PGA power rankings: Sanderson Farms Championship

PGA power rankings: Sanderson Farms Championship

5. Scottie Scheffler – (84)

Scheffler keeps rolling along as he carried his momentum from his Korn Ferry Tour playoff run into a T-7 last week at the Greenbrier. The 23-year-old was one of the best on the KFT all season long, as he notched eight top-10’s before his memorable playoff run. He started the playoffs with a win at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, followed by a T-11 at the Boise Open and a T-7 at the KFT Championship.

With Matthew Wolff and Collin Morikawa still taking time off, and Viktor Hovland over at the BMW PGA Championship on the European Tour in the United Kingdom, the newest young guns like Scheffler, Robby Shelton, and Doc Redman have another chance to stay relevant. Scheffler did play here last year on an exemption, and if he could have made a putt or two he could have made a run. He finished T-45 at 5-under par, but he was among the worst in the field on the greens, while being among the best tee-to-green.

4. Lucas Glover – (61)

Although his season likely ended in disappointment as he finished 29th in the field of 30 at the TOUR Championship, I am sure the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow was well worth the temporary pain. Glover had a solid season ripping off top-20’s all year long it seemed, and for a few months it was like we were seeing the vintage Lucas Glover who won the 2009 U.S. Open Championship. OK maybe not that good, but 11 total top-20’s is the kind of consistency that has kept him inside the top-100 of the OWGR since returning inside that threshold last season.

In our five-year sample size for the Sanderson Farms Championship, Glover has arguably the best course history here among those in the field. Vaughn Taylor has played very well here as well with his worst finish being a T-26 in four chances, but Glover has also played four times and has a better overall top finish with his T-5 in 2016 when he finished 15-under par. The Glove played well here last year as well, as he finished 12-under par and T-14.

3. Brandt Snedeker – (41)

Coming in at number three this week in the PGA Power Rankings is the highest-ranked golfer in the OWGR in this field in Brandt Snedeker. Sneds is another in what seems to have turned into a long line of golfers who missed just three cuts total in 2019, and prior to his FedEx Cup playoff run, he notched three top-fives with his best finish being a T-4 at the RBC Canadian Open.

He got hot at the right time though, parlaying a T-6 at the Northern Trust with a T-5 at the BMW Championship into a spot in the TOUR Championship, where he T-23. Surprisingly, this will be his first appearance at the Sanderson Farms Championship at the Country Club of Jackson.

2. Sungjae Im – (54)

I have longed for this day. Hello to my readers who have been following long enough to know exactly what I am talking about. I finally get to put Im and Niemann at the top of the PGA power rankings in very deserving fashion. Back in the days when these two were value plays for the FanDuel or DRAFT articles, or when I would sneak them into the early part of the rankings, they were every week guys for me and will now continue to be. To see Niemann get his first win last week at the Greenbrier, it would only be right if Sungjae can get it done this week.

Im will be the best in this field relative to last year’s finish in the FedEx Cup playoffs. He grinded it out week after week to earn his way in despite not being able to secure a victory, and he went on to T-15 at the TOUR Championship to finish his rookie campaign. He opened the season with a T-19 last week at the Greenbrier.

1. Joaquin Niemann – (50)

First of all, huge congratulations are in order to the 20-year-old on becoming the first golfer from Chile to win on the PGA Tour with his win at the Greenbrier. It was only a matter of time as all of us golf experts can finally collectively say together, but Niemann was truly dominant in a way that we all believed he was capable of doing. He fired an opening-round 65 to get things moving in the right direction, and a 62 on Friday put him in a very favorable spot heading into the weekend.

Niemann then regressed back to the pack slightly on Saturday with a still very solid 68, but he continued to attack pins on Sunday and fired a 64 to win by a massive six-stroke margin. It was clear he was eager to get back into action, and I believe he has all of the tools to get it done in back-to-back weeks, despite not even being old enough to legally drink. If he putts as well he did at the Old White TPC last week, you can pretty much count on another top-ten at the very least.

Thanks for stopping by FanSided Fantasy and checking out our ever-expanding Fantasy Golf content. I hope you enjoyed this week’s PGA Power Rankings. Be sure to keep an eye out for my FanDuel article coming soon as well. As always, special thanks to goes to Smart Golf Bets for his tournament sheets, and all of the stats and information at Data Golf.