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PGA power rankings: Sanderson Farms Championship

By Chris Aliperto

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WEST VIRGINIA - SEPTEMBER 15: Joaquin Niemann of Chile celebrates a birdie putt on the 18th green to win A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier held at the Old White TPC course on September 15, 2019 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WEST VIRGINIA - SEPTEMBER 15: Joaquin Niemann of Chile celebrates a birdie putt on the 18th green to win A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier held at the Old White TPC course on September 15, 2019 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA – AUGUST 04: J.T. Poston celebrates with the trophy after winning the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club on August 04, 2019 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Tyler Lecka/Getty Images)
GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA – AUGUST 04: J.T. Poston celebrates with the trophy after winning the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club on August 04, 2019 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Tyler Lecka/Getty Images) /

PGA power rankings: Sanderson Farms Championship

10. J.T. Poston – (71)

The Post Man will make his season debut this week, and as we get into the top-ten this week I think it is fairly cut-and-dry considering what we are working with. Other than last week’s winner Niemann, Poston is the only other golfer in this field that has won on the PGA Tour since August.

Poston got his first career victory at the Wyndham Championship to propel him into the FedEx Cup playoffs, and his season ended with a T-16 at the BMW Championship as it was not enough to push him inside the top-30 for a spot in the TOUR Championship.

Here at the Sanderson Farms Championship, Poston is 3-for-3 as far as making cuts goes, but he really faltered on the weekend in each of the last two seasons. His best finish was a T-29 in 2016.

9. Cameron Smith – (45)

I thought last week may be the week this 26-year-old Aussie found his way back to relevance on the PGA Tour with a top-10 at the very least, but it just did not come to fruition. Smith was solid with a T-24 finish at the Greenbrier, but maybe a bit more was to be expected considering the strength of the field? A ranking of ninth may seem high this week at first glance, but considering he is the second highest-ranked golfer in the OWGR in this field it might actually be too low in the eyes of some.

Just a couple of years ago, Smith was regarded as one of the future stars of the game, but he still seeks his first win anywhere other than the Australian PGA Championship, which he has currently won in back-to-back years. He knocked on the door just over a year ago with back-to-back 3rd place finishes in the 2018 FedEx Cup Playoffs, but he has not cracked the top-ten since the WGC-Mexico Championship in February where he T-6. How he is still ranked in the top-50 in the world is really a mystery to me.

8. Emiliano Grillo – (65)

Grillo was one of the most consistent cut-makers on tour last season, but things really took a turn south towards the end of the season. Going back to the 147th Open Championship in 2018, Grillo missed just one cut in the one-year span in between then and the 148th Open Championship last season at Royal Portrush. He was able to follow up the missed cut this year with a T-18 at the Barracuda Championship, but a better finish was likely expected considering the strength of that field.

Grillo then missed another cut to start the FedEx Cup playoffs at the Northern Trust but had compiled enough points over the season to remain in the top-70. His season ended at the BMW Championship, where he T-31. While Grillo has only missed three cuts total in 2019, two were fairly recent. On top of that, he only has one finish inside the top-ten this calendar year as well. This will be his first Sanderson Farms Championship at the C.C. of Jackson.

7. Byeong-Hun An – (48)

As we creep closer to the top-five this week, Benny An is another near favorite this week, despite his disappointing T-47 last week at the Greenbrier. An is another fairly young golfer with huge expectations, but being we are still waiting for that first career victory at age 27, it is starting to feel like he will just never be able to close.

An is among the best at making cuts, missing just three total in 2019, and while he had more than a handful of top-20’s, his best finish of the year was his solo third at the Wyndham Championship. This will be An’s first crack at the Sanderson Farms Championship.

6. Brian Harman – (90)

Another first timer here at the Country Club of Jackson, Harman gets the nod over An for me this week after his T-3 last week at the Greenbrier. The overall consistency and the OWGR are miles apart here in favor of An, but Harman is arguably in better form here. He has missed just two cuts in his last ten events, but even more impressive is that last week’s T-3 gives him four top-tens in that span as well.

Harman T-6 at the Wyndham Championship to earn a spot in the FedEx Cup playoffs last season, but his season would ultimately end with his T-52 at the Northern Trust. The 32-year-old has two career victories on the PGA Tour, with the most recent coming at the 2017 Wells Fargo Championship.

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