Week 14 Power Rankings: Masters Tournament

text size

EDITOR'S NOTE: Officially, Mike Vitti is the Director of Research and Development in the TOUR's Marketing Department. Unofficially, he's a stats guru who analyzes all kinds of data from our ShotLink numbers.

Vitti will size up the field each week and provide his top 10 players going into the tournament, based on factors such as the player's strengths, the course setup, recent performances, etc.

Vitti

Last season was the first time since 2001 that Augusta National Golf Club was not ranked among the ten toughest courses on the PGA TOUR, but it wasn't easy. Augusta National was 11th overall in relative to par scoring average, and the field posted almost 50 percent more bogeys and others than they did pars and birdies.

Unfortunately there is not any ShotLink data available for Augusta National, so it is hard to say which areas -- beyond the obvious of distance and putting -- are keys to winning the Masters.

However, it does seem that the best trait of Augusta National is that while distance off the tee is an advantage, players like Zach Johnson and Ben Crenshaw have also won here playing the game their way. As long as a player is at the top of his game, no matter what style he brings with him, he has a chance to win this event.

Power Rankings: Masters Tournament

Rank Player   Comment Tiger WOODS Woods has finished in the top three in each of the last four years at Augusta. He has only finished outside of the top 10 three times in 12 starts as a pro, winning in one-third of his starts. Really not much else to say about why he is the favorite. Geoff OGILVY Ogilvy fell back after a final-round 75 last week, but he still managed to record his third top-10 of '09. Ogilvy has made the cut in his first three starts at Augusta. The way he is putting, he should be in the mix on Sunday afternoon. Retief GOOSEN Goosen has finished in the top three in four of the last five years and no worse than 17th in his last seven starts at Augusta. He comes in this year with a victory and no missed cuts in his seven starts on the PGA TOUR this season. Paul CASEY Casey recorded his first victory in the U.S. last week at the Shell Houston Open and ranks sixth in FedExCup points despite only three starts. Casey had had some success at Augusta, finishing in the top 10 twice in four career starts. Nick WATNEY Watney finished tied for 11th in his first start at the Masters in 2008, and his strong play this season shows that it was not a fluke. Watneys combination of power and putting touch is a great combination to have at Augusta. Phil MICKELSON Mickelson has finished in the top 10 in nine of his last 10 starts at Augusta, but enters this week coming off a missed cut. The last time that Mickelson missed the cut in his start before the Masters was in 2003 when he finished third. Padraig HARRINGTON Winner of the last two majors, Harrington comes in looking for his third in a row. Harrington has finished in the top 10 each of the last two seasons at Augusta and does seem to finish higher when the winning score is closer to par. Rory MCILROY Yes, this is McIlroy's first start at the Masters, but he has yet to finish outside of the top 20 in the U.S. this season. He is averaging over 300 yards off the tee and hitting almost 70 percent of his greens in regulation. The fast greens may be tricky at first. Henrik STENSON Stenson is coming off a tie for third in Houston and has finished tied for 17th in each of the last two Masters. Stenson has the length, and this season he's made almost 80 percent of his putting attempts from the testy 4-to-8 foot range. Kenny PERRY Making his first start at the Masters since 2005, Perry has five top-10s in nine starts on the PGA TOUR this season and has only finished higher than 17th in one of his eight stroke-play starts.