After a weekend of beer bath, ace and topless celebration At the biggest party of the season at the WM Phoenix Open, the PGA Tour returns to normal with this week’s Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club.
Scottie Scheffler became the winner for the third time in a row on the tour, beating Patrick Cantlay in a sudden death playoff with a 26-foot long throw Sunday at TPC Scottsdale. He joined List of Luke (Opens Farmer’s Insurance) and Tom Hoge (AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am) is the new champion. This is the first time the tour has had three winners for the first time in a row since 2019.
Get ESPN+ here | Download the app | WatchESPN
A lot has changed in this week’s PGA Tour Power Ranking, including the No. 1 spot. Just to reiterate this isn’t necessarily the 25 most talented players in the world or the 25 greatest players. best on tour. They are the 25 who have played the best this season and are in the best form right now.
first. Patrick Cantlay
Previous rating: 5
Even with Sunday’s playoff loss, one could argue the defending PGA Tour Player of the Year is playing better than anyone right now – even the world No. Jon Rahm. After finishing second at the WM Phoenix Open, Cantlay finished in the top five in 21 of the 24 rounds played. According to research by ESPN Stats & Information, only one other player in the past 20 seasons has had such a stretch: Tiger Woods. Cantlay has six consecutive top 10 finishes since his straight wins in the FedEx Cup knockouts late last season.
2. Jon Rahm
Previous Rating: 1
The Spaniard is about to start his 38th week at world No. 1 after taking 10th at TPC Scottsdale, his fourth top 15 in multiple PGA Tours starting in 2022. Rahm would have to finish 1st for more than a decade to catch up to Woods’ record of 679 weeks at the top of the Official World Golf Rankings.
3. Collin Morikawa
Previous Rating: 3
Morikawa has returned from the Middle East and is scheduled to play at the Riviera Country Club, which will be his first game on the US mainland since taking the runner-up at The CJ Cup at Summit in mid-May. 10. The Los Angeles-born player did not finish better than 26th in his two starts at the Genesis Invitational. He hit the ball well last year, hitting almost 2 strokes per round from tee to pitch, but his shot was terrifying, that’s why he finished in No. 43 in the draw.
4. Viktor Hovland
Previous Rating: 2
The Norwegian has become one of the hottest golfers on the planet, having won three of his previous five starts on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. But he missed his chance at the WM Phoenix Open after hitting a streak of 15th-place water shots in the second round, knocking him out at the weekend. He finished fifth with 7 under at the Riviera last year.
5. Justin Thomas
Previous Rank: 4
Thomas finished fifth in his top 20 in multiple PGA Tours starting this season with an eighth draw at the WM Phoenix Open. He has missed opportunities in his previous two starts at the Riviera, after finishing his second solo there in 2019, 1 shot behind the winner JB Holmes. When asked about being ranked 7th in the world last week, JT said, “I was trying to stop looking because, yes, that pissed me off too. I wasn’t happy at all that I was 7th. I was. I feel that way. I’m much better than that and I’ve worked harder to try to do that.”
6. Hideki Matsuyama
Previous Rating: 6
Few players have had a better record at TPC Scottsdale than Matsuyama, who won there in 2016 and 2017. He broke into another top 10 on Sunday, drawing eighth, after going one-handed. racing in the first two laps with a total of 11 fairways. fight. Twenty First Group’s Phil Allen noted that Matsuyama had 29 rounds in his 60s there – the most since 2014 – and that 32 of his 33 rounds at the Phoenix Open were par or more.
7. Scottie Scheffler
Previous Rank: 14
It was only a matter of time before the former Texas star closed in on his first PGA Tour win, and it finally happened on Sunday, when he beat Cantlay in the playoffs. He was 3-under 36 holes and was led by 9 shots. This is the biggest 36-hole comeback at the WM Phoenix Open since it moved to TPC Scottsdale in 1987, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information. Scheffler had a ninth under 62 in round two in Phoenix, which was the fifth round of his career with 62 or less. Of course, his career low round is 59 at Northern Trust 2020.
8. Rory McIlroy
Previous Rating: 7
McIlroy hasn’t played in the US since winning the CJ Cup at Summit. He will debut on tour this year in the Riviera. He finished top 5 in a row in Genesis before missing out last year.
9. Cameron Smith
Previous Rank: 8
The Australian player had a week off after finishing fourth at the Saudi Arabia International. He is expected to play in the Genesis Invitational.
ten. Dustin Johnson
Previous Rank: 9
It’s hard to believe it’s been 456 days since the DJ last won the PGA Tour – the Masters 2020 took place in November. Can he get back on track at the Riviera? He has a top 10 out of 14 starts there, including a win in 2020.
11. Xander Schauffele
Previous Rank: 10
Schauffele was right in the mix once again in Phoenix, even after a cactus run and the loss of regular hitter, Austin Kaiser, who tested positive for COVID-19 on on Wednesday. Schauffele has urged his former teammate at the State of Long Beach, Kevin “Tech” Techakanokboon, to pack his bags for him this weekend. Schauffele made too many mistakes in the long run to end a three-year drought without a tourney win. He finished the match in third place with a score of under 15.
twelfth. Will Zalatoris
Previous Rank: 11
Zalatoris did not play in Phoenix after he was forced to withdraw from the AT&T Pebble Pro-Am a week earlier after testing positive for COVID-19. In his first start at last year’s Genesis, he finished 15th with a score of 4 under, 8 strokes behind the winner. Max Homa.
13. Sungjae Im
Previous Rank: 15
The PGA Tour held a golf tournament last weekend and Sungjae Im didn’t participate. No one is sure exactly why, because Im enjoys playing – a lot. He missed the cut in his previous two starts at the Genesis Invitational in 2019 and 2020.
14. Jordan Spieth
Previous Rank: 12
Spieth continued to narrowly miss at Pebble Beach with a fairly normal start at TPC Scottsdale, drawing in 60th place with a parity score. Defensively, he may need a week to calm his nerves after his third-round shot on the hangman at Pebble Beach.
15. Sam Burns
Previous Rank: 13
The former LSU star has been hugely popular since the start of the 2021-22 season in September, but consecutive slips at the Insurance Farmers Open and the WM Phoenix Open have brought him down considerably. . He still has three top 10 finishes, including a win at the Sanderson Farms Championship.
16. Tom Hoge
Previous Rank: 17
A week after claiming his first PGA Tour win, in his 203rd career kickoff, at Pebble Beach, Hoge followed with another top 15 at TPC Scottsdale. The North Dakota native is having a remarkable run. In his past six starts, Hoge finished in fourth, missed, second solo, missed, first and tied 14th.
17. Brooks Koepka
Previous Rank: 19
After missing three of his previous four tour starts, Koepka finally picked up the pulse and competed for his third WM Phoenix Open title. He will become the only fifth player to win it three times, join Phil Mickelson, Bookmark Calcavecchia, Gene Littler and Arnold Palmer. He finished in third place, breaking into the top 20 for the first time in his past 11 tour starts.
18. Marc Leishman
Previous Rank: 18
The Australian has had a week off after finishing 28th in the Saudi Arabia International last week. He’s had five top 25 finishes in seven tours starting this season, including a third draw at the Shriners Children Open and the QBE Shootout, an unofficial event. He comes in at 32nd at Genesis in 2021.
19. Daniel Berger
Previous Rank: 16
After withdrawing from AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (he was the defending champion) due to a back injury, Berger missed the chance to play at TPC Scottsdale. He made 13 consecutive cuts, which is the longest running streak on tour. He hasn’t missed a weekend since the 2021 Masters.
20 Billy Horschel
Previous Rank: 22
After a slow start to the season, the former Florida star is starting to heat up. He placed 11th at the Farmers Open and sixth in Phoenix. He is skipping the Genesis Invitational after missing the cut in his last two starts at the Riviera.
21. Jason Kokrak
Previous Rank: 20
Kokrak won the Houston Open in November, his third win in 13 months. He’s had one of the better fall turns than anyone on tour. He’s made just two starts on the tour this year, finishing 38th in the Tournament of Champions and drawing with 17th in the Sony Open. He placed 45th at the Saudi Arabia International. He is scheduled to play in the Riviera.
22. Sahith Theegala
Previously Rated: Not Rated
The former Pepperdine star has done all he can to try to become the only player in the past 15 seasons to win a tournament with a sponsor waiver. His winning dream came to an end on Sunday when his tee shot at 17 had a bad bounce and went into the water, resulting in a hit. He finished the match in third place with a score of under 15. Theegala is the first player this season to have at least a 54-hole lead this season. He took a 1-shot lead at the Sandersons Farm Championships in October and finished eighth.
23. Max Homa
Previously Rated: Not Rated
The Genesis Invitational defending champion is starting to find his form again. He won the Fortinet Championship in September and then cooled down. He’s had two top 15 finishes in his previous three starts, including a 14th-place draw at Phoenix.
24. Matt Fitzpatrick
Previous Rank: 25
The Briton played very well in his first two games in 2022, finishing sixth at Pebble Beach and 10th at TPC Scottsdale. He finished fifth in last season’s Genesis Invitational.
25. Harold Varner III
Previous Rank: 21
HV3 is probably still celebrating his big win over Saudi Arabia, even after missing the game in Phoenix.
Who is out: Bryson DeChambeau, Tyrrell Hatton
Just missed the cut: DeChambeau, Hatton, Adam Hadwin, Corey Conners, Russell Henley, Brian Harman, Abraham Ancer, Louis Oosthuizen, Harris English, Patrick Reed, Webb Simpson, Matthew Wolff
