg, Michael Riek, Bryce Danielson and Pete Gargano contributed to this report.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Greg Vara
Vara is the lead golf writer at RotoWire. He was named the FSWA Golf Writer of the Year in 2005 and 2013. He also picks college football games against the spread in his "College Capper" article.
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