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The Power 18 golf rankings: Rory McIlroy opens in top spot as 2023 PGA Tour season kicks into high gear

detlef32 — Mon, 02 Jan 2023 18:46:48 +0000

McIlroy hasn’t finished outside the top 10 in a tournament since the last edition of The Power 18, which came out prior to the St. Jude Championship. Since then, all the world No. 1 has done is win the FedEx Cup, DP World Tour Championship and CJ Cup in South Carolina — his lone start of the 2023 PGA Tour season. Not yet a cut above the rest of the world of golf, McIlroy is beginning to approach such territory. In 2022, the 33-year-old averaged a career best +2.61 strokes gained per round. For reference, that’s even better than 2012 when he won five times and 2014 when he won his last two major championships. Major championships … that’s all McIlroy will be judged on moving forward (fair or not) as he has remained on No. 4 for nearly a decade. Let’s see if that changes in 2023. Previous rank: 1 2

Statistically, Rahm’s sixth year on the PGA Tour was actually a down campaign as he averaged +2.20 strokes gained per round and underperformed compared to his three prior seasons. A boggling statistic to wrap your head around, the Spaniard was still able to win three times worldwide, including the DP World Tour finale to cap off his year. Four additional top-five finishes accompanied his triumphs with runner-up efforts coming at the Tournament of Champions and the BMW PGA Championship. HIs short game was dormant for much of 2022, but the good news is he made significant strides, particularly with the putter, during the FedEx Cup Playoffs. This led to a fast finish to his year, and potentially, a fast start to 2023. Previous rank: 10 3

The world No. 4 was held without a solo victory for much of 2022. Losing in playoffs at the WM Phoenix Open and RBC Heritage, Cantlay added another runner-up finish to Finau at the Rocket Mortgage Classic before breaking through in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Becoming the first man to successfully defend a postseason event, Cantlay got the better of Schauffele and Scheffler at the BMW Championship. Playing only once in the swing season, the 30-year-old arrived on the 72nd tee of the Shriners Children’s Open tied for the lead with Tom Kim before an unfortunate triple bogey led to another runner-up effort. I have him pegged for a four-, maybe five-, win season in 2023, and I think it starts at the Tournament of Champions. Previous rank: 3 4

In a young man’s game, Finau continues to reinvent the wheel. Employing a new putting technique and adding an off-speed pitch off-the-tee to consistently find fairways, the 33-year-old finds himself firmly among the game’s elites. Just a little more than a year removed from being in a five-year winless drought, Finau has now captured four wins in his last two years. This includes his current stretch of play that features three victories in seven starts with his latest victory coming at the Houston Open to end his 2022. Lapping the field and ultimately cruising to victory, Finau displayed a different gear that may drive him to further distances in 2023. Previous rank: 6 5

Over his last 50 rounds, Schauffele ranks third in the world in total strokes gained. Capturing seven top-five finishes during this 13-event stretch, the 29-year-old has parlayed his impressive consistency with new hardware and plenty of big checks. Schauffele finished solo fourth at the Tour Championship before playing alongside his friend, Cantlay, at the Presidents Cup. Similar to Cantlay, Schauffele played only once during the PGA Tour’s swing season with it resulting in a T9 effort at the Zozo Championship. He has since collected a solo fourth-place finish at the Hero World Challenge and arrives at Kapalua for the Tournament of Champions high on the lists of many. Previous rank: 4 6

Since missing the cut at the St. Jude Championship, Scheffler has teed it up six times to varying results. Squandering his 54-hole lead at the Tour Championship, the Texan went onto lose his world No. 1 status two months later to the same man who got the better of him at East Lake. A switch back to his old putter over the weekend at the World Wide Technology Championship saw him finish T3 before a T9 result at the Houston Open to cap off his 2022 PGA Tour year. With a chance to momentarily regain the title of world No. 1, Scheffler came up just short to Hovland for the second straight time at Hero World Challenge. He entered 2022 winless and with plenty to prove. Now, 12 months later, his floor and ceiling may never be higher, and anything short of a multiple-win season may be considered a disappointment. Previous rank: 5 7

Sneakily one of the best limited-field, no-cut event players on the PGA Tour, Thomas has a prime opportunity to kick off his 2023 in style at this week’s Tournament of Champions. Twice a winner at Kapalua, the 29-year-old enters the calendar year hoping for his first multiple-win season since 2020. His iron play was slightly below historical norms in 2022, and with a resurgence from the putter early last year, the PGA Championship winner appeared as dangerous as ever. Experiencing some regression on the greens over the last six months, Thomas is without a top-10 finish in a full-field event since the Canadian Open in June. Previous rank: 8 8

The kid wins. With seven worldwide victories since February 2020, Hovland comes into 2023 looking to add a higher quality to his triumphs. Successfully defending his Hero World Challenge title in early December, the 25-year-old returns to action at another coastal, resort-style course in The Plantation Course at Kapalua. He hasn’t done much here in the past with finishes of T30 and T31, but improvements to his short game since the Scottish Open have been apparent. If those persist, the Norwegian’s stock will only continue to rise. Previous rank: 16 9

The Englishman has been one of the more active players since the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Losing in a playoff to Robert MacIntyre at the Italian Open, Fitzpatrick entered the DP World Tour Championship with a chance to win the season-long race in Europe. Leading the tournament at the halfway point, he ultimately fell off the pace to finish T5 on the week and second to McIlroy on the season. Despite this disappointment, 2022 can be chalked up as a success as Fitzpatrick broke through for his first professional victory on American soil at the U.S. Open. Putting his new-found distance on full display, this added skillset should pay dividends once again in 2023. Previous rank: 7 10

Will there be a sophomore slump for Young? That is the question one has to ask as the reigning PGA Tour Rookie of the Year was simply terrific in his first campaign on tour. Collecting seven podium finishes including a T3 at the PGA Championship and runner-up at The Open, he appeared to run out of steam throughout the FedEx Cup Playoffs. His father (and swing coach) has left his post at Sleepy Hollow to travel with him full time, and perhaps that will be the difference between winning and coming up just short in 2023. Previous rank: 11 11

His fellow countryman, Kim, took the world by storm at the end of 2022; however, for my money, Im remains the best South Korean player in the world. The 24-year-old possessed a share of the lead at the Tour Championship late on Sunday, and if not for a costly double bogey on his 14th hole, could have conceivably won the FedEx Cup. He has since added a solo seventh at the Shriners Children’s Open in a title defense and a T8 at the Hero World Challenge. Im enters 2022 with only two wins to his name, but is an ideal candidate to follow in the footsteps of Scheffler and Cameron Smith in breaking out in a major fashion. Previous rank: 14 12

In the 2021 season, Homa won his hometown event. In the 2022 season, he won twice, finished top five at the Tour Championship and competed for Team USA at the Presidents Cup. Already in the 2023 season, he has successfully defended his Fortinet Championship title and looks to be a candidate to make yet another leap forward. His ball-striking is top notch and he continues to make strides with his short game thanks to putting coach Phil Kenyon and the implementation of Aim Point. Previous rank: 17 13

Winless worldwide in 2022, Morikawa has gone searching for answers. The two-time major champion is leaving no stone unturned and even hired a putting coach of his own towards the end of the year. Despite the lack of new hardware, Morikawa’s 2022 season (+1.41 strokes gained per round) was the exact same as his 2021 when he won three times including The Open. If he stays on this course and continues to lean on his world-class iron play, the rest will come. Previous rank: 18 14

And just like that, Kim has risen to 15th in the OWGR. Since breaking through at the Wyndham Championship, the 20-year-old has added another victory at the Shriner Children’s Open and stole the show at the Presidents Cup. Unlike most modern players, Kim isn’t impressively long and this may hinder his chances at certain golf courses as he progresses throughout his career. Still, the start has been nothing short of stellar and I am more than happy to be along for the ride. Previous rank: NR 15

Zalatoris is officially back (no pun intended). Capturing his first PGA Tour victory at the St. Jude Championship, he was forced to withdraw during the BMW Championship due to a slipped disc in his back. Forgoing the Presidents Cup and delaying his timetable for return — he was originally set to play at the Hero World Challenge — the 26-year-old is likely to show some competitive rust at Kapalua. Once he overcomes this, he will return to the top of leaderboards with consistency as he finished his 2022 posting +1.06 strokes gained approach per round, tops on the PGA Tour. Previous rank: 7 16

Burns is following a similar path to Thomas in that he fell flat in the latter stages of 2022. Winning three times in the 2021-22 campaign, his season as a whole was a success, but the current state of his game may be up in the air. In his last 20 rounds, Burns ranks 111th in strokes gained tee to green and 127th in strokes gained approach. He remains one of the best putters in the world, and while this club may be able to carry him some weeks, it is clear why he has been going through some struggles as of late. Previous rank: 13 17

The burly Irishman went through his 2022 PGA Tour season without a win before rectifying the situation in Europe. Winning a shortened BMW PGA Championship, Lowry successfully fended off McIlroy and Rahm to win the DP World Tour’s flagship event. This past year was statistically the best season of his career as he posted +1.48 strokes gained per round and notched 12 top-20 finishes in 25 starts. If he continues to play like this, Lowry should have plenty of opportunities in 2023 to win on American soil for the first time since 2015. Previous rank: 15 18

Spieth is one of the most intriguing players in 2023. A winner the past two seasons, the three-time major champion has climbed out a hole and returned to relevance on the PGA Tour. The next step for Spieth is to claim an elevated event or perhaps even another major championship. Over the last 12 months, the Texans ranks inside the top 35 in the world in each tee to green metric. The outlier? His putting, which ranks 118th. If that club becomes a friend in 2023, Spieth will inch towards his pre-2018 self. Previous rank: 9

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2022 Bermuda Championship: Seamus Power earns second career victory, enters Ryder Cup conversation

detlef32 — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 00:29:48 +0000

While the LIV Golf Championship wound down with $34 million on the line between 16 golfers in Miami on Sunday, Seamus Power had something even more valuable at stake one time zone east of where Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed were busy winning the $16 million first prize at LIV Miami.

Power shot a roller coaster of a 70 in the final round of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship to go with three consecutive 65s to start the week and beat Thomas Detry by a single shot. The win gets Power into next year’s Masters (he’s only played in one in his career), moves him up from his impressive No. 48 spot in the Official World Golf Rankings, nets him 500 FedEx Cup points and, perhaps most intriguing of all, officially puts him on the 2023 Ryder Cup watch list.

The Irishman went out in 33 on Sunday but came home with four bogeys (including three in his last four holes!) and a 37 that could have upended his chances. However, his main competitor in the final round in Bermuda, Ben Griffin, had an even wackier back nine as he shot a 4-over 39 on the back with two birdies, four bogeys and a double.

“Delighted to get it done,” the affable European said after his round. “… absolutely delighted.”

The win is Power’s second on the PGA Tour — he also took the Barbasol Championship in 2021. But don’t let the quality of victory obfuscate what has been a terrific rise for somebody who doesn’t get as much run as fellow countryman Shane Lowry but could possibly a teammate of Lowry’s come Rom next September.

“Completely different feeling but just as special,” said the 35-year-old after his win. “It’s so hard. I play a lot of tournaments and this is only my second. It’s amazing it’s special. It’s going to take a while to sink in, but absolutely over the moon.”

In 2019 Power was a (well) below average PGA Tour player who was averaging -1.0 strokes per round, but in each of the last three seasons he’s improved to the point that he’s now hanging out in the statistical neighborhood with golfers like Jason Day, Paul Casey, Jordan Spieth and Adam Scott.

Perhaps even more impressively, Power came into this week’s Bermuda Championship as one of the handful of favorites to win … and then he won. That’s one of the hardest things in golf to do, and now the question is whether he can move from being a good lower-tier PGA Tour player to competitive with the big boys in the most important events.

In 2022, Power qualified for all four major championships and had two top 12s and three top 30s in his four starts. This is encouraging and a sign of his tremendous growth as a golfer over the last several years.

Power could go a number of different directions from here. Perhaps he’ll remain as a good but not great PGA Tour golfer. Perhaps he’ll make yet another leap in 2023, contend in more majors and notch his first Ryder Cup experience in Rome. Perhaps somewhere in the middle of those two realities is where he’ll eventually land. Regardless, his win in Bermuda on Sunday was a reminder of just how far he’s jumped in such a short timespan and what that could mean for his suddenly surging career.

We’ve got reaction and analysis to the Bermuda Butterfield Championship and LIV Miami. Follow and listen to The First Cut podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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2022 Bermuda Championship scores: Seamus Power, Ben Griffin share Round 3 lead at Port Royal

detlef32 — Sun, 30 Oct 2022 01:07:13 +0000

SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda (AP) — Seamus Power knows the wind and Port Royal well enough to realize he’d better do his scoring early. He did just that Saturday, added a few birdies late and had another 6-under 65 to share the lead with Ben Griffin in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

Power holed a 30-foot birdie putt on the daunting par-3 16th and made a 12-foot birdie on the par-5 17th to atone for his lone mistake, a double bogey on the par-3 13th.

Griffin followed the same script in a strong wind with three birdies to open his round. He kept his approach under the wind on the 18th to 5 feet for birdie and a 66.

They were at 18-under 195, two shots clear of Kevin Yu (67) and Aaron Baddeley (68).

Power at No. 48 is the highest-ranked player at Port Royal.

The 35-year-old Irishman is no stranger to windy conditions and has played the Bermuda Championship the last few years.

“I knew I had to get birdies before 11,” Power said.

He made four in a row early and was 6 under for the day until a missed green and bad chips led to a double bogey on the 13th.

“One mistake. The wind drifted it a crazy amount,” Power said. “But I was able to hang in there and it puts me in a good spot going to tomorrow.”

The 16th is the toughest tee because the green is just right of the ocean and the wind was ripping from left to right.

“I don’t know how comfortable you get when you get to 16 and you’re having to aim your ball in the ocean,” Power said with a laugh. The shot finished pin-high on the right side of the green to a left flag, and the putt crept in the low side of the hole.

Power has one PGA Tour victory, the Barbasol Championship in Kentucky last year. He would love nothing more than a win for a strong early start to the PGA Tour and to assure his spot in the Masters.

For Griffin, even more as at stake.

He gave up on the game a few years ago and was working as a loan mortgage officer when he was inspired playing in a member-guest, and the members put up money for him to Monday qualify into a Korn Ferry Tour event.

That was the start of baby steps — making it through Korn Ferry Tour qualifying, and then last year earning his full card onto the PGA Tour.

A victory Sunday comes with a two-year exemption.

“It’s been surreal really the last year and two months of just being comfortable on the golf course and just going out and trying to win,” Griffin said. “When you’re playing mini-tour events and you’re trying to grind for top 10 just to break even, just have enough money to maybe do a Monday qualifier, it’s not necessarily the easiest in terms.

“Now that I have this little bit of freedom, I can go out there and just try to win golf tournaments.”

Ben Crane, whose last win was in 2014, started the third round with a one-shot lead and stumbled down the closing stretch with four bogeys in a five-hole stretch before he birdied the last hole for a 73. He fell six shots behind.

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2022 Presidents Cup teams: Breaking down how new-look United States may power through international side

detlef32 — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 21:58:22 +0000

The 2022 Presidents Cup has finally returned after a three-year hiatus created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Last seen at Royal Melbourne in Australia during the winter of 2019, a highly-contested bout between an underdog international group and a favored United States squad played out in dramatic fashion.

With the international team taking a two-point edge into Sunday singles, any and all results were still on the table. The U.S. team, led by playing captain Tiger Woods, pulled off the comeback down under, winning the Sunday session to the tune of 8 to 4 and the overall match 16 to 14. Bettering its record to 11-1-1 in the history of the Presidents Cup, it was thought the U.S. had finally been caught in terms of skill, analytical prowess and strategy in this competition.

Fast forward to the present and not only are new faces present, the aura around the event has changed. The upstart international side is no longer a pesky underdog but rather a team holding on by the threads after LIV Golf poached key cornerstone pieces Abraham Ancer, Louis Oosthuizen, Cameron Smith and Joaquin Niemann.

In their place is a crop of young, hungry players hoping to prove captain Trevor Immelman correct and the wider golf public wrong. Tasked with defeating a stacked U.S. roster that features last week’s Fortinet Championship winner Max Homa, an array of major champions and a bevy of firepower, the international team is up against it.

Will the experience of Hideki Matsuyama and Adam Scott lead the international team in this David vs. Goliath matchup? How will young rookies Cameron Young and Sam Burns fare in their first U.S. appearance? Is there anyway this will be a competitive contest? The answers to these questions lie on the shoulders of 24 men and based on their play, the answers may vary.

2022 United States Presidents Cup team

Scottie Scheffler	1	2-0-1	2nd	—
Patrick Cantlay	4	6-2-1	3rd	T33
Xander Schauffele	5	6-3-0	3rd	T14
Justin Thomas	7	12-4-3	5th	1st
Collin Morikawa	9	3-0-1	2nd	—
Sam Burns	12	0-0-0	1st	T55
Jordan Spieth	13	16-12-4	8th	T28
Tony Finau	14	3-4-3	4th	T16
Billy Horschel	15	0-0-0	1st	T33
Max Homa	16	0-0-0	1st	1st
Cameron Young	18	0-0-0	1st	—
Kevin Kisner	25	2-0-2	2nd	T6

After Homa’s win in Napa and Kevin Kisner’s slight rise, all 12 U.S. players find themselves inside the top 25 of the Official World Golf Rankings. Coming in at an average of 11.6, it is a stout front that is sure to give the internationals all they can handle. Despite this depth of talent, it is a relatively young group in terms of experience.

With neither Woods nor Dustin Johnson at the helm, it is Jordan Spieth who has become the headman in the locker room. Taking on this leadership role alongside his good friend Justin Thomas, the two will have combined for 13 U.S. appearances between them all before turning 30.

This equals the number of appearances of Homa, Kisner, Young, Burns, Billy Horschel, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Cantlay. Thomas should have fond memories of Quail Hollow Club as he notched his first PGA Championship victory here in 2017. Homa collected his first PGA Tour win in Charlotte as well, but outside of them and Kisner, the other nine have yet to collect a top-10 result.

So, while on paper this U.S. team should roll to a convincing victory, there are certainly cracks in its armor that the international could expose. Needing only five new additions since the 2021 Ryder Cup, current form, continuity and home course advantage all lie in the hands of the U.S. but so do heavy expectations.

2022 International Presidents Cup team

Hideki Matsuyama	17	6-7-4	5th	T5
Sungjae Im	19	3-1-1	2nd	T31
Tom Kim	22	0-0-0	1st	—
Corey Conners	26	0-0-0	1st	T42
Adam Scott	30	16-22-6	10th	3rd
K.H. Lee	43	0-0-0	1st	T58
Mito Pereira	49	0-0-0	1st	MC
Sebastian Munoz	63	0-0-0	1st	T38
Cameron Davis	66	0-0-0	1st	T26
Christiaan Bezuidenhout	67	0-0-0	1st	—
Si Woo Kim	76	1-2-0	2nd	MC
Taylor Pendrith	109	0-0-0	1st	—

The turnover from 2019 is glaring as Matsuyama, Scott and Sungjae Im are the only players who competed at Royal Melbourne. Factor in Si Woo Kim’s participation at Liberty National in 2017, and the South Korean rounds out the short list of players who have been members of past international teams.

Scott is set to play in his 10th Presidents Cup as he has been a mainstay in the competition since the early 2000s. Playing his way into the Tour Championship from outside the top 70, the Australian is in fine form and is still in search of his first team victory as his debut came in the 17-17 tie of 2003.

With little team experience under their belts and an average world ranking of 48.9, I wouldn’t say the internationals are completely done for as they faced a similar task in 2019. Half have won on the PGA Tour over the last two seasons with Tom Kim’s victory at the 2022 Wyndham Championship being the most recent. His fellow countryman, Im, ran rapid in the Tour Championship, nearly stole the FedEx Cup from Rory McIlroy and will have to serve as the catalyst if they are to pull off the improbable.

Im, Matsuyama and Scott will most likely play in each session as will Conners despite being a first timer. Captain Immelman will have to rely on what little experience he has and marry it with the scoring abilities of Munoz, Lee, Davis among others. If able to effectively do this, there is a path to victory — albeit a narrow one.

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