Rankings

Wyndham Championship Power Rankings

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August 14, 2018

5. Julian Suri

Julian Suri on the 9th hole during day one of the 2018 Houston Open at the Golf Club of Houston in Humble, TX. Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

The 27-year-old American has made just 10 career PGA Tour starts, with just eight coming on U.S. soil. Suri has done most of his damage in Europe, where he won twice in 2017, once on the Challenge Tour and once on the European Tour.

Ranked 60th in the World, Suri was a factor in a major for the first time last week at the PGA Championship, opening with three rounds in the 60s to reach the periphery of contention before a final-round 70 dropped him to T19. With just six bogeys for the entire week at Bellerive, Suri comes into Sedgefield in good form, having also finished runner-up at last month’s French Open on the European Tour.

Despite it being his Wyndham debut, Suri played his college golf at nearby Duke, and should be very comfortable with the surroundings. He is definitely among those to watch most closely this week.

As a non-PGA member, Suri does not qualify for the FedExCup playoffs, but that would change if he were to somehow win this week.

Odds: 45-1
World Rank: 60
FedExCup Rank: NA
Last Six: 19, 28, MC, 27, 2, 51

4. Henrik Stenson

The Wyndham defending champion put a stop to a surprising slump among PGA Tour events with the victory at Sedgefield last year, allowing him to vault from No. 75 to No. 23 in the FedExCup Standings.

At No. 19 in the world rankings, Stenson is the second-highest ranked player in the field (Matsuyama, 16th), so he would appear to be a good bet to repeat, but an elbow injury has his game in question. After back-to-back top 10 finishes in majors with a T5 at The Masters and a T6 at the U.S. Open, the injury is believed to have played a big factor in a difficult three-start stretch, with Stenson finishing T35 at The Open Championship, T39 at the WGC-Bridgestone, and missing the cut at the PGA Championship.

One would think that Stenson would not feel it necessary to stay in the Wyndham field if the elbow was still bothering him badly, but it is worth consideration with his recent string of disappointing finishes.

If he is healthy, he is a fantastic fit statistically, as he leads the Tour in greens in regulation percentage, is 2nd in driving accuracy, 3rd in strokes gained: approach-the-green, and 10th in scoring average.

Odds: 16-1
World Rank: 19
FedExCup Rank: 50
Last Six: MC, 39, 35, 6, 26, 13

3. Hideki Matsuyama

At World No. 16, Matsuyama is the highest-ranked player in this week’s field, but he has undoubtedly been among the Tour’s most disappointing players this season.

After three wins and three runner-ups in the 2017 season, Hideki doesn’t have any of either this year, posting just two top-10s in 16 starts. He has shown some recent signs of coming back around, however, as his T35 performance at last week’s PGA Championship included three rounds in the 60s.

He sat out last year’s Wyndham, but was T3 at Sedgefield the year prior, and this could be a tremendous opportunity for the massively talented 26-year-old to get his career back on the elite track. Currently 88th in the FedExCup Standings, he should be very motivated to better it.

Odds: 16-1
World Rank: 16
FedExCup Rank: 88
Last Six: 35, 39, MC, MC, 16, 13

2. Rafa Cabrera Bello

Rafa Cabrera Bello on the 13th green during day two of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills GC in Southampton, NY. Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images

An absolutely dismal five-event stretch of player, from the U.S. Open through the Open Championship, seems to be firmly in Cabrera Bello’s rear-view mirror as he placed T17 at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, and then snagged his second career top 10 in a major, riding a bogey-free final round 64 to a T10 finish.

Currently 57th in the FedExCup Standings, the 34-year-old Spaniard is obviously not in jeopardy of missing the playoffs, but picking up some more points in a weak field event could be a sage decision in his quest to make a deep playoff run.

RCB also has the European Ryder Cup team on his mind; he is currently well outside the top 4 (which qualify automatically) on the European and World Points lists, but he stands a great choice to be one of Thomas Bjorn’s Captain’s Picks if he plays well before the September 2nd deadline. It helps his case immensely that he was fantastic for the European side in 2016.

In his last Wyndham Championship start (2016), Cabrera Bello transmuted a first-round 63 into a T5 finish, meaning he has an excellent combination of course history and recent form.

Odds: 22-1
World Rank: 28
FedExCup Rank: 57
Last Six: 10, 17, 74, MC, MC, MC

1. Webb Simpson

Webb Simpson Leads The Greenbrier — Webb Simpson talks on the 12th tee with his caddy during round one of A Military Tribute At The Greenbrier at the Old White TPC in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Credit: Michael Owens/Getty Images

A tremendous bounce-back year for the World No. 20 and reigning PLAYERS Champion Simpson continued last week, as he put together four consecutive rounds in the 60s in a T19 finish at the PGA Championship.

Even better, his performance allowed him to hold onto the 8th spot in the American Ryder Cup Standings, clinching him a spot on September’s team. At 12th in the FedExCup Standings, nobody in the Wyndham field is currently sitting in a better position than Simpson, who won at Sedgefield by three strokes in 2011, and has four additional top 11 finishes since, including a solo-third in last year’s edition after opening 63-64.

The North Carolina native takes great pride in playing well in his home tournament.

Odds: 12-1
World Rank: 20
FedExCup Rank: 12
Last Six: 19, 24, 12, 47, MC, 10

Next Five: Ryan Moore, Brian Gay, Peter Uihlein, Ollie Schniederjans, Seamus Power