PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 AT&T Byron Nelson

We do a lot of DFS site specific coverage here at FantasyCPR, so in an effort to bring in new golf fans, and look at Fantasy Golf as a whole, I am excited to bring you my PGA Power Rankings for this weeks AT&T Byron Nelson.

This PGA Power Rankings article will cover the top 20 golfers for this event, and with each golfer will come a short blurb with some justification to their respective rankings. Before we do that, let’s touch briefly on the history of the this event.

PGA Power Rankings: AT&T Byron Nelson – Course and History

The Byron Nelson memorial tournament is in its 75th year in 2019, and has been sponsored by AT&T since 2015. This tournament was a rotating event for decades, taking place at different courses around the Dallas area for years.

Up until last season, this event had been getting steady run at TPC Four Seasons, dating back to 2008. However, it was moved to the new Trinity Forest Golf Club, also just outside of Dallas, for the first time last season.

With just one PGA tournament taking place here thus far, we obviously have a bunch of first timers here this week, and will need to rely more on stats and recent form for your daily fantasy golf purposes. Aaron Wise won last year, in impressive fashion as a matter fact. He shot all four rounds in the sixties, and finished 23-under par.

Joining Wise in the field this week, are eight of the top 30 currently in the FedEx Cup standings. Brooks Koepka is the favorite by a mile, as we have an overall mediocre field this week, as many rest up for Bethpage Black and the PGA Championship next weekend.

Koepka elected to use his tune-up to defend his PGA Championship this weekend instead of last weekend at Quail Hollow, and it will be interesting to see how he approaches this tournament this week. If he starts slow, he could mail it in and head to New York early. And as a guy who really thrives in majors, I will not be the least bit surprised if his mind is already on Bethpage.

Trinity Forest Golf Club is one of the newest courses on tour, established in 2016. It is located 10 miles southeast of Dallas, is a par 71, and plays at 7,558 yards. It is normally a fast course in general, but recent rain and more rain in the forecast before the start of the tournament could slow things down, so keep that in mind.

The course is fairly easy in the eyes of professionals, with wide fairways, very little rough, and absolutely zero trees. Depending on wind, it could be high scoring again like last year, so keep an eye on that forecast as always. Without any further ado, let’s dig into this weeks PGA Power Rankings.

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 AT&T Byron Nelson

***The following golfers are my top 20 overall. Each golfer will be followed by their official golf world ranking (OGWR) in parenthesis.***

20. Thorbjorn Olesen – (53)

Kicking off the PGA Power Rankings this week, is the 29-year-old Dane affectionately known as “Thunderbear.” Like many others this week, Olesen is a first timer at Trinity Forest, and he is looking to get in a tune-up before heading to Bethpage for the PGA Championship next week.

With a ton of success on the European Tour including a win at the Italian Open and many top-10’s over the last year or so, Olesen can clearly get it done. Thunderbear T-21 in his last action, which was at the Masters.

19. Matt Jones – (214)

With no shot at Bethpage, Jones has been grinding along, slowing creeping up the OWGR, and steadily making cuts. Last week at Quail Hollow was his first action since the Valero Texas Open, and he was able to follow-up his decent T-30 finish with there with a T-38 at the Wells Fargo Championship last week. Jones T-13 here last year at 13-under par.

18. Jimmy Walker – (105)

Baylor Alum and 40-year-old vet Jimmy Walker also played here at Trinity Forest last year in its debut at this course, and was a bit better than Jones, finishing T-6 at 16-under par. Walker’s form has not been the best of late, but he is making cuts. He is coming off of a T-45 at Quail Hollow last week, and he is trending the wrong way for three straight tournaments now.

Prior to the Wells Fargo Championship, Walker T-36 at the Masters, and T-30 at the Valero Texas Open. With a below average field this week, Walker cracks the top-20 at number 18.

17. Charles Howell III – (49)

Speaking of trending in the wrong direction, Howell struggled again at Quail Hollow, and missed another cut. Howell is yet another golfer that cracked the top ten here last year though, and he does have that advantage over the many first timers in this field. Howell shot 15-under, which was good for T-9.

After winning the RSM Classic to close out 2018, Howell caught fire, not missing a cut, and posting seven top-25’s through the Masters, where he T-32. Prior to his missed cut at the Wells Fargo Championship, he missed the cut at the RBC Heritage as well. Howell will looking to get back into form this week, rather than looking forward to Bethpage I am guessing.

16. Lucas Bjerregaard – (42)

Bjerregaard is our second Dane in the top 20 this week, as he will make his first appearance at Trinity Forest. The 27-year-old burst onto the scene at the WGC-Dell Match Play, where he cracked the final four, beating some huge names including Tiger Woods along the way.

Bjerregaard missed the cut the following week at the Valero Texas Open, likely fatigued a bit, and bounced back quite impressively the next week at the Masters, where he T-21.

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 AT&T Byron Nelson

15. Kevin Na – (50)

I won’t go as far as calling this a “bad” or “weak” field, as I just do not think those are very fair terms, relative to the difficulty of playing golf at an elite level. I think the worst word I will ever use is mediocre, and when Kevin Na and these next few golfers crack the top-15, mediocre is pretty fair right?

I guess I am only kidding, but with just a small handful of household names in the field this week, and just one year of course history, a lot of this weeks rankings will come down to how consistent each player has been in their last few weeks, and Na has been solid in that regard.

Na did play here at Trinity Forest last year, and T-6 with Jimmy Walker, giving us yet another top-ten from last year cracking this weeks top-20.

Na finished in the final eight at the WGC-Dell Match Play, and followed that with a T-46 at the Masters after a week off. He returned the following week to the RBC Heritage, in what was also his most recent action, where he was able to crack the top-ten with a T-10 finish.

14. Rory Sabbatini – (176)

Not quite a top-ten, but 13-under here for Sabbatini last year was good for a T-13 finish, and he comes into Trinity Forest in just a hair better form than those before him. Sabbs has now made seven straight cuts, which means you have to go all the way back to the Pebble Beach Pro-Am to find the last time he wasn’t playing on the weekend.

Surprisingly, the 43-year-old Slovakian has pulled off two straight top-20’s, tying for 18th at the Wells Fargo Championship last week, and tying for tenth two weeks prior at the RBC Heritage. A combination of him playing way above what would be typically expected of him, and the fact that he played well here last year, along with the strength of field, put Sabbatini right in the mix this week.

13. Thomas Pieters – (91)

It appears Pieters has returned to the U.S. early as he will tee it up at the AT&T Byron Nelson this week. The once promising 27-year-old from Belgium only seems to making any highlight reels these days when he is breaking clubs over his neck or knees, but he still is a great golfer who was without a doubt taking a break over the last month.

Pieters T-41 in his last action at the Maybank Championship on the European Tour back at the end of March, and this will be his first PGA event this season.

12. Brandt Snedeker – (52)

This may be a bit high for Snedeker this week, considering he is the first and only guy to crack the Power Rankings that missed the cut here at the AT&T Byron Nelson last year.

On top of that, Snedeker has not been playing as well as some others have been prior to him, but this ranking is just a product of the overall body of work Sneds has put in, and the fact that his game will line up very well with this course, despite past results.

Snedeker T-5 at the Players Championship in a tough field, but fell off again quite quickly as he has been know to do throughout the course of his career. Sneds missed the cut at the Masters, and followed that with a disappointing T-48 at the RBC Heritage.

11. Branden Grace – (46)

As we get closer to the top ten this week, we will start to find out who cracked the top-five last year here at the AT&T Byron Nelson, and just missing that top ten threshold at number 11 this week, but breaking into last years top five, is the 30-year-old South African Branden Grace.

Grace T-3 at 19-under last year, and he looks to round back into form as well, after a T-58 at the Masters, and a T-61 the following week at the RBC Heritage. This will be his first action since.

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 AT&T Byron Nelson

10. Rafa Cabrera-Bello – (31)

At number 10 this week, Cabrera-Bello is another first timer here at Trinity Forest. With just one missed cut in 2019 which was at the Players Championship, RCB was really good before, and just good after.

His best finish was a T-3 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and all four finishes prior to the MC were top-25 or better. Since the missed cut, Rafa T-30 at the Valspar Championship, T-36 at the Masters, and followed that with a T-16 at the RBC Heritage in his last action.

9. Keith Mitchell – (56)

Mitchell earned his first tour victory this season at the Honda Classic, and he makes his first appearance in the top-ten of the PGA Power Rankings this week.

He cracked the top-ten last week at the Wells Fargo Championship, finishing T-8, and he was among the best here at Trinity Forest last year, with a T-3 finish. Mitchell has missed just one cut since his win, at that came at the RBC Heritage, following a decent T-43 finish at his Masters debut.

8. Sungjae Im – (60)

The young South Korean has been on the grind, playing nearly every event thus far since he turned pro prior to the Safeway Open last fall.

The 21-year-old T-31 last week at Wells Fargo Championship, and missed the cut at the RBC Heritage two weeks prior. He was on a run of three top-20’s before that, which included his third top-five as a pro. Like many other tournaments this year for the rookie, this will be his first AT&T Byron Nelson.

7. Henrik Stenson – (40)

Stenson is looking to be turning a corner, as the 43-year-old former worlds number two golfer put together another decent outing last week at the Wells Fargo Championship, where he finished T-28.

After he won his pool and made the round of 16 at the WGC-Dell Match Play, it looked like he may be back, or at least very close to it. He T-36 at the Masters, and it will be interesting to see if he can keep improving on his finishes as the PGA Championship approaches.

6. Aaron Wise – (62)

Last year, it was 2018 PGA Tour rookie of the year Aaron Wise that hoisted the trophy here at AT&T Byron Nelson, as he became the first ever champion at Trinity Forest Golf Club. Wise has been quiet since the Match Play event, playing just two events, but he has been swinging it really well with two straight top-20’s.

After a rough day one at the Masters in which he shot a 75, he was able to make the weekend, and creep all the way up to a solo 17th place finish, shooting a 68 on Saturday and a 67 on Sunday. Wise T-18 at the Wells Fargo Championship last week.

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 AT&T Byron Nelson

5. Marc Leishman – (22)

Leishman has really been up-and-down as of late, and currently is in that down mode. However, his opening round 61 here at Trinity Forest is really sticking out to me. Leishman finished solo second here to Wise, and followed his 61 up with a 66.

What is even more impressive, is that Wise still went on to beat him by three shots. So that means Leish just fell apart on the weekend right? Not at all. He went 69, 68 on the weekend, but Wise scorecard went 65,63,68,65 to give him that three shot victory.

In recent action, Leishman has been making cuts for the most part, but his best finish this year thus far was his T-4 at the Genesis Open back in February. He T-49 at the Masters, and followed that with a T-58 at the RBC Heritage. If his form was a little better, he would be ranked even higher this week.

4. Jordan Spieth – (39)

Speaking of welcome to the rankings. I am not sure that Spieth has cracked the top-ten in these PGA Power Rankings yet this season. Spieth has been nothing more than mediocre this season, but he benefits here mostly because of the strength of the field, and the fact the he is actually slowly trending the right way.

I will call the RBC Heritage a hiccup, as Spieth was able to crack the top-25 at the Masters with his T-21 finish, and surprisingly, that was his best finish in 2019. He has only missed one cut which was at the Players, and he followed that with a T-30 at the Valero Texas Open. Spieth did tee it up here at Trinity Forest last year, and T-21 at 11-under par.

3. Hideki Matsuyama – (29)

Although his OWGR ranking is not currently reflecting it, overall talent wise, Matsuyama is elite in this field. Formerly ranked as high as number two, Matsuyama battled injuries and struggles through most of 2018, but he looks fully healthy, and has been playing pretty solid but fairly limited golf in 2019.

Matsuyama T-16 here shooting 12-under par, and when I went through his rounds, I was actually shocked to see his best stat was putting. He gained almost a stroke and a half putting, and if he can putt like that here again in his current form he should be right in it. Hideki T-8 at the Players, T-32 at the Masters, and T-31 at the Wells Fargo Championship last week.

2. Patrick Reed – (19)

Reed did not play here last year, but he comes in looking to get in the groove before the PGA Championship. He is making cuts as to be expected, but has not had a top-15 finish since the WGC-Mexico where he T-8.

With no trees, little rough, and Reed being able to go bombs away here, this course may set up a little bit better for him than most. He T-28 at the Wells Fargo Championship last week, and T-36 at the Masters so his form could be better, he just has a huge edge with talent here in this field.

1. Brooks Koepka – (3)

Kind of a default ranking this week, but I have no idea what to expect here. Koepka has been out of action since the Masters where he T-2, and whether he approaches this event as a tune-up for the PGA Championship next week, or just as a way to fill a new PGA rule that states each golfer must play in an event they have not played previously, I guess we will find out.

There is plenty of talk that Brooks may mail it in here to get to New York, but if he gives it a full go there is no reason he can’t win here.

Like I said with Reed, this course is wide open for the most part, and a player like Koepka could really run up his score here if wants to focus and prepare. However, if the trends continue, he is already looking ahead.

Thanks for stopping by FantasyCPR and checking out our  ever-expanding PGA coverage. Be sure to keep an eye out for my FanDuel article coming soon, along with some Fantasy Draft coverage once again as well.

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