This is the second of a series of power rankings of the golfers most likely to win the Green Jacket in April. This series will act as if the Masters were being played next week, with consideration to how players are playing in the now, not necessarily how they will play in April. Prior editions of the Masters Power Rankings can be found here.
1 Adam Scott- Boom! One week into the rankings, there is already a large shift at the top. Due to nothing that Jordan Spieth did wrong, Adam Scott has soared to the top of the rankings for the Masters. After a T-2 at the Northern Trust Open last weekend, in which he briefly held the clubhouse lead on Sunday, Scott won the Honda Classic this past weekend over Sergio Garcia. PGA National played similar to a US Open course these past few days, with many players finishing well over par and only 13 players finishing under par. Scott for the week, and especially on the weekend, displayed superb ball striking tee to green and even his putting held on down the stretch. Scott already won the Masters in 2013, and his game is rounding into shape heading into the first major of 2016. For Scott, it will all be decided with the flat stick. When you can swing like this, his long game should always be in his bag and ready on command. On the season, Scott is 25th on Tour in total putting and 50th in Strokes gained putting, compared to 170th and 158th respectively last season on Tour. His ball striking will be there, and if his solid putting on the season can continue at this point of the year, Scott should be considered the favorite.
2 Jordan Spieth- As mentioned, Spieth dropping one spot is more due to the excellent play of Adam Scott than the poor play of Jordan Spieth. That said, Spieth low key has not had a great tournament in a few weeks. After winning the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in early January, Spieth has recorded a T-21 and a missed cut on the PGA TOUR since. For any regular Tour pro, this is a fine run of tournaments. But, after lighting courses on fire last summer, just missing a cut is a bit surprising for Spieth. Ultimately, though, Spieth still has a high ranking here due to his past Masters experiences. Since turning pro in 2013, Spieth has only been defeated in the Masters by one other player (Bubba Watson), going for a very chill T-2 and a win in that period. No reason, right now, to see why Spieth could finish outside the top 5 in April.
3 Sergio Garcia- Ball striking. Driving. Tee to Green. Butterflies. Nerves. Shaky putting. These are just some of the words used to describe Garcia’s game, some of which fit into Augusta’s course and some not. Garcia’s struggles closing out tournaments are well-documented, as he again had an opportunity to win the Honda this past weekend before succumbing to Scott. Perhaps he does get nervous or his swing breaks down, but in the end Scott was one stroke better than Sergio over the course of 72 holes and over 250 golf shots. A few things break differently for him and he wins this weekend and the narrative becomes, has he overcome his nerves and is Garcia primed for Augusta now? Garcia hopefully will be in contention this year.
4 Rory Mcilroy- Rory missed the cut this weekend. If there is any player in the world in which making cuts probably doesn’t matter, it’s Mcilroy. That being said, the solid play of others around the world and mediocre play of Rory right now has pushed him down the rankings for this week. There isn’t too much new information about Mcilroy to write about this week. When Rory is at peak Rory, no one on the Earth can hit the driver with his combination of power and accuracy and his ability to hit irons as high he can. I would expect a solid showing this weekend at Doral and a steady incline toward the Masters.
5 Jason Day- Day hasn’t played in a while, which is surprising considering how often he usually plays. He should be fine between now and The Masters, as he is slated to play numerous times before the tournament starts. Day might be the only player in the world who can hang with Mcilroy when he is at his peak. Augusta should fit his game well again this year.
Dispatches from the PGA TOUR
- This week’s tournament is the WGC-Cadillac Championship. It’s a strong field being played at the newly renovated and highly hated course of the Blue Monster at Doral. Stay tuned to the player’s comments this week on the playing conditions.
- It looks like Tiger Woods, aka Big Cat, might actually still be alive. He tweeted a video of himself casually hitting an iron shot in his swing simulator. Narratives aside, let’s hope this is nothing else but a good sign and that one day he can get back on the course.
- The potential Ryder Cup team got together at Jack's House last week before the start of the Honda. The golf world making a point of this event shows the long struggle of our Ryder Cup Team.
- Louis Oosthuizen won on the European Tour this weekend. Louie and his swing are quietly lurking.
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