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PGA power rankings: The 2019 TOUR championship

By Chris Aliperto

PGA power rankings: ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 20: The FedEx Cup Trophy during the first round of the PGA Tour Championship on September 20, 2018, at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
PGA power rankings: ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 20: The FedEx Cup Trophy during the first round of the PGA Tour Championship on September 20, 2018, at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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PGA power rankings
PGA power rankings: DUBLIN, OHIO – JUNE 02: Adam Scott of Australia plays a shot during the final round of The Memorial Tournament Presented By Nationwide at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 02, 2019 in Dublin, Ohio. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /

PGA power rankings: The TOUR Championship

10. Adam Scott – (13)

At number ten in the PGA power rankings this week, Adam Scott checks in as our second of just three golfers that come into the TOUR Championship off of back-to-back top-tens. The odd thing here though is that despite a solo fifth at the Northern Trust followed by his T-9 at Medinah last week, he still dropped one spot in the FedEx Cup standings from 12th to 13th.

It is all about points though, and remember we did not see too much of Scott this season as he played just 17 events. This will be Scott’s first TOUR Championship since 2016 when he T-8 at 4-under par, and he will start this years tournament at 3-under par under the new scoring rules.

9. Dustin Johnson – (14)

It is time to send out an S.O.S. for Dustin Johnson’s golf game, as I am finally convinced something is way off with the former number one, and still the second-ranked player in the world. Johnson failed to break 70 in any of his four rounds at the BMW Championship, and finished T-57, continuing his run of poor play.

It has been over three months now since DJ finished better than T-20, and the only thing he seems to have in his favor this week is the fact that he should know his way around East Lake Golf Club.

DJ has made the TOUR Championship in nine of the last ten years, notching five top-ten or better finishes along the way. He has never won here at East Lake, and his best finish here in this event was last year when he finished alone in third place at 7-under par. I would not be surprised if he put it all together and made a run this week, but it cannot be expected at this point.

8. Xander Schauffele – (8)

Schauffele was able to play good enough last week to stay in the top-ten in the FedEx Cup standings with his T-19 finish at the BMW Championship, but he did drop another spot as he fell from 7th to 8th.

When the playoffs began at the Northern Trust Schauffele was in the top-five, but his missed cut there and average finish last week considering the smaller field has moved him into a spot where he will need to play well to stay finish inside the top-ten.

Although his form could be a little better coming in, he has played fantastically here at East Lake in two TOUR Championship appearances. He won in his debut in 2017, but under the old scoring rules, the win only moved him into a third-place finish in the final FedEx Cup standings. Last year he T-7 and finished 15th overall in the final standings.

7. Webb Simpson – (9)

Simpson followed his T-18 at the Northern Trust with a T-24 at the BMW Championship, and even though he dropped in the OWGR, he was able to grab enough points to move up two spots from number 11 to inside the coveted Wyndham Rewards Top 10 in 9th place as we head to the TOUR Championship.

He was on fire heading into the playoffs with back-to-back runner-up finishes at the FedEx St. Jude Invitational and the Wyndham Championship, but he is trending the opposite way coming in.

Last year at the TOUR Championship, Simpson finished 6-under par for the tournament, good for a T-4 finish, matching his previous best finish here back in 2013.

He did not qualify for the TOUR Championship in 2015 and 2016, but this year will be his third straight, as he T-13 in 2017. He will need to have one more big week to stay inside the top 10, and he will start the tournament at 4-under par.

6. Patrick Reed – (4)

Reed has been playing really well for a good stretch of around three months now, but his history here at East Lake is not good, and his T-19 last week at the BMW Championship caused him to drop two spots from number two in the FedEx Cup standings.

This, of course, was all after his win at the Northern Trust, and he was on a stretch of five straight top-25 or better finishes that included two top-tens coming into the playoffs.

Here at the TOUR Championship, Reed has teed it up after qualifying in each of the last five years, but his best finish was a T-13 in 2017. He has finished T-24 or worse three out of five times in this event, with his worst finish coming last year when he finished alone in 28th place at 9-over par.

Considering this is a field of just 30 golfers, it seems Reed has a very tough time with East Lake Golf Club.

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