Ryan Moore

Moore's level had an unexpected drop in production last season as he failed to qualify for the season ending playoffs for the first time in his career. He did post a T-2 at the John Deere Classic where he was a past champion, but that was his only top-25 finish of the season. Moore can use his one-time top-50 money list exemption for full status this season, and his ball-striking is still good enough to think he'll be able to record better results in 2021-22.

Moore only played in 16 events last season and it was the first time he's ever finished outside the top-100 in FedEx Cup standings. Moore's ball striking was still pretty solid last season and he ended up 50th in SG: Total, so with a few more starts and at only 37 years of age, I think he can turn in around in 2020-21.

There was a time when Moore appeared destined to become an elite player on the PGA Tour and while he spent several years inside the top-30, he never quite met the heightened expectations. In recent years, Moore has slid from top-30 status to top-60 status. Considering Moore hasn't topped $2 million in earnings since 2016, Moore's prospects as a salary cap target this season are not great. He'll remain productive again this season and likely end up around the 60th spot on the FedEx list, but his days of earning over $3 million appear to be a thing of the past.

Moore has spent the better part of the past decade at the top of the group of players just below the elite level. At times, Moore has been elite, but he's never been able to set up camp in that group. Moore has won five times on the PGA Tour and he's been consistently above $2 million in earnings for most of the past decade. At 35, there's no reason to think his game is going to leave him anytime soon, but after two consecutive sub-$2 million seasons, the question is -- can he get back to his pre-2017 form? Moore can certainly get back there, but with a price tag of nearly $2 million, getting back to his previous levels might not be enough. Moore has cracked the $3 million barrier just twice, and one of those times, he barely got across. In order to justify a salary cap selection this season, he'll need to get back to $3 million.

Since breaking through with his first win in 2009, Moore has been extremely consistent, with earnings of $2-plus million in six of eight seasons. Moore peaked during the 2015-16 season, when he nearly cracked the $4 million barrier, but he obviously failed to back that up with a similar performance last season. The dramatic drop in earnings last season provides a great opportunity though as Moore is still top-50 in the world rankings, so he should have access to most of the big events and his floor is right around his number from last season. Moore has plenty of upside to crush his number from last season and he's about as reliable as they get, so he's definitely a good salary cap selection this season.

A late-season charge took Moore from a good golfer, largely unknown, to a good golfer and Ryder Cup team member. It's funny what a little run can do for a golfer. Moore has been a solid golfer for years now, but his turn in the spotlight didn't come until he nearly won the TOUR Championship in September. That late run pushed his price pretty high though, a little too high to justify a salary cap selection for the upcoming season. As for his draft prospects, that'll likely depend on how he fares during the Ryder Cup. If he plays well, Moore could go early in the 2nd-round. If he plays poorly, he'll be forgotten and could slip-back to the third round.

If Moore were to retire tomorrow, we'd all look back and say he had a good career, the only problem with that is, he was supposed to have a great career. We see that greatness in him from time to time, but Moore rarely shows the consistency of the top players in the world. With that said, the upside is still there, but the price is too steep this year. Even if he put it all together, he'd probably top-out around $4 million. In draft leagues he could go late in the 2nd round or early in the 3rd.

Is this the year? It is asked nearly every year of Moore, but with a win already under his belt during the 2013-2014 portion on the season, this might actually be the year. Moore came onto the PGA Tour with a lot of hype and although he's had a solid career, he hasn't lived up to the lofty expectations ... yet. He just might do so this year. Moore is a solid salary cap option this season and in draft leagues he should go in the 40-50 range, possibly higher.

Ryan Moore seems to be stuck in a bit of a rut. It's a rut many on the PGA TOUR would like to be in, but Moore has the ability for much more; he just can't seem to tap into it. He has loads of talent and from time to time we get to see it, but for the most part he leaves the golfing public wanting. He certainly has upside, but the inability to tap into it makes him a risky pick at this price. It's possible this is Moore's breakout year, but there's nothing to base that on other than optimism. In draft leagues, he should go in the third round.

After consecutive years in the $2-million range, it looked like Moore had finally figured it out - then came the 2011 season. Moore wasn't awful last year, but more was expected. To Moore's credit, he only missed three cuts in 22 events, but his play on the weekend left a lot to be desired. Moore's third-round scoring average ranked an abysmal 153rd last season and his final-round scoring average was not much better, coming in at 94th. Those are the numbers of a young player with little experience. Moore may be young, but he's had plenty of experience. Chalk it up to a bad year as Moore is too good to continue to falter on the weekend.

Moore picked up his first PGA TOUR victory in 2009, and though he didn't back that up with another win in 2010, he did improve his earnings. He also improved his World Golf Ranking and enters this season in the top 50 for the first time. Moore has loads of talent, and it seems only a matter of time before he, to use a horse racing term, takes a huge step up in class. Moore's progress from college phenom to PGA TOUR star hasn't been as swift as others before him, but he is getting there and one of these years is going to break out big time. This could be that year. If not, he'll at least perform to his 2009 and 2010 levels, so the there's really no risk involved. It's hard to peg exactly what Moore does well statistically. One year he hits greens, the next he doesn't; it's this way for all the core categories. He's about average on all measures, some years improving in certain categories and in others regressing.

Moore finally found the winner's circle in 2009, and that could be the spark that helps send him to the next level in 2010. After a couple of close calls in 2008 and 2009, Moore played a complete tournament and picked up his first PGA Tour win at the Wyndham Championship. Moore struggled a bit after that win, but he pulled it together near the end of the season. Looks for Moore to pick up in where he left off last year when the 2010 season begins in the spring.

Ryan Moore has a lot of potential, the question is when he will have his breakout season. At this price however, feel free to assume it will be 2009.

Moore started to show a little bit of his potential last year, but he's only scraped the surface. Moore is the typical player that you have a hard time leaving off your team because of his upside. He is again coming into this season at a decent price for those in salary cap leagues, and looks to be a good value pick. As for draft leagues, he could slip in a bit under the radar with all the talk about the 2007 rookie class from last year. Suddenly he's not the only good young American player out there.

Moore came into 2006 as the can't-miss prospect. While J.B. Holmes and Camilo Villegas stole the spotlight, Moore struggled. After his early season struggles, he ran into some injury problems. When the dust finally settled late in the year, Moore began to play well. Moore is a must in salary cap leagues, and probably a top-30 or top-40 pick in any other league.

Technically a rookie because his earnings last year came as a non-member. He earned $686K after turning pro in June. Assume with full year of events he'll crack that $1 million mark pretty easily.