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PGA Power Rankings: The 148th Open Championship

By Chris Aliperto

CARNOUSTIE, SCOTLAND - JULY 22: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts on the 18th green during the final round of the Open Championship at Carnoustie Golf Club on July 22, 2018 in Carnoustie, Scotland. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
CARNOUSTIE, SCOTLAND - JULY 22: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts on the 18th green during the final round of the Open Championship at Carnoustie Golf Club on July 22, 2018 in Carnoustie, Scotland. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/R&A/R&A via Getty Images) /
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ORLANDO, FLORIDA – MARCH 07: Justin Rose of England plays his second shot on the par 4, 13th hole during the first round of the 2019 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard at the Bay Hill Club on March 07, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FLORIDA – MARCH 07: Justin Rose of England plays his second shot on the par 4, 13th hole during the first round of the 2019 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard at the Bay Hill Club on March 07, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images) /

PGA Power Rankings: The 148th Open Championship

5. Justin Rose – (4)

We made it to the home stretch of this week’s PGA Power Rankings, and it starts with the always dangerous Justin Rose. Rose is another golfer among the top 20 or so that just has just not played a whole lot this year, but with his T-3 at the U.S. Open in his last action, he comes into Royal Portrush in solid form. His best finish at an Open Championship was last year at Carnoustie where he T-2, and it has now been over six years since Rose last won a major.

Despite not much huge success in recent majors, Rose can pop at any time, as he has proven many times with 13 career wins over the years on the PGA and European Tours. It was right around this time last year when Rose caught fire and rose to the number one spot in the OWGR, and I am curious to see if he begins a similar run starting this weekend.

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4. Dustin Johnson – (2)

I am a huge Dustin Johnson fan, but my bias will not get the best of me this week. DJ had a stretch in 2018 and into 2019 where he was the favorite of essentially every tournament he played in, and in my time doing these PGA Power Rankings, he has never been outside my top two. It is almost as if nobody will even be talking about DJ this week, and when you look at his body of work the last couple of months and his history at the Open Championship, I guess it makes some sense.

Johnson missed the cut at the 147th Open Championship last year, and weekend struggles in 2017 led to a T-54 at Royal Birkdale. Speaking of missing the cut, Johnson also did just that in his last action at the inaugural Rocket Mortgage Classic. He did not miss a cut in 22 events in between, and following last years MC at Carnoustie, he won the RBC Canadian Open in his next action. Could we see that type of aggressive bounce back off of an MC again? I wouldn’t bet against it. Despite some recent struggles, DJ winning at Royal Portrush and capturing his second major championship win would not surprise me in the least.

3. Brooks Koepka – (1)

Almost 5000 words later, let the rankings shock sink in once again as my faith in Brooks Koepka this week is not great. First DJ at four, and now Brooks at number three, did I forget this was a major championship? We will obviously get Koepka at his best without a doubt, but the Open Championship is the one major championship he is yet to solve.

Technically Koepka is yet to win a Masters at this point as well, but his T-2 this year leads me to believe he will at the very least improve on his previous Open Championship finishes without much question. His best finish in an Open came in 2017 at Royal Birkdale where he T-6, and he T-39 last year at Carnoustie. With a win and two second-place finishes in this year’s first three majors I get why he is the favorite in the eyes of many, but my final two golfers get a slight edge this week for different reasons.

2. Jon Rahm – (8)

Since the Open Championship is a rotating event and course history is not a factor this week, recent form is giving Rahm a boost this week over some of the biggest names on Tour. He is coming into Royal Portrush off of an impressive win in his final tune-up at the Irish Open, and from the moment he finished T-3 at the U.S. Open, I had a feeling he was about to go on a run. Rahm also played the Andalucia Masters in between those two as well and T-2, giving him a first, second, and third-place finish in each of his last three events.

Major championships have been elusive for Rahm, but let’s not forget he is just 24-years-old. His T-9 at the Masters and T-3 at Pebble Beach this year suggests he is getting very close, and he has the advantage of playing extremely well on the European Tour coming in. Although he missed the cut at Carnoustie last year, I am locked in on what he did in his last action, when he shot a 64 on Saturday and closed with a 62 on Sunday at the Irish Open. That kind of dominance suggests he is peaking at the moment.

1. Rory McIlroy – (3)

Time to wrap up the PGA Power Rankings for the final extended edition of the year. If you made it this far, I cannot thank you enough for reading, and whether you agree here or not, Rory McIlroy is a rightful favorite for the 148th Open Championship this week. The four-time major champion won the Claret Jug in 2014, and I believe he has a huge advantage being in his home country this week, and playing at a course that maybe only Graeme McDowell has played more.

Rory has two wins on the PGA Tour in 2019, and he finished just inside the top-ten at both the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open. Although he is on a five-year major championship drought, this looks to be his best chance in quite some time. McIlroy won in early June at the RBC Canadian Open, and he comes into Royal Portrush off of a T-34 at the Scottish Open last week in his final tune-up.

Next. The 2019 Open Championship: PGA Golf Betting Picks. dark

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

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