2020 U.S. Open Power Rankings

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20. Chez Reavie

Chez Reavie
Chez Reavie reacts after making a birdie during day two of the Dell Technologies Championship at TPC Boston on Sep. 1, 2018 in Norton, MA. Photo by Keyur Khamar/PGA TOUR via Getty Images

Could another patented Chez Reavie Heater be on the way? He took third at the Safeway Open last week, carding seven birdies over his final nine holes, and gamblers know that he is a special kind of streaky.

The 38-year-old hits fairways with the best of them, finishing in the top 10 on Tour in driving accuracy each of the past five seasons. A general inability to get up-and-down from the greens has circumscribed his results, but if he plays to his strengths, those troubles will be mitigated.

Reavie is a well-above average putter, and he impressed in finishing T3 at last year’s U.S. Open, staying in the mix while bigger names around him were falling.


19. Paul Casey

Paul Casey Wins Valspar Championship
Paul Casey reacts on the final hole of the Valspar Championship on Mar 24, 2019 at Innisbrook’s Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, FL. Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

In the midst of a pedestrian 2020 season, the 43-year-old from England had been largely forgotten coming off a strong 2019 season (one victory, one runner-up, one 3rd place among seven top-10s) when he emerged as a contender at last month’s PGA Championship by shooting four rounds of 68 or better to finish co-runner-up with Dustin Johnson – two strokes behind Collin Morikawa.

Coming into that week at TPC Harding Park, Paul Casey was in a miserable stretch of play where he missed the cut at both The Memorial Tournament and the 3M Open before finishing T67 at the 78-man WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.

Perhaps he was motivated by a sense of urgency, as he is majorless in his career and running short on time. If that is the case, he could easily get into the mix at Winged Foot.

Casey has the iron game to contend at a U.S. Open as well, although it is the only one of the four majors where he has not finished in the top 4. His best result was a T10 at the 2007 edition at Oakmont, where his 11-over total was six strokes behind Angel Cabrera. He did have the low round of the tournament that year, a second-round 66 on a day where the field average was 76.9.


18. Martin Kaymer

Martin Kaymer
Martin Kaymer waves to the gallery after making a par on the 18th hole during the third round of The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 1, 2019 in Dublin, Ohio. Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Don’t look now, but the man who won the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 by eight strokes is rounding back into form.

Martin Kaymer, who also won the 2010 PGA Championship, has not won anywhere since Pinehurst, but a roller coaster 2020 has the former world No. 1 back in the world’s top 100 (No. 88). He started the 2020 calendar year with four straight finishes of T16 or better, then missed three cuts in a row, including at the PGA Championship where he imploded with a Friday 82 just one day after opening with a 66.

In two starts since TPC Harding Park, the 35-year-old German has shined in Europe, chasing a T3 with a runner-up, the latter coming in an event where the winning score was 2-over.

It is fair to question if he has the confidence to stay in contention if he gets there again, but with Kaymer you know if there is a clutch putt that needs to be sunk, he will sink it. We think he makes a sneaky-good bet, with odds in the triple-digits.


17. Tommy Fleetwood

Tommy Fleetwood Wyndham Championship
Tommy Fleetwood lines up a putt on the first green during the third round of the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield CC on Aug 15, 2020 in Greensboro, NC. Photo by Chris Keane/Getty Images

Ranked 15th in the world, the suave Englishman keeps knocking on the door at majors, but is still looking for victory No. 1 on the PGA Tour. He played in the final Sunday pairing three years ago at Erin Hills, finishing solo-fourth, and then the next year, he snagged a runner-up finish when he put together a final-round 63 that was three strokes better than anyone else in the round 4 field.

Tommy Fleetwood was also the only player within 10 miles of Shane Lowry at least year’s Open Championship and contended through three rounds at last month’s PGA Championship. A breakthrough is way overdue.


16. Henrik Stenson

Henrik Stenson Wins Hero World Challenge
Henrik Stenson plays his shot on the third hole during the final round of the 2019 Hero World Challenge at Albany on Dec 07, 2019 in Nassau, Bahamas. Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images

If it feels like the 2016 Open Champion Golfer of the Year has barely played this year, it’s because he has barely played this year. The 44-year-old Swede has made just three PGA Tour starts in the 2020 calendar year, missing the cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the PGA Championship, and finishing T35 at last month’s WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. He has only fared marginally better in three European Tour starts.

Still, Henrik Stenson should not be forgotten. He won the 18-man Hero World Challenge, an unofficial event in The Bahamas last December by one stroke over Jon Rahm, and he has finished T9-T6 in the past two U.S. Opens.

Especially conducive to U.S. Open success, Stenson is a pure hitter who excels at keeping the ball out of trouble, which was most on display during the 2018 season when he led the PGA Tour in driving accuracy, greens in regulation, and strokes gained: approach-the-green.


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