Power Rankings: World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions

Chesson Hadley … If there’s a table on the PGA TOUR on which the 32-year-old is going to push all of his chips into its center, it’s in Vegas. Of course it is. Although he won the Puerto Rico Open in 2014, he’s earned more at the Shriners than at any other stop on the schedule. It’s the only tournament at which he’s recorded as many as three top 10s. That includes in each of the last two editions. He also has a streak of seven straight sub-70s on TPC Summerlin. And now he’s fresh off a T23 at Silverado where he scored par or better in every round and ranked highly in all ball-striking metrics. Nick Taylor … While not as impressive as Hadley’s résumé at TPC Summerlin, of all of the courses where the Canadian has made at least three appearances, this is the only site where he hasn’t missed a cut. And this is his sixth trip. His best finish is but a T25 in 2015, but his scoring average is a sporty 69.40. That kind of expectation defined his 2018-19 season during which he went 21-for-28 with four top 25s. He arrives having just polished off a front-loaded T10 at Silverado, his best individual performance in over 13 months. Denny McCarthy … Back already for another appearance on this page. He opened the season as a Sleeper for A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier and responded with a T31. He answered that with a T18 at the Sanderson Farms Championship before taking last week off. The 26-year-old paced the PGA TOUR last season in Strokes Gained: Putting. He’s seventh in the early going in 2019-20, but his ball-striking is measurably improved. It’s a small sample size to be certain, but no matter the data set, it’s always better than the alternative. Placed T15 at TPC Summerlin last year. Bronson Burgoon … Wait a sec. He arrived at the Safeway Open with a trio of top-six finishes and a pair of T19s in his previous six starts combined on two tours, and just now he’s appearing as a Sleeper? You betcha! He missed the cut at Silverado by two strokes, and he’s 0-for-2 at TPC Summerlin (2015, 2018), but if there’s one thing we’ve come to expect from him during his brief career, it’s that he possesses a propensity to pop with less notice than most of his peers. So, now that he’s been on a heater and fully exempt after meeting the terms of his medical extension at Greenbrier, he’s freer than ever before to get after it. Mark Hubbard … Others fresh off the Korn Ferry Tour Finals have made more noise early on, but he’s nipping on their heels. Currently 19th in the FedExCup standings with a T10 at Greenbrier and a T13 at Silverado. He’s connected for six top 25s in his last eight starts across two tours. His most important weapon has proven to be his putter, but he’s also well above average in splitting fairways. While his putting bails out poor approaches, when he hits greens in regulation, he goes for a high percentage of par breakers. Meanwhile, despite a seemingly deficient iron game, he led the KFT in par-3 scoring average in 2019. TPC Summerlin’s quartet of one-shotters is among the easiest set on the schedule, so the 30-year-old has all kinds of reasons to feels jolts of confidence in his fourth appearance in the tournament. 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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NOTE: If you play PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO, the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship begins on Thursday. It’s the second of five majors on the circuit and the first of three with a cut. See the possibilities at the bottom of the page to assist you in determining your pick. In a fantasy world not all that long ago, you’d have burned Zach Johnson at the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational and Steve Stricker at the John Deere Classic, collected your FedExCup points or earnings and coasted into the following week on a heater. But as all good things come to an end, so did that exacta. Turning the page can be difficult – just ask full-season gamers who drafted Tiger Woods in the last couple of years – but it’s necessary. In fact, it’s a prerequisite for success and it embodies the essence of why fantasy sports are so important to the general fan base. It doesn’t mean that we still can’t root for ZJ and Stricker (and Woods) as fans, but our objective of defeating our competition is the only goal in fantasy. Colonial Country Club has been very, very good to Johnson. He’s 11-for-11 with two wins, a total of five top 10s and sits atop the tournament’s all-time money list, but he’s not a recommendation for even two-man gamers this week. Save him for your No. 1 or 2 slot when the JDC rolls around in mid-July as he replaced Stricker as the main man in their native region. The love for Jason Dufner among my fellow little leaguers is obvious and warranted. He’ll do just fine in bridging you to next week, if not reigniting the feels that ZJ once sparked. Note that this is the last regular PGA TOUR event among Dufner’s suggested Future Possibilities, so it’s nice when decisions are that easy. Colonial member Ryan Palmer is at worst the tail of the tandem for two-man gamers. His level of comfort and course knowledge is second to none. In the entirety of the season, Colonial is the only track at which he’d contend to be the pick in a classic one-and-done game like what’s offered at PGATOUR.COM, but due to how deep we are into 2016-17, he’s even more attractive to plug this gap. Giants such as defending champion Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia present better elsewhere, although I’d be a fool to pretend to talk you out of Spieth if you’re in an earnings-based format. Now that he’s decided to go back to his old putter for the DEAN & DELUCA, it’s a splendid time to pounce as you know some of your opposition won’t be in the know and mesmerized by his 0-for-2 “rut.” As for me, I’ve had my eye on Kevin Kisner for a while. It’s time to pull the trigger. You may recall that I was sizing him up for THE PLAYERS, but veered toward Garcia instead. Other than a mini-slump upon arrival, Kisner checks all of the boxes in terms of course fit and success. What’s most exciting is how he’s proven that the past is the past and it doesn’t dictate the future, so his little skid worries me zero. In addition to Palmer, two-man gamers should give long looks at Bud Cauley, Kyle Reifers, Nick Taylor and Sung Kang. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2016-17. All are pending golfer commitment. Jason Bohn … Greenbrier Paul Casey … Travelers; WGC-Bridgestone; TOUR Championship Jason Dufner … DEAN & DELUCA; U.S. Open; TOUR Championship Harris English … DEAN & DELUCA Tony Finau … Memorial Sergio Garcia … Open Championship; TOUR Championship Bill Haas … Wyndham Charley Hoffman … DEAN & DELUCA; Travelers; Canadian Billy Horschel … St. Jude; TOUR Championship Zach Johnson … DEAN & DELUCA; John Deere; Open Championship; WGC-Bridgestone; TOUR Championship Chris Kirk … DEAN & DELUCA Kevin Kisner … DEAN & DELUCA; Wyndham Matt Kuchar … DEAN & DELUCA; Memorial; Canadian; WGC-Bridgestone Martin Laird … Barracuda Marc Leishman … DEAN & DELUCA; Memorial; Travelers; Open Championship Graeme McDowell … Open Championship; WGC-Bridgestone; Wyndham William McGirt … Memorial (defending); Wyndham Phil Mickelson … St. Jude; Open Championship; PGA Championship Bryce Molder … DEAN & DELUCA; Greenbrier Ryan Moore … Travelers; John Deere (defending); TOUR Championship Ryan Palmer … DEAN & DELUCA; St. Jude Scott Piercy … John Deere; BMW Webb Simpson … Greenbrier; Wyndham Brandt Snedeker … DEAN & DELUCA; U.S. Open; Travelers; Canadian; Wyndham Jordan Spieth … DEAN & DELUCA (defending); John Deere; WGC-Bridgestone; PGA Championship; TOUR Championship Kevin Streelman … Memorial Boo Weekley … St. Jude; Barbasol CHAMPIONS ONE & DONE POSSIBILITIES KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship Trump National Golf Club’s Championship Course in Virginia hosts for the first time. It’s a par 72 measuring 7,130 yards. The tournament’s purse of $2.8 million is tied for second-largest of the season. Only the U.S. Senior Open Championship at $3.75 million is greater. Golfers listed alphabetically. Rob’s serious considerations in bold. Stephen Ames … Chased his breakthrough win with top 20s in the last two. Hasn’t yet recorded a top 10 in a major. Tommy Armour III … The tour’s longest hitter has just one top 10 on the season (T2, Insperity). John Daly … Answered his breakthrough title at the Insperity Invitational with a T32 at the Regions Tradition, and that required a closing 65. Carlos Franco … Eighth in earnings but it’s a top-heavy season with a T2 at the Allianz Championship in February and a victory alongside Vijay Singh at the Bass Pro Shops Legends. Fred Funk … The tour’s most accurate driver has a T3, a T2 and a T4 in his last four starts, but he hasn’t recorded a top 10 in the Senior PGA since his debut in 2009. Jay Haas … Two-time winner (2006, 2008) has a total of five top-three finishes in this tournament in which he’s second on the all-time money list. Two top 10s in individual competition in 2017. Lee Janzen … Ranks 21st on the money list despite just one top 10 at the season opener at Hualalai. Miguel Angel Jiménez … A third-round 74 at the Regions Tradition (T20) thwarted a sixth consecutive top 10, but it’s his only score or par or worse all year. Bernhard Langer … Picked up his eighth career title in a major at last week’s Regions Tradition. The Senior PGA Championship is the only major on the PGA TOUR Champions that he hasn’t won. Tom Lehman … The 2010 champ is 11th on the 2017 money list with a win and no worse than a T16 in his last five starts. T6 at last week’s Regions Tradition. Ranks second in ball-striking. Scott McCarron … Fulfilled the expectation last week with a co-runner-up. Second in earnings this season with a win and another three top-six finishes. Rocco Mediate … The defending champion but on a different course. Only one top 20 in his last seven starts and sits 42nd in earnings. Colin Montgomerie … In three starts in this tournament, he has two wins and a runner-up. Arrives in uncharacteristically pedestrian form, however, and slots 44th on the money list. Kenny Perry … Only one finish outside a top 20 in his last eight starts. Currently sixth on the money list. Gene Sauers … Ranks third on the PGA TOUR Champions in ball-striking and leads in one-putt percentage. No top 10s in four starts in this tournament, but has four this season. T10 last week. Vijay Singh … Tournament debut. After winning the Ball Pro Shops Legends with Carlos Franco, settled for solo 64th at last week’s Region’s Tradition. Jeff Sluman … Hasn’t missed a major since turning 50 in 2007. Seven top 25s this season. Kevin Sutherland … While his top-10 streak ended at nine with last week’s T13, he’s now gone over 13 months without finishing outside a top 20. Fifth in earnings, highest among non-winners. David Toms … Quietly humming along at 18th on the money list. T6 at the Regions Tradition marked his major debut on the circuit. Kirk Triplett … Two top 10s and another pair of top 20s in four starts in this tournament. Strong major record overall. Four top 10s this season. Duffy Waldorf … Solid season features three top 10s and another three top 20s, but he’s converted on just two top 10s in majors since 2014.

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Similar to Rory McIlroy and the Masters, the U.S. Open is the one major Phil Mickelson has yet to win. Can he build on recent momentum to snap the drought next week at Shinnecock Hills?

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