Top PGA Player of the Year contenders

Like most golfers early on this list, Leishman is a fringe contender at best. Missing the cut at last week's PGA Championship was a step back for the Australian, but he's top 15 in the FedEx Cup standings and has a victory on the PGA Tour in 2019. Leishman is an easy guy to root for and capable of continuing to turn heads.

Perhaps Finau is the one golfer on the PGA Tour who a lot of pundits believed was ready for a true breakout campaign that involved actually winning an event in 2019. Finau ranks among the top 20 golfers in the world and tied for fifth at the Masters, so it's still possible he's set to get going and put himself in more serious Player of the Year contention.

Day is a long shot in this department, but golf fans are seeing signs that he could still be in for a victory — or even two — the rest of the season. He seems confident and comfortable enough with his game to be a threat, especially in major tournaments. Day has five top-10 finishes heading to Colonial this weekend.

Howell is quietly enjoying a solid first half of the season. He has a victory, four top 10s and is 10th in the FedEx Cup standings. Is he capable of winning his first major this season? Perhaps, but that's the same for anybody in a similar situation. He's probably more suited for finishing top 10 in the money and FedEx for a solid 2019.

Spieth's inclusion here is based on what we saw from him at Bethpage at last weekend's PGA Championship. His tie for second was one of the biggest stories to come out of the event and a possible sign that he could be a serious contender every week. Spieth has not won since 2017, but if he does again in the next few weeks, it might be a start of a hot streak for a guy who looks to have regained his championship form.

The fact the U.S. Open is at Pebble Beach, where Mickelson won earlier this season, sets up for a special storyline going into that event. The U.S. Open is the only major Lefty has yet to win, and should he do it next month, it would vault him into serious contention for Player of the Year honors — no matter what else he does the rest of the campaign.

Woodland is not necessarily a household name. However, after tying for eighth at the PGA Championship, he is seventh on the PGA Tour Money List, eighth in the FedEx Cup standings and sits 22nd in the World Golf Ranking. There is still more work for Woodland to do this season to increase his chances for deeper consideration here, but he's built a nice foundation. 

Cantlay is another golfer whom a good chunk of fans probably don't know much about. That's too bad. Cantlay, who shot 2-under to quietly tie for third at the PGA Championship, is ranked 14th in the world. He still has some work to do to crack the top 10 of the PGA Tour Money List, but Cantlay is worth keeping an eye on, especially inn the second half of the major slate.

Molinari has played nine events on the PGA Tour this season and already has made more than $3 million. How much the Italian winds up playing on the PGA Tour going forward will obviously play a part in the consideration he gets for postseason awards on U.S. soil. Regardless, Molinari has blossomed into one of the elite golfers in the world.

Missing the cut at the PGA Championship should be considered a major disappointment (no pun intended, really) for the Spaniard. He's still top 10 on the PGA Tour in money and within the FedEx Cup standings while sitting 11th in the World Golf Ranking. However, it will be interesting to see how Rahm regroups and rebounds from his short stay at Bethpage.

Unless Fowler finally wins that elusive major this season, the Player of the Year honor seems like a tall order. He's top 10 in the money and the FedEx Cup standings and is certainly capable of winning a second Tour event in 2019. But unless he gets extremely hot, Fowler will have to settle for remaining just one of golf's top players.

Here's another golfer looking for that first major title, but Kuchar has a solid case in terms of this list. He's won twice already on the PGA Tour this season, is No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings and No. 2 on the money list. His T8 at Bethpage only reinforced just how potentially special this season could be for the veteran.

We know Rose's status on the international scene as one of the world's top golfers, but it feels like he needs to win at least one of the remaining two majors to have a real shot at earning the Player of the Year award. Like other of golf's top European stars, just how much he ends up playing in America will be a factor.

Casey has enjoyed some nice early success on the PGA Tour thus far in 2019. He's sixth in the money and the FedEx Cup standings. So Casey has a legitimate case for Player of the Year consideration if a few of the more prominent golfers ahead of him tumble and he continues to play at a high level.

Top five on both the PGA Tour Money List and in the FedExCup standings, not to mention among the 10-best ranked golfers in the world, Schauffele needs to be in this conversation. A poor Sunday showing at the PGA dropped him from another top-10 finish at a major, but we expect Schauffele to remain on his game going forward.

There's a feeling that the best is yet to come this season for McIlroy. He's top five in the world and overcame a rough beginning at the PGA Championship by playing well enough on the weekend to finish tied for eighth. McIlroy knows how to win at the U.S. Open, but the biggy will be when the Open Championship comes to his native Northern Ireland in July.

At the moment the talk surrounding Thomas is when he will actually get back on the course. His wrist issue might be more severe than initially thought, considering he missed a major because of it. When healthy, Thomas is a threat just about every week. Right now, though, there is too much uncertainty surrounding his status to know what to expect going forward.

After winning the Masters, Woods was the front-runner for this award. However, by missing the cut at Bethpage, it's time to question his consistency. In addition to his success on the course, one thing to consider is how much Woods actually ends up playing this season. He's played just seven events to this point, so even with another victory or two — non-major — his POY chances could depend on his schedule.

Johnson has opened the season with back-to-back runner-up spots (T2 in the Masters) in the majors, so he's obviously right there. One would think Johnson will be in the hunt at the final two major championships. A victory at either the U.S. Open or the Open Championship would elevate his status to perhaps the favorite for this award, and even if he doesn't win either of those, it seems like he will still be in the hunt.

He just won his fourth major title in the last 23 months and currently is the No. 1 player in the world. Koepka also leads the PGA Tour in money and is pretty much the man to beat going forward. Oh yeah, and he does not appear to be slowing down. At the moment this award seems like Koepka's to lose, but anything could happen and his near collapse at the PGA Championship was an example of that.