Sam Ryder

Sam Ryder

34-Year-Old Golfer
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2024 Fantasy Outlook
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. Read Past Outlooks
Finishes T64 in Houston
April 2, 2024
Ryder shot a one-over 68 in the final round of the Texas Children's Open to finish in a tie for 64th spot.
ANALYSIS
Ryder registered five birdies in the final round of the competition on Sunday. He finished with three bogeys as well. It was because of this reason, the 34-year-old ended up gaining 11 spots in the fourth round of the tournament. Ryder will next take part in the Valero Texas Open.
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Sam Ryder See More
2024 Valero Texas Open Betting: Picks, Odds, Predictions and Best Bets
15 days ago
Sam Ryder continues to surge in the right direction, and Ryan Pohle thinks the time is now for him to post his first top-10 of the season at the Valero Texas Open.
2024 Texas Children's Houston Open Betting: Picks, Odds, Predictions and Best Bets
23 days ago
Taylor Moore is trending in the right direction, and Ryan Pohle is willing to wager that he winds up with his best result of the season in this week's event.
DraftKings PGA DFS Picks: Valspar Championship Cash and GPP Strategy
30 days ago
With a few things working in his favor this week, Webb Simpson snags a spot among Len Hochberg's picks to click in the latest PGA DFS contests on DraftKings.
Weekly PGA Recap: Scottie Remains Scorching Hot
31 days ago
All kinds of players had a chance to take down THE PLAYERS Championship, but when it was all said and done, Scottie Scheffler snared the trophy for a second straight Sunday.
DraftKings PGA DFS Picks: THE PLAYERS Championship Cash and GPP Strategy
37 days ago
Ludvig Aberg will be making his PLAYERS debut, but that doesn't cost him a spot among Len Hochberg's value plays for this week's PGA DFS contests on DraftKings.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2020
2019
2018
2017
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.
More Fantasy News
Sixth in SG: APP at Memorial Park
April 2, 2024
Ryder fired a two-under 68 on Sunday at the Texas Children's Houston Open to finish one-over and tied for 64th.
ANALYSIS
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Jumps up leaderboard in final round
March 24, 2024
Ryder carded a six-under 65 in the final round of the Valspar Championship to finish in a tie for 33rd place.
ANALYSIS
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Posts four under-par rounds
March 17, 2024
Ryder posted a three-under 69 on Sunday at The PLAYERS Championship to finish tied for 16th place.
ANALYSIS
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Shoots 66 in final round
March 4, 2024
Ryder finished in a tie for 21st place after firing a five-under 66 in the final round of the Cognizant Classic.
ANALYSIS
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Shoots two-over Sunday
January 21, 2024
Ryder completed The American Express with a two-over 74 to finish the tournament at 12-under and tied for 62nd place.
ANALYSIS
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