Week 15 Power Rankings: Verizon Heritage

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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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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.

At the Shell Houston Open two weeks ago, the players had wide fairways and some of the largest greens on the PGA TOUR to hit with their approach shots. This week is a much different story.

The Verizon Heritage is hosted this week at Harbour Town Golf Links, a very tight and winding track with some of the smallest greens players will see all year. There is definitely a premium on accuracy from the tee and the ability to scramble around the greens. Last year at Harbour Town, the field managed to find the green in regulation only about 56 percent of the time -- that's well below the PGA TOUR average of 64 percent for greens in regulation percentage.

Additionally, the 275-yard average driving distance for last year's field was about 12 yards shorter than the 2008 PGA TOUR average of 287 yards, which means that the long hitters do not necessarily have the advantage this week.

With that, here are the rankings:

Power Rankings: Verizon Heritage

Rank Player   Comment Boo WEEKLEY He enters this week coming off of his first missed cut of '09 and has not finished better than a tie for 52nd in his last five starts. However, he has a perfect record at the Heritage since he's won the event in each of his first two starts at Harbour Town. Jim FURYK Accurate from the tee and great around the greens, his game is perfect for Harbour Town. He's placed in the top-10 in four of his last five starts in Hilton Head and is coming off a top-10 at the Masters. He's ranked 14th in driving accuracy and fifth in scrambling. Tim CLARK After another strong finish, Clark is getting closer to that elusive first win on the PGA TOUR. He finished tied for seventh at Harbour Town in 2007 and enters this year ranked in the top 20 in driving accuracy, greens in regulation, and scrambling. Kevin NA With four top-10 finishes in nine starts, Na enters this week playing very well. He is currently ranked 12th on the PGA TOUR in scrambling percentage and finished tied for fourth at the Verizon Heritage in 2007. Justin LEONARD Along with three top-10 finishes this season, Leonard enters this week ranked in the top 30 in both driving accuracy and scrambling percentage. A past champion at the Verizon Heritage (2002), Leonard's ball-striking abilities are definitely well-suited for this venue. Stewart CINK Long and not very accurate from the tee, Cink would not appear to be ideally suited for this week's layout. However, he is two-time winner of the Verizon Heritage and finished tied for eighth at last year's tournament. Camilo VILLEGAS Villegas has played the Verizon Heritage each of the last three years and has improved his finish each year with last year's tie for seventh being his first top 10 at the event. Villegas enters this week leading the PGA TOUR in greens in regulation percentage. Davis LOVE III Much like Stewart Cink, Love's game does not seem to fit at Harbour Town, but he is a five-time winner of the Verizon Heritage. Love also has six other top 10 finishes to go along with his five victories at this event. Ernie ELS Last year Els missed his first cut in 10 starts at the Verizon Heritage, but he has finished in the top 10 at this event seven times. Els is currently seventh on TOUR in greens in regulation percentage and 22nd in scrambling. Brian GAY With only one top-10 and six missed cuts in nine starts, Gay has not had a great record at Harbour Town. Gay enters this week ranked fourth in driving accuracy, third in proximity to the hole, 10th in scrambling and has finished in the top 25 in five starts.