PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide

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 Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, being held at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.

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: The Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide  – Course and History

This week, the PGA tour will head to Dublin, Ohio for the annual Memorial Tournament. This is another invitational event making that two straight, so once again that means we have a field shortened to 120. This event was founded by Jack Nicklaus in 1976, and Muirfield Village GC is also a Nicklaus-design. Nicklaus was born, grew up and went to college in this area, and he designed this course with the sole intention of hosting this event as a way to give back to the community.

Muirfield is not an easy course, as most regular events are designed to be challenging. It is a par 72 approaching 7,400 yards, and usually subtle changes are made to the course year-by-year to increase difficulty. Water is in play on eleven holes, and there are plenty of bunkers to maneuver around as well. Accuracy is considered more important than distance here at Muirfield, and scoring on par fours and par fives are just a couple of stats to consider this week.

Although we have another solid field as far as OWGR rankings go, this has been an event where anybody can win over the last handful of years. Past winners here at the Memorial in the last five years include Jason Dufner, William McGirt, and David Lingmerth. Matt Kuchar won here in 2013, and Bryson DeChambeau was victorious here last year.

Tiger Woods will return to action after his missed cut at the PGA Championship, and he is a five-time winner here at Muirfield. Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, and the suddenly hot Jordan Spieth will also tee it up this week. The winner here has been decided in a playoff in four of the last five years, and winning scores in that span range from 12-under to 15-under par. Without further ado, let’s dig into this weeks PGA Power Rankings and see how things shake up.

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide

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

20. Henrik Stenson – (44)

We now have to go all the way back to the Players Championship to find the last time Stenson missed a cut, and it is safe to say he is really close to being fully back to form. In his last action, Stenson T-48 at the PGA Championship, and other recent finishes include a T-20 at the Byron Nelson, and a T-28 the week prior at the Wells Fargo Championship.

Here at Muirfield, Stenson has not been a regular, as last year was the first time he played the Memorial since 2013. He was able to finish 10-under par, good for a T-13. In Memorial Tournaments prior to 2018 in the last ten years, Stenson has not finished better than 41st, and has missed one cut.

19. Phil Mickelson – (23)

The recent form for Mickelson is not great, as he has now missed three cuts since his win back in early February at Pebble Beach. However, he always plays well here at the Memorial Tournament, and his course history here at Muirfield Village pushes him inside the top-20 this week.

Looking at the last ten years here, Phil has not missed a cut in eight starts, and his best finish was a T-5 in 2010. More recently, Mickelson T-13 last year, T-22 in 2017, and T-20 in 2016, giving him three straight finishes inside the top-25.

It has been an up-and-down stretch as of late, as Mickelson was able to crack the top 20 at the Masters with a T-18 finish, but a poor weekend in his last action at the PGA Championship led to a T-71. I don’t really know what to expect from Phil this week with those three missed cuts coming in recent action, but the history here in this event suggests we could get the good Mickelson.

18. Gary Woodland – (22)

The 35-year-old Woodland has been playing great golf now for a solid year or so, and his T-8 at the PGA Championship in his last action has brought his OWGR up to the highest point in his career. He has missed just one cut in 2019, and finished inside the top-20 six times in 12 total events.

Here at the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village, Woodland has been a regular playing in each of the last eight seasons, with mixed results. He has two top-tens, with the most recent being a T-4 in 2016, and he has also missed two cuts, back in 2012 and 2015.

17. Louis Oosthuizen – (20)

In at number 17 this week, the South African Oosthuizen will return to action after his T-60 at the PGA Championship. Sunday was rough at Bethpage as we all can recall, and a 79 for Oosty led to the poor finish. He was all set to go last week at Colonial for the Charles Schwab Challenge, then a last-minute withdrawal sent fantasy owners in a scramble.

There is no injury report for the PGA tour, which has been a hot topic around PGA DFS Twitter this season, and Oosthuizen is just the latest example of why it would be helpful. A sore neck was cited, but Oosty has also had back issues. So far he is expected to give it a go this week, and he T-13 here last year in his first Memorial Tournament since he missed the cut in 2012.

16. Adam Scott – (26)

Scott has not been playing much golf, competitively at least, for a pretty long stretch here. He has only played eight events in 2019, and since his missed cut at the Honda Classic, Scott has put together a nice run. He T-12 at the Players Championship, then did not return to action for over a month and was still able to grab a solid T-18 at the Masters. Scott then took another month or so off, and T-8 in his last action at the PGA Championship.

Here at Muirfield Village for the Memorial Tournament, Scott has teed it up seven times in the last ten years. He has missed just one cut which was way back in 2009, and his best finish was a T-4 in 2014. More recently, Scott finished T-35 last year, and T-31 in 2017. With three straight top-20’s coming in, Scott narrowly misses the top 15 this week.

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide

15. Emiliano Grillo – (58)

Grillo is coming into the Memorial off of his best finish of the season, a T-19 at the Charles Schwab Challenge last week. However, the 26-year-old has been quietly making cuts all season, and his T-23 at the PGA Championship the week prior puts Grillo in pretty good form for having played in back-to-back events.

This will be Grillo’s fourth straight Memorial Tournament, and he is yet to miss a cut here. His best finish was a T-11 in 2016, and he T-23 last year. He has mostly been a streaky player throughout his young career, and his recent stretch of solid play brings him inside the top 15 this week.

14. Rory Sabbatini – (118)

Speaking of recent stretch of solid play, Sabbatini’s heater continues. The 43-year-old T-6 at the Charles Schwab Challenge last week, giving him four straight top-20’s and nearly back-to-back top fives. Sabbatini T-5 at the Byron Nelson, and in other recent action, T-10 at the RBC Heritage. He hasn’t missed a cut since Pebble Beach giving him nine straight, and with five top-20’s in that span, he comes into Muirfield in as good of form as any.

Sabbatini has not played this event much in the last ten years, and like others it seems, he has been up-and-down. His best finish was back in 2012 when a 7-under par finish left him T-2 and two strokes back of champion Tiger Woods. More recently, Sabbatini T-44 last year in his first Memorial tournament since 2015, when he T-24.

13. Bryson DeChambeau – (8)

I think I have said this before, but I am a big fan of DeChambeau, and something is clearly wrong. Another missed cut last week at the Charles Schwab Challenge gives him three straight now, and therefore last years champion here at the Memorial Tournament cannot even crack the top-10 in this field this week.

DeChambeau took a few weeks off between the RBC Heritage and the PGA Championship, but it did not seem to help. Although he won on the European Tour in early January, his best finish on the PGA Tour in 2019 was his T-15 at the Genesis Open. In all actuality, if Bryson was not the defending champ here, he likely would not have made the top-20. If he misses another cut, you would have to think his OWGR will catch up as well, as it seems very high still considering his recent stretch.

12. Jason Day – (16)

It seems as though the back is good, as Day continues to play well for the most part when fully healthy. But again, we just do not know with no injury report. His T-5 at the Masters left me little doubt he was getting healthier overall, and a couple of top-25’s since were not the ideal finishes, but not bad at all. Day T-23 at the PGA Championship, and T-24 at the Wells Fargo Championship.

Day has been a regular here at the Memorial, but good finishes are pretty hard to come by. His best finish was a T-15 in 2017, and he T-44 last year. He has played this event nine out of the last ten years, and has missed just two cuts.

11. Xander Schauffele – (9)

When 2019 kicked off with Schauffele winning the Sentry TOC, the 25-year-old was looking like he was going to burst into the spotlight quickly, but it hasn’t quite came to fruition quite yet. I think his time will come, as the win was his fourth of his young career already, and with repeated solid finishes at major championships, he is still well on his way.

Schauffele T-2 at the Masters, and T-16 at the PGA Championship, but he comes into the Memorial off of a rare missed cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge last week, ultimately keeping him just outside the top-ten this week. This will be just his second crack at Muirfield Village, and he missed the cut in his first go last year.

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide

10. Hideki Matsuyama – (32)

As we get into the top-ten for this week at the Memorial Tournament, we will start to see some combinations of solid recent play and course history here at Muirfield Village. Matsuyama will return to action off of a T-16 at the PGA Championship, and we are coming up on almost a full calendar year since his last missed cut.

The 27-year-old from Japan is a past champion here at the Memorial, winning in his debut in 2014. Obviously nowhere to go but backwards from there, but Matsuyama was able to follow it up with a T-5 in 2015. He did miss the cut in 2016, but was fairly close again last year with a T-13.

9. Justin Thomas – (6)

Thomas still has not played since the Masters as a wrist injury is never a good one in the golf world. He is expected to be back, but even though he is still one of the best in the world, I do not expect much this week. Unless we get a report somewhere that he is fully 100% that is viable, I will remain skeptical on this one. We are getting to the point where that wrist should be healed, but you have to also think there will be some rust to shake off.

JT has teed it up at the Memorial in each of the last five seasons, and although he has missed two cuts, he also has back-to-back top-10’s. Thomas T-4 in 2017, and followed that with a T-8 last year. I love the fact he has been good here, but the fact that he is coming off that injury keeps his ranking a little lower than where it could be.

8. Patrick Cantlay – (15)

It is tough to find better overall form than what Cantlay has done in his last three events. He has notched top-10’s in all three, and comes into the Memorial off of back-to-back T-3 finishes. With two of those top-tens being major championships, Cantlay is certainly dialed-in at the moment.

The 27-year-old will tee it up for the third time in his young career at Muirfield Village this week, and he notched a solo fourth place finish last year finishing 14-under par. If this wasn’t such a stacked field, Cantlay would be way up the rankings this week, as he is actually my pick to win this week.

7. Tony Finau – (13)

Once again, playing well, and great history here at the Memorial Tournament. Tony Finau grabbed yet another solo second place last week at the Charles Schwab Challenge, which leaves him still searching for a quality win on the PGA tour. Finau somehow has five solo second place finishes now over the last couple of seasons, which is likely a fairly frustrating stat for the 29-year-old.

Here at Muirfield Village, Finau had his best finish in his debut like many others, as he T-8 in 2015. He was among the many that T-13 last year at 10-under par, and in four total Memorial Tournaments, his worst finish was a T-40 two years ago. It will be interesting to see if he can keep it going this week.

6. Rickie Fowler – (10)

Hard to believe Fowler missed the cut last week, considering that is just fifth missed cut in over two years. That blip though following his T-36 at the PGA Championship keeps him just outside the top five this week. Fowler had been looking solid with a T-9 at the Masters followed by his T-4 at the Wells Fargo Championship, but will have to refocus after the Colonial got the best of him.

You want to talk about up-and-down course history? Fowler is the extreme this week. At one point he missed three cuts in a row here at the Memorial, spanning from 2014-2016. However, he cracked the top-ten in each of the last two seasons. He T-2 two years ago, and followed that with a T-8 in 2018. Fowler also grabbed a solo second here way back in 2010, losing to Justin Rose by two strokes.

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide

5. Jordan Spieth – (29)

Actually heard debate this week that what he is doing with his putter is sustainable considering how great of a putter he was in the past. Look, Spieth was a great putter, and is obviously seeing it clearly over the last couple of weeks, but in no way is this run sustainable. I mean he is sinking 50 footers, and ultimately his flat stick is saving his overall game. Any way you shake it though, back-to-back top-10’s for Spieth for the first time in over a year is certainly progress.

This will be seven straight Memorial Tournaments for the 25-year-old, and last year here was his first missed cut in this event. He has three top-20’s with his best finish being a T-3 in 2015, when he finished 13-under par.

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4. Matt Kuchar – (12)

It has been an incredible 2019 for Kuchar, as the 40-year-old will return to action after his T-8 at the PGA Championship. In his last four events, Kuch has three top-tens, and his T-12 at the Masters was his worst finish in this span. Even better than recent form which is pretty hard to beat, is the course history here at Muirfield, as Kuchar has far and away the best in the rankings.

Kuchar has missed this event just once in the last ten years, and it is obvious his game translates really well here. He has never missed a cut, and his worst finish in this span was a T-26 in 2015. He has a win which came in 2013, and five total top-fives in this span as well, and eight finishes inside the top-15. It will be Kuch and Cantlay heading into the weekend, with at least two of our last three lurking. That is looking like my prediction for this week.

3. Justin Rose – (3)

As far as overall history goes here at the Memorial, Rose is as close to Kuchar as it gets. His win here came in 2010 sandwiched between two missed cuts, and overall in eight starts in the last ten years Rose has missed just three cuts total. He had back-to-back top-tens with eighth place finishes in both 2012 and 2013, and after another missed cut in 2014, he followed it up by losing in a playoff to David Lingmerth in 2015 for a solo second.

Recently, Rose has been up-and-down while playing in an extremely limited amount of tournaments up to this point in 2019. He is coming off of a disappointing T-58 at the Charles Schwab Challenge, and struggled in the first two majors of the season as well. Rose missed the cut at the Masters, and missed the top-25 at Bethpage with a T-29 finish.

2. Tiger Woods – (5)

I really didn’t think Woods would win at Bethpage. I convinced myself he would as I kind of need to do so in this spot offering opinions and rankings. However, it was a big swing and a miss. What did surprise me though, was the missed cut. With the way he played at Augusta coupled with the fact that he hadn’t missed a cut since the 2018 Open Championship, the fact that Tiger got to Bethpage early, got in plenty of practice, and still missed the cut was likely a huge disappoint for him.

Woods is a five-time winner here at the Memorial Tournament, but he has played here just six times in the last ten years. He made his return after a two-year hiatus last year likely dealing with injuries, and was able to T-23. His most recent win here was not that long ago in 2012, and he also won three times in a row here from 1999 to 2001.

1. Rory McIlroy – (4)

This is as close of a call at number one than I can remember as of late at a non-major, but McIlroy continues to be right in it, week in and week out, regardless of venue. He comes into Muirfield in arguably the best form in all of golf, having grabbed another top-10 with a T-8 finish at the PGA Championship. Rory now has eight top-tens in nine starts in 2019, and that kind of consistency near the top is what got him to number one this week.

Here at the Memorial, McIlroy has been solid, but has not had that elusive victory. In seven starts here in the last ten years, McIlroy has notched four top-tens, with his best finish being a T-4 back in 2016. In his most recent action at Muirfield Village, McIlroy finished T-8 last year. It isn’t with a bullet as it has been at times recently, but McIlroy is 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.

All info derived from Smart Golf Bets, along with Data Golf and OWGR. Much thanks to these free sources of information. Thanks again for reading, and good luck with your fantasy golf this weekend.