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PGA power rankings: The 2019 Zozo Championship

By Chris Aliperto

INZAI, JAPAN - OCTOBER 21: Hideki Matsuyama of Japan hits out from a bunker on the 18th hole during The Challenge: Japan Skins at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club on October 21, 2019 in Inzai, Chiba, Japan. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images)
INZAI, JAPAN - OCTOBER 21: Hideki Matsuyama of Japan hits out from a bunker on the 18th hole during The Challenge: Japan Skins at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club on October 21, 2019 in Inzai, Chiba, Japan. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images) /
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INZAI, JAPAN – OCTOBER 21: Jason Day of Australia hits his tee shot on the 13th hole during The Challenge: Japan Skins at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club on October 21, 2019 in Inzai, Chiba, Japan. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images)
INZAI, JAPAN – OCTOBER 21: Jason Day of Australia hits his tee shot on the 13th hole during The Challenge: Japan Skins at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club on October 21, 2019 in Inzai, Chiba, Japan. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images) /

PGA power rankings: Zozo Championship

***The following golfers are my top 15 overall. Following each golfer will be a number in parenthesis, which represents their current ranking in the OWGR.***

15. Jason Day – (28)

Kicking things off this week, I decided to go with Jason Day in the 15 spot after he was able to win the important $100,000 skin on the 18th hole on Sunday night in the Japan Skins Challenge and come away with $210,000 total and the win. At the very least, he got a good look at the course before others begin what will be a potentially rain-soaked practice round.

Day had an overall disappointing 2019 season, dropping 14 spots in the OWGR since January, from number 14 in the world to number 28. He got off to a hot start at the CJ Cup with an opening-round 66 in his first competitive round of the season but was not able to crack 71 the rest of the week. The 31-year-old Australian ended up finishing 7-under par, good for a T-31 finish.

14. Sungjae Im – (43)

Although he finished a couple of strokes behind Day last week at 5-under last week at the CJ Cup and T-39, the front-runner for the 2019 PGA rookie of the year Sungjae Im comes in at number 14 this week. Im has worked his way up to the 43rd ranked player in the world, and he got a slight boost from a win he had that you may have missed a couple of weeks ago.

Obviously, it did not happen on the PGA Tour or you would have heard about it, but Im decided to head home to South Korea a week earlier than the CJ Cup, and instead competed in and won the Genesis Championship on the KPGA Korean Tour. It was only a month ago in which he just missed that first PGA Tour victory at the Sanderson Farms Farms Championship, where he lost to Sebastian Munoz in a playoff.

13. Tommy Fleetwood – (16)

Fleetwood has been having better Sundays as of late, but he still is seeking that elusive first PGA Tour victory. The 28-year-old went 71, 70, 71 before firing a 67 on Sunday at the CJ Cup, and ended up T-20 at 9-under par. Although this is another no-cut event, it is still worth noting that Fleetwood does have the longest consecutive cuts made streak, which stretches back into May of last year.

The Englishman has played three times on the European Tour since the new season began and has found himself inside the top-ten twice. Fleetwood T-8 at the Omega European Masters back in early September, and T-5 at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship three weeks ago.

12. Viktor Hovland – (91) 

Hovland’s OWGR does not quite reflect this high of a ranking yet, but it will be interesting to see where that number gets to by this time next year. The 22-year-old rookie out of Oklahoma State hasn’t got the W out of the way yet like his fellow rookie superstars in Matthew Wolff and Collin Morikawa, but he has still been incredible in his own right, having recently broken a record that stood on the PGA Tour since 2001.

Hovland had shot 19 consecutive rounds in the 60’s heading into Saturday at the CJ Cup, a record that once stood at 17 and was held by Bob Estes. However, all streaks must come to an end and a 74 in round three at Nine Bridges would ultimately end it. Hovland went on to shoot a 69 on Sunday and maybe start a new streak, and finished T-31 at 7-under par.

11. Jordan Spieth – (37)

One good week isn’t quite enough for me to put Spieth inside the top-ten just yet, but one more good week might do it. Spieth’s struggles over almost the last couple of years now have many, including me, needing to see more before we feel like he is back. He played well for all four rounds at the CJ Cup, and that was something that we have not seen a lot of, but I need to see him do it at least a couple of weeks in a row before I get too excited.

It was highlighted by a second-round 65, but Spieth avoided the blow-up round he has been prone to as of late. He managed to shoot all four rounds under par and finished 12-under, good for a T-8 and a top-ten. It was a good start to the new year for the 26-year-old, who was unable to accrue enough FedEx Cup points to qualify for the TOUR Championship last season.

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