AT&T Byron Nelson: Power Rankings (and Sleeper)

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Keith Mitchell Wins The Honda Classic
Keith Mitchell celebrates after making a birdie putt on the 18th green to win The Honda Classic at PGA National on March 3, 2019 in Palm Beach Gardens, FL.(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Trinity Forest is not hosting the strongest field the AT&T Byron Nelson has ever seen, but while it lacks firepower at the top, the field is surprisingly deep. One of the more conspicuous aspects is that it is heavy in notable Europeans.

Several are represented in this week’s power rankings:

The Top-10

Rank-Player-(World Rank, Odds)
10. Kevin Na (50, 40-1)
9. Thorbjorn Olesen (53, 50-1)
8. Rafa Cabrera Bello (31, 28-1)
7. Keith Mitchell (56, 28-1)
6. Aaron Wise (62, 22-1)
5. Scott Piercy (86), 40-1
4. Branden Grace (46, 33-1)
3. Marc Leishman (22, 28-1)
2. Justin Harding (45, 70-1)
1. Brooks Koepka (3, 7-1)

Top Sleeper: Shawn Stefani
After shooting a first-round 5-over 76 at last week’s Wells Fargo Championship, most players would have basically given up, but most golfers are not Shawn Stefani. The 37-year-old bounced back with a Friday 65, and then after a 70-67 weekend, Stefani impressively finished in a share of 13th.

At No. 300 in the world rankings, Stefani is not having the most impressive season, but he has had a tendency to be streaky in the past, and his tremendous finish at Quail Hollow last week should give him considerable confidence going into Trinity Forest, where he reached 10-under for the week a year ago (T26). It also helps that Stefani is a Texas native. He was born in the Houston area, where he still resides, and played college golf at Texas’ Lamar University.




This content first appeared as part of The Starter.


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