PGA power rankings: The 2019 Zozo Championship

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CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – MAY 03: Paul Casey of England plays his shot from the third tee during the second round of the 2019 Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club on May 03, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

PGA power rankings: Zozo Championship

5. Paul Casey – (14)

Like Adam Scott before him, Paul Casey also got hot at the right time, after playing in minimal action throughout the course of the season. He wrapped things up with a solo third-place finish at East Lake after a T-24 at the BMW Championship, and while this week will mark his first PGA Tour event of the new season, Casey has had continued success on the European Tour as of late.

Casey did miss the cut in his last action at the Italian Open two weeks ago which probably kept him out of the 4th spot this week, but he followed up his solo third at the TOUR Championship with a win at the Porsche European Open, where he shot opening and closing rounds of 66. The 42-year-old followed his 9th career European Tour victory with a T-11 at the BMW PGA Championship, and he comes in ranked 5th in this week’s PGA power rankings.

4. Xander Schauffele – (8)

Although this will be his first action since the Porsche Open where he T-46, Schauffele was still able to pass Bryson DeChambeau and Tiger Woods in the OWGR to move up to the 8th spot this week. It was probably a little overdue after he was able to finish the season with a second-place finish at East Lake for the TOUR Championship, but I guess it is always better late than never.

Schauffele has not played in six weeks, and while that maybe would be cause for concern for the rust factor, it is worth noting that Xander did skip quite a few events last year. If you ignore gambling odds this one may seem a bit high, but Schauffele currently sits at 20/1 on Bovada along with Paul Casey and Jordan Spieth, and our final three are all 16/1 or better.

3. Hideki Matsuyama – (27)

Other than the locals in this field who are of the best of the best on the Japan Golf Tour, Hideki Matsuyama is one of the few who has some experience here at Narashino, although it did not seem to help him at the Skins Challenge Sunday night. Despite that, the 27-year-old was probably a little gassed after battling his way to a T-3 finish at the CJ Cup. Normally one to tail off on a Sunday as of late, Matsuyama shot a 65 in the final round to tie with Woodland and Cameron Smith.

The Hideki-Bot had a solid year, knocking on the door many times but was never able to kick it down, and he still seeks his first victory since 2017. There would be nothing more fitting for him than to break that winless streak this week in the inaugural Zozo Championship in his home country. We have no course history this week, and with his experience combined with his recent form, Matsuyama could easily be ranked ahead of our number two this week. It just didn’t feel right with the OWGR separation.

2. Rory McIlroy – (2)

McIlroy was able to win a few skins in the Japan Skins Challenge late Sunday / early Monday morning, as he tied with Tiger Woods winning $60,000. I tried to watch it all, and it was highly entertaining to hear the back-and-forth banter among the golfers, along with the walking interviews, however, the golf part was just lacking overall excitement.

The reigning PGA Tour player of the year has followed up his FedEx Cup playoff win playing on the European Tour, and he picked up right where he left off the week following East Lake with a T-2 at the Omega European Masters. After some rest, McIlroy then cracked the top-10 once again at the BMW PGA Championship with a T-9 finish. In his last action three weeks ago at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, the world’s number two ranked golfer slipped a bit and T-26, his worst finish in seven events since his missed cut at Royal Portrush.

1. Justin Thomas – (4)

No surprise here, but when the favorite wins in decisive fashion the previous week, his second win his last four events played, it really shouldn’t be. Justin Thomas is simply on fire, and with the victory at the CJ Cup making it two straight at Nine Bridges, we also get to score another point for the course history truthers. While I am not completely lost this week without it, of course, the fact that some deny that certain golfers just play better where they feel more comfortable is sort of mind-boggling to me.

Instead this week we focus more on recent form, and nobody on the planet is playing better than JT right now. He has finished no worse than T-12 in eight straight events now going back to his T-9 at the Scottish Open, and although he could not put it together after his win at the BMW Championship the following week at the TOUR Championship, it seems as though he has come out more hungry this year because of it. Prior to his win last week, Thomas T-4 in his first action of the new season at the Safeway Open. He is the favorite once again this week from a gambling standpoint, and he is number one in my PGA power rankings as well.

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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 Mike Miller for his tournament sheets, and all of the stats and information at Data Golf.

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