Week 18 Power Rankings: THE PLAYERS Champ.

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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.

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Mike Vitti discusses this week's Power Rankings in his weekly Talk of the TOUR segment on the PGA TOUR Network (XM 146, SIRIUS 209).Click to listen

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.

The depth of the field and difficulty of the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course make this one of the hardest events to identify players for the rankings.

The target-golf style of TPC Sawgrass means accuracy is obviously a key area to watch this week, but simply being a straight hitter is not a guarantee for success. Players will have to be aggressive and take chances on this risk-reward layout, which can contradict the style of play typically seen in an accuracy-and-control type of player.

Past performance is also not a great indicator here like it is on other courses. No champion has successfully defended his title at this event, and even players that have played well over the years have collected their share of missed cuts. In fact, there are only three players in the field this week who have recorded at least two top 10s and have not missed a cut -- two of them have made this list.

Power Rankings: THE PLAYERS Championship

Rank Player   Comment Phil MICKELSON Including his victory at THE PLAYERS in 2007, he has finished in the top 25 in four of his last five starts at this event. His short game stats have not been up to his usual standards this year, so it will be interesting to see how he handles the small greens. Sergio GARCIA He struggled in the second round last week and missed the cut, but he has played well at THE PLAYERS. Winning last year and finishing second in 2007, Garcia has finished in the top 5 three times in nine career starts. Tiger WOODS This may be the only week where he's in the field but not first in the power rankings. While he is one of only three players to have at least two top-10 finishes and no missed cuts, Woods has not finished in the top 10 in his last six starts at TPC Sawgrass. Brian GAY Gay has been playing at a high level all year and TPC Sawgrass fits his style of play. He's in the top 10 in driving accuracy, proximity to the hole and scrambling -- these are probably the three key areas required for winning at THE PLAYERS. Henrik STENSON He's finished in the top 25 -- twice in the top 10 -- in each of his first three starts at TPC Sawgrass. He's one of only three players with two or more top 10s and no missed cuts at this venue. He enters the week with three top 3 finishes worldwide in 2009. Zach JOHNSON He had a disappointing final round at Quail Hollow, but comes in playing well in some key areas for TPC Sawgrass. He's in the top 15 in driving accuracy, greens in regulation, distance from the edge of the fairway and scrambling from the rough. Sean O'HAIR O'Hair won his third title last week and picked up his 10th top-25 finish of the year. He has also quietly put together a string of solid finishes at big events, finishing in the top 15 in the three most recent World Golf Championships and the Masters. Davis LOVE III Of those entered in the field, Love is tied with Fred Couples for most top-10 finishes at TPC Sawgrass. Both have six top-10s -- which also includes two victories for each -- on the Stadium Course. Love has finished in the top 25 in over half of his '09 starts. Stephen AMES Ames is a perfect example of the challenge that TPC Sawgrass presents. In his last eight starts at THE PLAYERS, Ames has three top-5 finishes, including a victory in 2006 and he has missed the cut three times. Rocco MEDIATE He has yet to miss the cut in '09 and notched his first top 25 of the season at Quail Hollow, where he finished 10th in driving accuracy and ninth in greens in regulation. He has six top-15 finishes at TPC Sawgrass, and hasn't missed the cut in his last six starts.