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PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 John Deere Classic

By Chris Aliperto

SILVIS, IL - JULY 15: A general view of the 18th hole during the fourth and final round of the John Deere Classic held at TPC Deere Run on July 15, 2018 in Silvis, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Cohen/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
SILVIS, IL - JULY 15: A general view of the 18th hole during the fourth and final round of the John Deere Classic held at TPC Deere Run on July 15, 2018 in Silvis, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Cohen/R&A/R&A via Getty Images) /
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PGA Power Rankings
FORT WORTH, TEXAS – MAY 24: Kevin Tway of the United States plays a shot from a bunker on the fifth hole during the second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club on May 24, 2019 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 John Deere Classic

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

20. Kevin Tway – (93)

I did not elaborate much on this point in the introduction this week, mostly because I at least want you to continue reading, but when I said this field was worse, it may have been an understatement. As far as the OWGR are concerned, the highest ranked players in this field are numbers 55 and 56 in the world, and they of course will show up here in the PGA Power Rankings at some point.

Cracking the top-20 this week off of a missed cut two weeks ago at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, is the big hitting 30-year-old Kevin Tway. He only missed that cut by a stroke, as 4-under par was not enough to make the weekend, and prior to that he had made six in a row. That stretch was highlighted by his T-5 at the Travelers Championship, and he added another top-20 in that span as well with a T-19 at the Charles Schwab Challenge.

19. Sam Burns – (112)

Burns has been playing really solid golf as of late, and the 22-year-old is just the first of a slew of rookies who are all looking like favorites to win here at TPC Deere Run with the lack of depth in the field. Last week at TPC Twin Cities at the inaugural 3M Open we saw a little preview of what the future of golf looks like with the strongest rookie class in quite some time, and with all of the top 30+ veterans taking the week off, we are likely to see somewhat of a repeat performance.

After a round of nine over par in the first round of the Memorial, Burns withdrew citing a lower back problem. It was the second time he had been forced to pull out early in five events, but in the weeks in between he wasn’t too bad, highlighted by his T-29 at the PGA Championship. Burns has finished three straight weeks now, and it seems as though the back is good to go. He shot a round of 64 on Sunday at the 3M Open, to creep into the top-ten and finish T-7.

18. Vaughn Taylor – (125)

We are going to go back to a crafty veteran here, as 43-year-old Vaughn Taylor is once again on a solid run. He has made six straight cuts, which started with back-to-back top-20’s at the Wells Fargo Championship, and the AT&T Byron Nelson. In his most recent action, he has shot eight straight rounds under par, and followed his solo fourth place at the Travelers Championship with a T-46 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

With back-to-back inaugural tournaments the last couple weeks, course history has not been a factor. That changes this week, and Taylor is our first golfer with plenty of experience here at TPC Deere Run to note. In nine trips here in the last ten years, Taylor has missed the cut just three times, with the last coming in 2016. His best finish came way back in 2010 when he T-6, and more recently, he T-19 in 2017, and T-34 last year.

17. Kyle Stanley – (56)

I am having a really hard time believing that Stanley is the second highest ranked golfer in this field, but because of that fact, he finds himself in the PGA Power Rankings this week. After Stanley T-8 at the Wells Fargo Championship, he missed the weekend in back-to-back events, but has recently bounced back.

Although this will be his first time teeing it up in July, he is coming off of a solid month of June, in which he made three straight cuts. It was highlighted by a T-21 his last time out at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, and at the very least, he is trending the right way.

Here at the John Deere Classic, Stanley has also been a staple, with mixed results. He has missed just two cuts, with one coming just last year, and his best finish was back in 2011 when he shot 21-under par to finish alone in second, losing to Steve Stricker by a stroke.

16. J.T. Poston – (152)

The Post Man has been pretty much definition boom or bust as of late, but the boom has been good enough to push him in to the rankings this week. He comes into TPC Deere Run off of a T-11 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, which was highlighted by a second round 63. It was his first top-20 or better since his T-6 at the RBC Heritage, and it has been mostly a rough stretch in between.

In the seven events Poston has played since the Heritage, he has missed four cuts, so the consistency aspect as not been up to par. However, he should be able to deliver this week at the John Deere Classic with the relative strength of the field.

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