The next five
Here’s a look at the next five in the world rankings and their chances at golf’s unofficial fifth major.
6. Rory McIlroy
Remember that co-favorite that I mentioned earlier. That would be Rory McIlroy and it’s not difficult to see why that is. It’s true that he’s struggled to close out tournaments in the last year but overall, he’s playing as well as anyone in the world right now. The four-time major champion has teed it up in five tournaments thus far in 2019. His worst finish? A tie for sixth this past week at Bay Hill. He tied for fourth at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, tied for fifth at Torrey Pines, tied for fourth at the Genesis and finished runner-up to this week’s co-favorite, Dustin Johnson, in Mexico. That’s a nice start to a season.
Where the problem lies is McIlroy’s inconsistency at The Players. After missing the cut in his first three starts at Sawgrass, he strung together three consecutive top-eight finishes. He then tied for 12th in 2016 but has gotten progressively worse the last two years, finishing tied for 35th in 2017 and missing the weekend last year. It will be interesting to see how he starts in 2019. He’s in a dynamite group with Phil Mickelson and Matt Kuchar the first two days.
7. Francesco Molinari
Francesco Molinari is coming in hot to The Players Championship. Last year’s winner of The Open Championship had cracked the top 20 just once in six starts coming into last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational but got hot on Sunday at Bay Hill, firing eight birdies in a bogey-free round of 64 to take the title by two strokes, a win that also got him back into the top 10 in the world rankings.
Although the Italian superstar missed the cut at TPC Sawgrass a season ago, his previous three starts at The Players were T-6, T-7 and T-6. He knows how to go low on this golf course and could be a major factor come Sunday afternoon.
8. Xander Schauffele
Two years ago at this time, Xander Schauffele hadn’t even made it into the top 300 in the world rankings and didn’t even qualify for The Players Championship. A year later, he made his Players debut and tied for second. In 2019, here he is as a top-10 player in the world and the favorite of many to win this golf tournament.
If you’re not paying attention to this guy, wake up. This kid can play. He’s finished in the top 25 in his last eight starts, six of those finishes were 15th or higher and two of those were wins. Don’t be surprised whatsoever to see him hoisting that new trophy on Sunday.
9. Rickie Fowler
It’s crazy to think that we had to get all the way down to the ninth-ranked player in the world to find a past winner of The Players Championship but here we are with Rickie Fowler. Unfortunately still the biggest win of his career, Fowler was masterful in the final round in 2015, shooting an incredible five-under over the last four holes to get into a playoff with Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner.
After Sergio was eliminated after the three-hole aggregate, Fowler birdied the 17th yet again in sudden death, his fifth birdie on the island green in six tries that week, to close the door on Kisner. So it’s safe to say that Rickie Fowler knows what he’s doing around here. He’s been a little up and down in 2019 but did pick up a win in Phoenix and a runner-up at the Honda Classic. He’ll be good to go.
10. Jon Rahm
Jon Rahm has not played well in his only two starts at The Players Championship. He tied for 72nd in his debut in 2017 but did manage to at least jump up few spots last year, tying for 63rd. That’s not the type of history one would want coming into a golf tournament but Rahm has been playing spectacular golf.
Rahm did struggle a bit in his last outing, finishing in a tie for 45th at the WGC-Mexico but before that, he had reeled off seven consecutive top-10 finishes, including a win at the Hero World Challenge. He’ll need a strong start on Thursday to get his confidence going at a venue where he hasn’t had much success.