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PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 Northern Trust

By Chris Aliperto

PGA Power Rankings: PARAMUS, NJ - AUGUST 25: Brooks Koepka waits to play his tee shot on the first hole during the third round of THE NORTHERN TRUST at Ridgewood Country Club on August 25, 2018 in Paramus, New Jersey. (Photo by Stan Badz/PGA TOUR)
PGA Power Rankings: PARAMUS, NJ - AUGUST 25: Brooks Koepka waits to play his tee shot on the first hole during the third round of THE NORTHERN TRUST at Ridgewood Country Club on August 25, 2018 in Paramus, New Jersey. (Photo by Stan Badz/PGA TOUR) /
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PGA Power Rankings
PGA Power Rankings: JERSEY CITY, NJ – OCTOBER 01: A course scenic view on the first hole during the Sunday singles matches at the Presidents Cup at Liberty National Golf Club on October 1, 2017, in Jersey City, New Jersey. (Photo by Stan Badz/PGA TOUR) /

The FedEx Cup Playoffs are here! Welcome to FanSided Fantasy’s PGA Power Rankings for this week’s The Northern Trust, taking place at Liberty National Golf Course in Jersey City, New Jersey.

This PGA Power Rankings article will cover the top 20 golfers for this week’s 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 this event.

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 Northern Trust – Course and History

The Northern Trust has been the first stop on the FedEx Cup Playoffs since 2007, back when it was still known as The Barclays, which stood until 2016. This will be the fourth year of the event now known as The Northern Trust, and Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey will host for the first time since 2013.

This is a rotating event, which plays at top courses across New Jersey and New York, including the black course at Bethpage, host of this year’s PGA Championship. The Northern Trust will return to Boston however next season.

The top 125 in the final FedEx Cup regular season standings are eligible for this weekend’s action, and the top name we know will sit this one out is Paul Casey. He played last week, and planned to skip the Northern Trust for quite some time it was reported, as he has a comfortable enough spot in his mind at eighth in the standings.

Another top name who will skip this event and possibly the entire FedEx Cup Playoffs is Henrik Stenson.

The TOUR Championship is the same week as the Scandanavian Invitation on the European Tour in his home country of Sweden, and that leads me to believe there is a solid chance he will just pass on the playoffs altogether.

He was ranked 85th in the final standings and would need to battle just to make the top-70 next week.

So a little about Liberty National Golf Course before we get to this week’s PGA Power Rankings. This is a tough course, playing at around 7,400 yards and at par 71, and wind can definitely be a factor if blowing inland from the Atlantic Ocean.

With average width fairways, and rough up to 4″ in some spots, keeping the ball in the fairway will be critical on certain holes. Greens are Bentgrass, smaller, and undulating,

Adam Scott won the Barclays when it was lasted hosted here in 2013, finishing 11-under par, and holding off guys like Tiger Woods, Justin Rose, and Gary Woodland by one stroke.

Bryson DeChambeau was the champ last year, as he dominated at Ridgewood Country Club finishing 18-under par, beating runner-up Tony Finau by four strokes.

After the conclusion of the Northern Trust this week, points will be awarded and the top-70 will advance to the BMW Championship next week.

The 2019 season finale will then take place the following week at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta for the TOUR Championship, where the final 30 atop the FedEx Cup standings will battle for huge money and a spot in the coveted Wyndham Rewards Top 10.

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