Power Rankings: The RSM Classic

Sam Burns … Three straight solid weeks in the restart has him positioned comfortably at 103rd in the FedExCup. The burst included 11 consecutive red numbers and ended with a T17 at the Workday Charity Open where he entered the final round sitting T4. As one of the longest hitters on the PGA TOUR, he feasts on par 5s. Currently T20 in the stat. Fittingly, he co-led last year’s field on the trio of par 5s at TPC Twin Cities en route to a share of seventh place. Currently 29th overall in Strokes Gained: Putting as well. For a bump, his 24th birthday coincides with the opening round on Thursday. Ryan Armour … Debuting with a scoring average of 2.96, the par 3s at TPC Twin Cities were the third-easiest of 49 courses in all of 2018-19. It’s rarely a statistical advantage for any golfer, but he’s among the profiles that rush to mind for whom it can be. Sits T33 in par-3 scoring average thanks primarily to laser-like precision off the tee and a better-than-average blend of distance control and accuracy with his irons. During recent top 10s, he ranked T3 in par-3 scoring at the TPC River Highlands and led the field in par-3 scoring in Detroit. Kristoffer Ventura … With a pair of wins and two third-place finishes in just 11 starts in what was his rookie season on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019, the Oklahoma State University product was poised for a seamless transition to the highest level of the sport. Of course, it doesn’t always work out that way. In his first 12 starts on the PGA TOUR in 2019-20, he made just four cuts (two for top 20s) and sat 168th in the FedExCup. Suffice it to say that the time off has paid off as he’s finally landing punches as a terrific putter and dangerous scorer. Since the break, he’s a combined 4-for-4 with a T21 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and a pair of top 10s on the KFT. Ben Martin … Slowed by a back injury early in 2019, he was choosy with his playing time on a medical extension to begin this season. He didn’t meet the terms, but the 32-year-old already had secured conditional status to trigger a handful of starts thereafter. This is just his second on the PGA TOUR post-hiatus, but he sandwiched a missed cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic with top 10s on the Korn Ferry Tour. Currently 153rd in the FedExCup with three top 25s in just 10 starts. Seamus Power … While just 179th in the FedExCup and with only 26 rounds contributing this season, he presents as one of the most impressive on paper. Those analytics align beautifully with the requirement of this week’s test. The 33-year-old is 61st in greens in regulation, 13th in proximity to the hole, T8 in putts per GIR and eighth in converting his GIR into par breakers. He’s above average in length off the tee and slots T30 in par-5 scoring. In his last start on the PGA TOUR, he finished T12 in Detroit where he started the final round at T4. Sat out last year’s 3M Open in favor of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in his homeland. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Davis Love III still thinks he can re-write the record books. “Winning is always my goal,â€� he said. Love, 54, may be a grandfather, but he has no plans to pare down his PGA TOUR schedule. He actually hopes to play more than he did in the previous two seasons. Love could become the oldest winner in PGA TOUR history, surpassing Sam Snead’s record of 52 years, 10 months and 8 days. Raymond Floyd’s record of longest span between first and last victories (28 years) also is within reach. Love won for the first time in 1987. No one has ever won multiple titles in their 50s. He was 51 when he won the 2015 Wyndham Championship. That was his 21st PGA TOUR win. He is a lifetime member for reaching 20 wins and 15 seasons on TOUR. “Obviously, like a few years ago at Greensboro, everything would have to go right. You (have to) hit it good and putt good at the same time,â€� Love said. “I think that can still happen. You get me within two or three of the lead on Sunday, I’m going to have a chance. I just have to get there. “The odds obviously continue to decrease every year. But I look at what Tom Watson almost did, Greg Norman almost did at The Open Championship, what Sam Snead did late in his career, what Jack Nicklaus did at the Masters, that’s the reason I keep working.â€� As is often the case with players of advanced age, injuries and putting have been the problem. Love has played more than 750 PGA TOUR events, but he it’s been three years since he played more than 15 in a season. He had hip-replacement surgery after last year’s RSM and played just nine PGA TOUR events and four on PGA TOUR Champions in 2018. “Like I told you, if Tiger plays a full season, he’ll win a golf tournament. Well, he played a full season and won a golf tournament,â€� Love said. “I would like a shot at playing a full season without being hurt. … I haven’t played my normal 23 or 24 or 25 events. I would like to do that this year and just see how I play.â€� The RSM Classic, where he also serves as host, will be his third start of the season. He finished T59 at the CIMB Classic and 57th at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. He plans to play the Sony Open in Hawaii, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Open. He is a two-time winner at Pebble Beach. The Charles Schwab Challenge and RBC Heritage, played at two of the TOUR’s shorter courses, also are on his schedule. He has five wins at the Heritage, including his first PGA TOUR victory. There were promising signs in his last start. At TPC Summerlin, he was second in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green and eighth in proximity to the hole. He was second-to-last in Strokes Gained: Putting, though. He missed three putts from 3-5 feet and was just 1 for 5 from 7-10 feet. He only made 3 of 18 attempts from 10-15 feet, as well. “As usual, it’s going to come down to putting for me. If I can putt well enough to beat them (on PGA TOUR Champions), I think I can probably sneak in a win out here,â€� Love said. “Obviously, like a few years ago at Greensboro, everything would have to go right.â€� He has experimented with the arm-lock method that Matt Kuchar, Webb Simpson, Bryson DeChambeau and Keegan Bradley used to win recently. Love said he’s had “very little successâ€� with it, though. “I’m rolling the ball great. I have to relax and play and quit trying to force it,” Love said. “Calling (sports psychologist Bob) Rotella probably is the answer.” It may be the only thing standing between him and history.

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With additional time needed to ensure PGA TOUR tournaments are staged in the most safe and responsible manner possible given the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the PGA TOUR is announcing further schedule modifications for the remainder of the 2019-20 season, as well as plans for the opening portion of the 2020-21 PGA TOUR Regular Season, the restart of the 2020 Korn Ferry Tour season and updates regarding the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada schedule. “The health and safety of all associated with the PGA TOUR and our global community continues to be our No. 1 priority, and our hope is to play a role – responsibly – in the world’s return to enjoying the things we love,� said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “Today’s announcement is another positive step for our fans and players as we look toward the future, but as we’ve stressed on several occasions, we will resume competition only when – working closely with our tournaments, partners and communities – it is considered safe to do so under the guidance of the leading public health authorities.� RELATED: Full schedule The PGA TOUR had previously targeted the week of the Charles Schwab Challenge (May 18-24) as the restart of the TOUR season, which has been suspended since THE PLAYERS Championship was canceled on Thursday, March 12. For health and safety reasons due to COVID-19, today’s announcement delays that timeline three weeks – to June 8, starting with the Charles Schwab Challenge – with additional tournaments being repositioned between then and the season’s conclusion, which is the TOUR Championship, ending on Labor Day (September 7). At this time, the TOUR plans to resume play with the first four events closed to the general public but will continue to monitor the situation and follow the recommendations of local and state authorities in order to determine the most appropriate on-site access in each market. As such, the TOUR will continually review available COVID-19-related protocols that could be implemented at PGA TOUR events to ensure the health and well-being for all involved. All three events that were previously scheduled between May 18 and June 8 – the Charles Schwab Challenge, Rocket Mortgage Classic and the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide – have been moved to later dates in the calendar. The RBC Heritage, originally slated for this week (April 13-19) but canceled on March 17, has been added back to the PGA TOUR schedule in the week formerly occupied by the U.S. Open, which – as previously announced – has been postponed to September. The RBC Canadian Open, originally scheduled for the week of June 8, has been canceled. Click here for a statement from the RBC Canadian Open. The Barbasol Championship, originally scheduled for July 13-19 opposite The Open Championship, has been canceled. The Open Championship was canceled on April 6. Three invitationals on the updated schedule, the Charles Schwab Challenge (120 players), RBC Heritage (132 players) and the Memorial Tournament (120 players), will see their respective field sizes increase to 144 to provide additional playing opportunities for PGA TOUR members. Summary of PGA TOUR events from 2019-20 schedule affected by date changes or cancellations: • RBC Canadian Open, originally scheduled for the week of June 8-14, has been canceled; • Charles Schwab Challenge, originally scheduled for May 18-24, rescheduled to June 8-14 (former RBC Canadian Open dates); • RBC Heritage, originally scheduled for April 13-19, rescheduled to June 15-21 (former U.S. Open dates); • Rocket Mortgage Classic, originally scheduled for May 25-31, rescheduled to July 2-5 (former World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational and Barracuda Championship dates); • the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, originally scheduled for June 1-7, rescheduled to July 13-19 (former The Open Championship/Barbasol Championship dates); • World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational and Barracuda Championship, originally scheduled for June 29-July 5, rescheduled to July 27-August 2 (former Olympic Games men’s golf competition dates); • Barbasol Championship, originally scheduled for July 13-19 opposite The Open Championship, has been canceled; • Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, originally scheduled for March 23-29 and postponed on March 12, has been rescheduled as part of the 2020-21 PGA TOUR Regular Season schedule, September 21-27 (opposite the Ryder Cup); • The April 6 golf industry announcement outlined changes to the four major championships as well as the Wyndham Championship and the three FedExCup Playoffs events. Revised 2019-20 PGA TOUR Season schedule • June 8-14: Charles Schwab Challenge, Colonial Country Club, Fort Worth, Texas • June 15-21: RBC Heritage, Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head, South Carolina • June 22-28: Travelers Championship, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Connecticut • July 2-July 5: Rocket Mortgage Classic, Detroit Golf Club, Detroit, Michigan • July 6-12: John Deere Classic, TPC Deere Run, Silvis, Illinois • July 13-19: the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, Muirfield Village Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio • July 20-26: 3M Open, TPC Twin Cities, Blaine, Minnesota • July 27-August 2: World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tennessee • July 27-August 2: Barracuda Championship, Tahoe Mountain Club (Old Greenwood), Truckee, California • August 3-9: PGA Championship, TPC Harding Park, San Francisco, California • August 10-16: Wyndham Championship, Sedgefield Country Club, Greensboro, North Carolina • August 17-23: THE NORTHERN TRUST, TPC Boston, Norton, Massachusetts • August 24-30: BMW Championship, Olympia Fields Country Club (North), Olympia Fields, Illinois • August 31-September 7: TOUR Championship, East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, Georgia With 22 events having been played through the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, the adjusted season-long schedule – subject to change – now consists of 36 events, including three FedExCup Playoffs events concluding with the TOUR Championship over Labor Day weekend, where the 2020 FedExCup Champion will be crowned. With the health and safety of all associated with the PGA TOUR tournaments being of utmost importance, the TOUR will be working with its media partners on production plans upon the restart to the season. CBS is scheduled to televise the Charles Schwab Challenge through THE NORTHERN TRUST (11 consecutive events, inclusive of PGA Championship), and NBC is scheduled to televise the BMW Championship and TOUR Championship, culminating on Labor Day Monday. 2020-21 PGA TOUR Season Additionally, the TOUR today introduced the season-opening weeks of the 2020-21 PGA TOUR Season, which now has 13 FedExCup events, including – as announced on April 6 by the USGA and Augusta National Golf Club, respectively – the U.S. Open and Masters Tournament. “This portion of our 2020-21 schedule is possible only because of the many partners who have worked tirelessly to grow their events and impact the lives of those in need in their respective communities, and our players, who have embraced the expanded fall schedule in recent years,� said PGA TOUR Chief Tournaments and Competitions Officer Andy Pazder. “We’d like to express our appreciation to the leadership of the Safeway Open, Houston Open and Mayakoba Golf Classic – which will conclude our calendar year schedule in Riviera Maya, Mexico – for their flexibility, which allowed for the U.S. Open and Masters Tournament to be played in the fall. The accommodations will help the global golf community maximize the 2020 calendar, which will be incredibly impactful for our fans and put us in a strong position heading into 2021.� 2020-21 PGA TOUR Season Schedule (fall portion): • September 7-13: Safeway Open, Silverado Resort and Spa North, Napa, California • September 14-20: U.S. Open, Winged Foot Golf Club, Mamaroneck, New York • # September 21-27: Ryder Cup, Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wisconsin • September 21-27: Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, Corales Golf Club, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic • September 28-October 4: Sanderson Farms Championship, Country Club of Jackson, Jackson, Mississippi • October 5-11: Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, TPC Summerlin, Las Vegas, Nevada • October 12-18: THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, Nine Bridges, Jeju Island, Korea • October 19-25: ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club, Chiba Prefecture, Japan • October 26-November 1: World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions, Sheshan International Golf Club, Shanghai, China • October 26-November 1: Bermuda Championship, Port Royal Golf Course, Southampton, Bermuda • November 2-8: Houston Open, Memorial Park Golf Course, Houston, Texas • November 9-15: Masters Tournament, Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia • November 16-22: The RSM Classic, Sea Island Resort (Seaside and Plantation), Sea Island, Georgia • November 23-29: Open week (Thanksgiving) • November 30-December 6: Mayakoba Golf Classic, El Camaleón Golf Club, Playa del Carmen, Mexico • # November 30-December 6: Hero World Challenge, Albany, New Providence, Bahamas • # December 7-13: QBE Shootout, Tiburón GC, Naples, Florida • # December 14-20: PNC Father-Son Challenge, The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes, Orlando, Florida # indicates unofficial event After 10 years, A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier will no longer be on the PGA TOUR’s schedule, as per a mutual agreement by The Greenbrier and the PGA TOUR. “We are very grateful to Governor Jim Justice and his Greenbrier Resort for a highly successful 10 years of partnership with the PGA TOUR,� said Pazder. “Governor Justice’s vision and leadership helped shine a light on the men and women that serve our country through the military and first responder programs he implemented through the tournament, and The Greenbrier Resort was an incredibly unique and world-class venue that our players will always remember and cherish.� Please see link for statement from The Greenbrier Korn Ferry Tour Schedule In addition to the PGA TOUR’s schedule modifications, the Korn Ferry Tour announced the postponement of the Evans Scholars Invitational (May 18-24), as well as the cancellation of the REX Hospital Open (May 25-31), BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation (June 1-7) and Live + Work in Maine Open (June 8-14). The Tour will return to competition with a new tournament to be contested in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, the week of June 8-14. The $600,000 event will be held at TPC Sawgrass (Dye’s Valley Course) and operated by the Korn Ferry Tour without fans in attendance. The Dye’s Valley Course served as host of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship from 2013 through 2015. Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada The Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada is postponing the first six scheduled events of its 2020 season. The tournaments affected are the Canada Life Open in Vancouver (May 28-31); the DCBank Open presented by Times Colonist in Victoria (June 4-7); the GolfBC Championship in Kelowna (June 11-14); the Lethbridge Paradise Canyon Open in Lethbridge (June 25-28); the Prince Edward Island Pro-Am in Cardigan (July 2-5); and the Osprey Valley Open outside Toronto, in Caledon (July 9-12). The Mackenzie Tour expects to make more announcements in the next couple weeks with additional information about the 2020 schedule, as well as Qualifying Tournament sites and dates. PGA TOUR Champions, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica and PGA TOUR Series-China Information regarding PGA TOUR Champions and the PGA TOUR’s other two International Tours, in Latin America and China, will be announced in the coming weeks.

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