Week 32 Power Rankings: PGA Championship

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Mike Vitti is 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.

Measuring over 7,600 yards in length, Hazeltine National Golf Club will be the longest venue in total length to host a major championship. The course will definitely challenge the world's best golfers, but this statistic is a little deceiving as most of the holes at Hazeltine are very manageable for the players that qualified for the trip to Minnesota.

Much of the length of this course comes into play on the three par 5s that measure over 600 yards. For most of the field, these will be three shot holes, but there will still be opportunities to score. Of the remaining holes, only two of the par 4s will play over 475 yards and one of the par 3s could be almost 250 yards, but the rest are very playable for this field.

So who could be holding the Wanamaker Trophy at the end of the week?

Power Rankings: PGA Championship

Rank Player   Comment Tiger WOODS Woods has 10 top-10s in 12 starts in '09 and has posted five wins. He has seven top-10s in 11 PGA starts, including wins in the last two he's played. He also showed this past Sunday that he will have no trouble handling the long par 5s at Hazeltine. Steve STRICKER He has eight top-10s in '09, including two wins. He has also posted top-25s eight times in his last 13 starts in majors. He comes in ranked 23rd in greens in regulation, tied for fifth in putts per greens in regulation, and leads the TOUR in scrambling. Lee WESTWOOD He has top-10s in his last four starts worldwide. Though he hasn't made enough starts on the PGA TOUR to be ranked, based on the events he has played, he would rank among the leaders in total driving, greens in regulation, and scoring average. Kenny PERRY In 18 career starts at the PGA, Perry has only missed one cut. He just missed posting his eighth top-10 finish of the year last week at Firestone, and comes in ranked fourth on TOUR in total driving and greens in regulation. Stewart CINK Cink has three top-10s in his last five starts, including a victory at the British Open. He has recorded 12 top-25 finishes in majors in his last 23 starts; however, he has also missed the cut seven times. Cink tied for tenth at Hazeltine in 2002. Hunter MAHAN Mahan has finished in the top 20 in six of his last 10 major starts, including two top-10s in '09. He did miss the cut in the other four, but he's only missed one cut in 18 starts this year. He ranks 17th in greens in regulation and is fourth in scoring average. Rory MCILROY Since he averages 304 yards in driving distance, length should not be a factor for McIlroy this week. He's made the cut in all four of his career major starts and finished in the top 20 in the first two he played in the U.S. Padraig HARRINGTON The defending champ at the PGA, he has not played his best in '09. He did post his first top-10 of the year last week, so he seems to have found his game, especially around the greens as he led in scrambling by converting 85 percent of his chances. Ian POULTER He has nine top-25s in 13 starts on TOUR this season, including a T15 last week at Firestone. He's second in scrambling percentage and seventh in putts per round. Over the last four seasons, Poulter has finished in the top 25 in half of his major starts. Robert ALLENBY He tied for 10th at Hazeltine in 2002 and is coming off a T2 at Firestone. He has a good combination of distance and accuracy from the tee and ranks 10th in total driving, plus he's 22nd in GIR percentage and 12th in scoring average.