PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 PGA Championship

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 PGA Championship held at The Black Course at Bethpage State Park, in Farmingdale, New York.

This PGA Power Rankings article will cover the top 30 golfers for this event, and with each golfer will come a short blurb with some justification to their respective rankings. That’s right, we are going a bit deeper for this seasons second major championship.  Before we do that, let’s touch briefly on the history of the this event.

PGA Power Rankings: PGA Championship – Course and History

The 101st PGA Championship will take place this weekend, and while some say it is the least eventful of all four major championships, the beautiful venue and stacked field will surely make it a memorable one. 2019 Masters Champion Tiger Woods arrived by his private yacht weeks ago, appearing to be zeroing in on majors this season, and having not played an event since.

The Black Course at Bethpage will host this years PGA Championship for the first time. Located on Long Island, it is known as one of the toughest courses in the United States. I see conflicting reports of yardage, and whether or not par is 71 or 70, but I am going to go with the official PGA site for this info.

That appears to be the official score card, and it looks like Bethpage Black will play at par 70, with just two par fives, and one over 600 yards. This course will not set up as tough as a Masters, but it will still be incredibly difficult. With elevations, fast Poa Annua greens, and plenty of bunkers, getting behind early will likely make it hard to get back in it.

With long holes, accurate bombers will be at a huge advantage this week, but hitting greens and scrambling will be more important. I have heard reports of up to 3.5″ rough, so keeping the ball in the fairway will be a must for scoring.

Although not a regular stop on the PGA Tour, Bethpage Black has hosted the Barclays twice since 2012, and also hosted the U.S. Open back in 2002 and 2009. Those U.S. Opens are now 10 years ago, and the veterans at the top of the rankings that may have had some experience here will be a little higher ranked than the first timers this week. This field boasts all 100 of the top 100 in the OWGR, so needless to say we are in for some great golf this weekend.

Most recent PGA Champions include Brooks Koepka, who held off Tiger Woods last year at Bellerive by two strokes, and 2017 champion Justin Thomas, who was victorious at Quail Hollow. Tiger Woods is a four-time PGA Championship champion, and Rory McIlroy won this event twice, back in 2012 and 2014.

With that brief history and description of what to expect at Bethpage Black for the 101st PGA Championship, let’s dig in to this weeks expanded rankings.

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 PGA Championship

***The following golfers are my top 30 overall. Each golfer will be followed by their official golf world ranking (OGWR) in parenthesis. All rankings are prior to the finish of the British Masters, and the AT&T Byron Nelson***

30. Louis Oosthuizen – (21)

Like Woods, Oosthuizen has been idle since the Masters. He obviously did not have a finish like Tiger, as he T-29. In other recent previous action, Oosty made the round of eight at the WGC-Dell Match Play, and T-2 at the Valspar Championship. His form is solid, and he has played well here at Bethpage in the past.

Oosthuizen was not here in 2009 for the U.S. Open, but he did compete in each Barclays that were hosted here. He finished fifth in 2012, and T-18 in 2016. The Barclays is now known as The Northern Trust, and is a rotating event that takes place in the New York area. I will be covering how each golfer finished both years it was held at Bethpage Black, as it is the only somewhat recent course history to go off this week.

29. Ian Poulter – (28)

Poulter has been quietly consistent all season long, and is coming into Bethpage off of back-to-back top-20’s. He finished T-12 at the Masters, and followed that up with a T-10 at the RBC Heritage.

The 43-year-old Englishman notched a top-20 here at Bethpage Black back at the 2009 U.S. Open with a T-18, and T-36 at even par at the 2012 Barclays. Poulter did not play the 2016 version of the Barclays, again and for the last time, now the Northern Trust.

2012 was Poulters’ best finish at a PGA Championship, when he T-3. He is still seeking his first major championship victory, but he also has a runner-up finish at the Open Championship back in 2008, and another T-3 which came at the 142nd Open Championship in 2013.

28. Bubba Watson – (18)

Two-time Masters champion and 2010 PGA Championship runner-up Bubba Watson comes in at number 28 this week. Maybe a little too low in the eyes of some when considering form and history here at Bethpage, but before I get to the bad, let’s cover the good.

Watson T-12 at the Masters in his last action, and in fairly limited action in 2019, he is having an overall great season. In nine total events, Bubba has missed just one cut, and has notched a total of five top-20’s. On top of the good form, Watson has been above-average here at Bethpage Black in the past, with three straight finishes in the top-20’s.

At the 2009 U.S. Open, Watson T-18th. At the Barclays in 2012 he T-10, and at the Barclays in 2016, he T-13. However, it’s the overall finishes in recent majors that is holding him back in the rankings.

Sure the T-12 at the Masters this year was pretty good, but major championships last season were a different story for Watson. Other than at Augusta where he obviously is good, Bubba missed the cut at all three other majors last season. The fact that he has played well here in the past keeps him in the top 30, and it will be interesting to see which Bubba shows up this week.

27. Phil Mickelson – (23)

Although he has a win and a runner-up thus far in 2019, Mickelson has been struggling as of late. Since winning the Pebble Beach Pro-Am back in February, Phil has missed three cuts, and his best finish came at Augusta, where he T-18.

Even though he has a pretty impressive body of work overall in major championships throughout his career, like Watson, he struggled a little in the majority of them last season. He was a major disappointment in his last action, in which he missed the cut as one of the favorites at Quail Hollow at the Wells Fargo Championship.

Mickelson has been solid at Bethpage in his career, dating all the way back to the 2002 U.S. Open, where he finished in the top five, but he ultimately could not catch Tiger Woods. In the 2009 version of the U.S. Open here, Mickelson and others could not quite catch Lucas Glover, and he finished T-2. In 2012 he T-38 at the Barclays, but bounced-back pretty well in 2016 finishing T-13.

26. Matt Wallace – (36)

Wallace is not only our first first-timer here, he is our first of a few golfers heading into New York at the end of a short adventure. Wallace spent some time playing events in the states, then after the RBC Heritage, he flew across the pond, and played at the British Masters on the European Tour this past weekend, and is likely bound to land in New York sometime today.

Wallace bounced back well from his missed cuts at the Masters and the RBC Heritage last week, as he was in contention all weekend, but a rough stretch on Sunday left him just short of a victory, and with a T-2. His best finish in a major came at the 100th PGA Championship last year at Bellerive, where he snuck inside the top-20 with a T-19 finish.

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 PGA Championship

25. Gary Woodland – (24)

Woodland comes into Bethpage off a post third round withdrawal at the Wells Fargo Championship, in which he shot a third round 74 after barely making the cut. I doubt there is anything physically wrong with Woodland, but one thing about the PGA Tour is that we really have no way of knowing for sure, unless these guys come out and say it.

Woodland started 2019 with a bang, notching top-ten finishes in three of his first four events. He has cooled a bit since, and in his last full action he T-32 at the Masters. At the 2016 Barclays here at Bethpage, Woodland T-4 at 7-under par. His best finish in a major in his career, was his T-6 at the 100th PGA Championship last season at Bellerive.

24. Jordan Spieth – (39)

I just watched Spieth after his final round of even par say he was overall happy with his T-29 finish at 11-under par. He also said he was happy to be putting well again. From what I seen, he still needs a lot of work in the 8-15′ range with the flat stick, but that’s just me watching on TV as opposed to at the very least, his very positive post-game interview skills.

Spieth has slowly been getting better compared to where he was six months ago without a doubt, but in no way does he look ready to contend here at Bethpage Black. In his only appearance here at the 2016 Barclays, Spieth tied with Justin Thomas for tenth place at 5-under par, but he was in much better form back then than he is now.

23. Matt Kuchar – (13)

Kuchar is having a fantastic 2019, as the 40-year-old looks ageless on the golf course, finishing in the top-ten week after week. Unfortunately for Kuch here at Bethpage Black, his game does not translate so well. He might not be long enough off the tee, and some of the distances on these holes certainly put a finesse player like Kuchar at a disadvantage.

Past results in events here at Bethpage kind of prove this point, as Kuchar missed the cut at the U.S. Open back in 2009, and his best finish at the two Barclays held here was his T-38 in 2012. Although Kuchar has worked his back up to number 13 in the OWGR, a finish inside the top-20 seems unlikely this week.

22. Henrik Stenson – (40)

Moving in a positive direction as well, another ageless veteran in 43-year-old Swede Henrik Stenson seems to be rounding into form just in time for a challenge at Bethpage. Stenson struck the ball solid and putted well at the AT&T Byron Nelson last week, ultimately finishing T-20 at 13-under par. Stenson seems to be getting close, but is still a ways out.

As far as Bethpage Black goes for Stenson, it has been trending the wrong way. Back in 2009 he T-9 at the U.S. Open, but his finishes at following Barclays were not as good. He T-54 in 2012, and withdrew in 2016 at +3, citing pain in his right knee.

21. Webb Simpson – (20)

Just missing the top-20 this week at number 21, is another veteran in solid form. Simpson has notched three straight top-20’s now, highlighted by his impressive T-5 at the Masters last month. Instead of taking a few weeks off to prepare for the this major like some of his peers have, Simpson has teed it up twice since Augusta, notching a T-16 at the RBC Heritage, and a T-18 at Quail Hollow.

Although he has also struggled here at Bethpage in the past, he tends to compete in majors, and play these tough courses well. Simpson missed the cut at the Barclays in 2012, and T-48 in 2016, finishing at +2. His form boosts him up ahead a couple of spots this week, but a top-20 for Simpson against the field is also unlikely.

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 PGA Championship

20. Hideki Matsuyama – (29)

A top-five favorite in last weeks field at the Byron Nelson, Matsuyama played pretty well for the most part, but it only translated to a T-23 finish, as he finished 12-under par. He continues to play solid golf, but mostly poor putting is always keeping him from a big finish.

Matsuyama has only teed it up at Bethpage once, and he missed the cut at the 2016 Barclays. I think his length off the tee will help him if he can keep it in the fairways here, but he has putt well to contend as well. His T-23 gives him a slight boost this week, but he maybe should have done better against this field in my opinion.

19. Paul Casey – (12)

After it was all said and done, Casey was maybe my hardest guy to finalize this week as far as a ranking goes. But even a solid finish at Quail Hollow where he T-4 two weeks ago, his showings at big tournaments this year have been nothing short of awful.

Hot and cold would be a fair description, but the missed cuts at the Masters and the Players Championship are what are ultimately sticking out most to me. However, in his last six events total, Casey has four top-tens to go along with those two huge missed cuts, including a win at the Valspar Championship.

At Bethpage, Casey missed the cut at the 2009 U.S. Open, and did not return until the 2016 Barclays. It wasn’t great, but his T-31 finish was an improvement. Casey will be challenged here again, but he has been in enough tournaments this season and throughout his career that he could easily contend here.

18. Adam Scott – (27)

Scott is another player tough to get a read on this week, as he has the length, and comes into Bethpage in solid form, he just hasn’t played a lot of golf in 2019. He last teed it up at the Masters, where he T-18, and he followed up a missed cut at the Honda Classic with a T-12 at the Players. His best finish in 2019 thus far was his solo second place at the Farmers Insurance Open.

In previous results at Bethpage, Scott has mixed results overall, but was solid at the 2016 Barclays with a T-4 finish, where he lead the field in strokes gained: tee to green. Scott T-36 at the 2009 U.S. Open, and struggled on the weekend to a +4 and a solo 62nd place finish at the 2012 Barclays.

17. Patrick Reed – (19)

Reed is really just my second golfer that gets a little boost in the rankings, due to his overall body of work in past major championships. He is in decent form making cuts at the very least, but is yet to crack the top-10 in 2019. He comes into Bethpage after basically mailing it in at the AT&T Byron Nelson on Sunday, and finishing T-63.

At 28-years-old, Reed is a major champion with his green jacket victory at the 2018 Masters. He T-2 at the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, and he finished solo fourth at the 2018 U.S. Open. On top of his impressive finishes at recent majors, he won here at Bethpage at the 2016 Barclays, in his only appearance here.

16. Tony Finau – (14)

At number 16 this week, Finau makes his second appearance at Bethpage Black, trying to outdo his solo 12th place finish at the 2016 Barclays. Finau’s length off the tee is certainly an advantage at a course like this, and the 29-year-old was solid at the Masters this year with a T-5 finish, as he still seeks his first major championship victory. Despite no wins, he does have five top-10’s in major championships throughout his career. Finau T-60 at the Wells Fargo Championship in his last action.

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 PGA Championship

15. Sergio Garcia – (26)

We have to go all the way back to 2017 to find the last time Garcia has even came close to a top-20 in a major, but the 39-year-old Spaniard has had success here at Bethpage in the past. Way back at the 2009 U.S. Open, Garcia T-10th, and at the 2012 Barclays, he finished 6-under par here, and tied with Dustin Johnson for third place.

Garcia was in solid form until the Masters, but could not get it done and missed the cut. He hadn’t missed a cut since the 2018 PGA Championship, and notched an impressive amount of top-tens in between. His best finishes came in mid-to-late 2018 on the European Tour, but Garcia has also added a couple more top-tens on this side of the pond in 2019. He could have been closer to the top ten this week if he hadn’t been struggling in majors for over two years now.

14. Bryson DeChambeau – (8)

Speaking of struggling to a lower ranking, recent form is what is holding #8 player in the world Bryson DeChambeau back to number 14 this week. DeChambeau certainly has all of the tools to get it done here at Bethpage Black, but he will need to stay out of his own head. This will be the 25-year-olds first crack at this course, and his most recent form suggests he may struggle here.

DeChambeau T-29 at the Masters this year, and his best finish in a major in his career was his T-15 at the 2016 U.S. Open. Bryson no doubt has a fantastic future ahead of him, but he doesn’t quite seem to have what it takes to crack the top-ten here this week.

13. Jason Day – (15)

Lingering back problems have hindered Day from time to time this season, but when he has been healthy, he has been fantastic. He T-5 at the Masters, and followed that with a T-24 at the Wells Fargo Championship. Day has four top-tens in nine events to date in 2019, has missed one cut, and was forced to withdraw at the Arnold Palmer Invitational citing that ailing back.

If he is healthy he should be able to make a run here, and although he has had some great finishes, it has been just over a year since he has won a tournament. The 2015 PGA Championship champion has just that one major championship victory, but he has numerous top-tens throughout his career. Day T-4 at the Barclays in 2016, and T-24 in 2012.

12. Patrick Cantlay – (17)

Cantlay is another hit-or-miss type, who seems to either miss a cut, or be in contention. He has just two missed cuts in the last year or so, and his worst finish since his T-17 at the Safeway Open which started the new FedEx Cup season back in the fall of last year, was his T-15 at the Genesis Open. All in all, Cantlay has four top-tens in 2019, and he comes into Bethpage in overall pretty good form.

In his last action, Cantlay made a run at the RBC Heritage, and ended up finishing T-3. It was a good encore following up his T-9 at the Masters, which was his best finish in a major in his young career. This will be Cantlay’s first trip to Bethpage Black.

11. Tommy Fleetwood – (16)

Just missing the top-ten this week, is our second golfer making the trip back to the U.S. after playing (and hosting) the British Masters last weekend, Tommy Fleetwood. Always quietly going about his business the golf course it seems, Fleetwood was coasting along at Hillside Golf Links, but a final round 73 on Sunday led to a T-8 finish.

The top-ten finish was Fleetwoods’ first since his back-to-back top fives at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship, but a T-36 at the Masters, followed by a T-25 at the RBC Heritage keeps him just outside the top ten this week. This will be his first appearance at Bethpage Black.

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 PGA Championship

10. Xander Schauffele – (9)

What a top-ten we have this week! Well it is always this way for a major championship, but there is nothing better than watching the best in the world go at it. Bethpage Black will be soft if it stays wet, and guys that hit bombs off the tee like Schauffele will be at an advantage.

It’s tough to tell how it wil be by Thursday at this point, but photos of Tiger practicing emerged on Twitter on Monday, and it looked cold and rainy. It looks like it may not dry out until the weekend at this point.

Schauffele is just 25-years-old, so this will be his first crack at Bethpage Black. However, out of all the first timers here this week, none have a better shot to win than Schauffele. He has done it before on first time courses, and he has been in the mix in major championships, won WGC events, and won a TOUR Championship all within the last three years.

Schauffele tied for second at the Masters, and it was his third top-five in a major since 2017. In total, Xander has three wins and three runners-up in his young career to this point, and he is easily lost in the mix among some of these names. He shouldn’t be.

9. Jon Rahm – (11)

With better recent form than DeChambeau, Jon Rahm slides into the top-ten this week. He started 2019 with five straight top-tens, then after he struggled at the WGC-Mexico and finished T-45, he bounced back with three more top-15 finishes, including a T-9 at the Masters, and a T-12 at the Players.

The 24-year-old from Spain is still seeking his first major championship victory, and he definitely has the tools to get it done. Rahm has not teed it up since the Masters competitively, and like many others in this field, this will be his first crack at Bethpage Black.

8. Francesco Molinari – (7)

Molinari has been solid in 2019, electing to play in a fewer tournaments thus far as he as in the past. The 36-year-old Italian has had most of his better success on the European Tour over the years, but he a past major champion with his win at the 2018 Open Championship. He T-2 at the 2017 PGA Championship, and T-5 at the Masters this year, but other than that has not been a factor at other majors.

After the Masters, Molinari did miss a cut at the RBC Heritage, but it seems plenty of these guys were using a tournament in between majors just to work on some things. You almost have to throw out that missed cut, and look at the overall body of work here.

Molinari has a victory this year at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and when he gets hot he can go on serious runs. Playing in just six events thus far in 2019, he has a win and a top-five at a major. That’s pretty impressive. Molinari teed it up at the 2016 Barclays, but missed the cut in his only action here at Bethpage.

7. Rickie Fowler – (10)

Hard to believe Fowler is 30-years-old already, and almost harder to believe he is still seeking that elusive first major championship victory. He has come awfully close numerous times, but he has never quite gotten it done on a Sunday. With some experience here at Bethpage Black, improving on each finish, could this be the week he finally gets it done?

Fowler missed the cut as a kid basically at the 2009 U.S. Open here, but he T-24 at the 2012 Barclays, and T-7 at the 2016 Barclays. With three straight top-20’s including a T-9 at the Masters and a T-4 at Quail Hollow, I would say this is as good of a chance to get the monkey off of his back as has had to this point in his career. Personally, I am pulling for him. I would love to see him it get it done.

6. Justin Thomas – (5)

2019 started off with a bang for JT, and for a quick minute it looked like he was set to contend every time he stepped foot on a golf course. Thomas finished third place or better in three of his first four events to start the new year, and mixed a T-16 in there at the Sony Open as well. However, since the Honda Classic, Thomas has slipped a bit, but he seems to be trending in the right direction once again.

Thomas T-12 at the Masters this season, and the 2017 PGA Championship winner is seeking just his second major championship victory. He made his debut at Bethpage Black in 2016 at the Barclays, and finished T-10. Thomas can get it out there a ways like the other big hitters, and this course should set up well for his game. I fully expect a top-ten from JT this week.

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 PGA Championship

5. Justin Rose – (2)

Surprisingly, the 38-year-old Englishman Justin Rose has won just one major championship throughout his illustrious career. That fact alone should tell you just how hard it is to win a major, and just how impressive the golfers that have gotten it done multiple times are. Rose won the 2013 U.S. Open Championship, has a couple of runners-up at past Masters tournaments, and T-2 at the Open Championship last year.

Rose comes into the 101st PGA Championship off of a solo third place at Quail Hollow for the Wells Fargo Championship. It was nice to see him bounce-back off of a missed cut at the Masters, but this guy should not be missing cuts at majors. The missed cut at Augusta was ultimately what dropped him down a couple of spots in this weeks PGA Power Rankings, and it will be interesting to see if he continues to play as well as he did at Quail Hollow.

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4. Brooks Koepka – (3)

I was in the camp last week that thought there was a slight chance Koepka may mail it in at the AT&T Byron Nelson in an effort to get to New York to prepare for this week, but that was not the case at all. I was able to watch a ton of golf last weekend, and not only is Brooks starting to look the part as in getting his size and strength back, he was solid around the greens and overall with the flat stick as well. Nobody could catch Sung Kang after his 61 on Friday, but Koepka notched a top-five with a solo fourth place finish.

Koepka is the defending PGA Championship champion, grabbing his third major championship victory at Bellerive last year, holding off a surging Tiger Woods by two strokes. He also currently has back-to-back U.S. Open victories, and will seek a third at Pebble Beach. Brooks T-2 at the Masters giving him back-to-back top-fives in his latest action, and my bet says him or one of these last three golfers is your champion this week.

3. Rory McIlroy – (4)

McIlroy will come into Bethpage as a favorite in the eyes of many, but his inability to close is what is ultimately holding him back in my opinion. Rory is a four-time major champion so that seems absurd, but the last time he won a major was 2014, when he won both the Open Championship and the PGA Championship. On top of having success in majors although not recent, McIlroy does have a win this year, getting it done at the Players Championship.

What brought McIlroy down a spot or two here, was the fact that he was unable to crack the top-20 at the Masters this year, where he T-21. He played much better in his next action at the Wells Fargo Championship where he T-8, but he was a favorite there as well.

McIlroy has played at Bethpage in the last three events held here, and his slow regression also brings him down a notch in the rankings. He T-10 at the 2009 U.S. Open, but was unable to crack the top-20 at the 2012 and 2016 Barclays, and he finished T-31 in 2016. Rory has to keep it in the fairway this week, and he also has to not get behind early. While he can easily be argued as the best golfer in the world, my gut says he can’t win here.

2. Dustin Johnson – (1)

Johnson is another in a long line of guys who T-2 at the Masters this year, as not even the number one player in the world at his best could catch Tiger. 2019 has been pretty much as expected for Johnson, as he has a couple of victories, and plenty of top-tens.

Speaking of elusive majors as we were with Rose, DJ has just one win as well, getting his at the 2016 U.S. Open. He has the game to win here at Bethpage, but he will have to stay focused and not get behind early. Johnson T-40 at the 2009 U.S. Open here, and was much better at the Barclays events held here. He T-3 in 2012, and T-18 in 2016.

1. Tiger Woods – (6)

Woods is not as long off the tee as he used to be, and that will hurt him and ultimately hold him back from winning another major they said. Well if that is true, I think it will be more releveant here at Bethpage than it was at Augusta, but Tiger is a much smarter golfer now, and will do whatever it takes to get himself off the tee to be in a great spot for his second shot.

He is still incredible with his irons, and I full expect this run to continue. His win at the Masters was his 15th major championship victory, and first win at Augusta since 2005. Overall, it had been 11 years since a major championship for Tiger, and his long fight back seems to be in peak mode. He T-6 at the 2009 U.S. Open here at Bethpage, and T-38 at +1 at the 2016 Barclays. Off a win at the Masters and assumingly getting in plenty of practice here at Bethpage arriving shortly after, it is hard not to rank Woods number one this week.

Thanks for stopping by FantasyCPR and checking out our ever-expanding PGA page. Be sure to keep an eye out for my FanDuel article coming soon. Please give me a follow on Twitter with the link at the top of the page, and feel free to ask any PGA Power Rankings questions if you wish. Good luck with your Fantasy Golf this weekend!