Week 13 Power Rankings: Shell Houston Open

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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.

Listen to Mike Vitti

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.

Firm and fast are two terms you will hear a lot this week at the Shell Houston Open. The course has been set up to help the players get ready for the first major championship of the season, so the fairways and greens will be hard and the ball will roll.

The greens at the Shell Houston Open are also among the largest on the PGA TOUR, so just hitting them on approach will not be enough to succeed. Long putts, downhill putts or, worse, the combination of the two are going to be even more difficult than normal this week.

Position and proximity are the key areas to watch in Houston. Who are the key players to keep an eye on at Redstone Golf Club?

Power Rankings: Shell Houston Open

Rank Player   Comment Geoff OGILVY He tied for second at the 2008 Shell Houston Open and has finished in the top 10 three times in five career starts at this event. Looking for his third win of the season, Ogilvy enters the week ranked first in both putting average and birdie conversion percentage. Phil MICKELSON He has two wins and a tie for ninth in his last three starts, but his tie for 23rd in Houston last year was his best finish in four starts at this event. Lefty is third on TOUR in the all drives distance category and is tied for third in putting average. Steve STRICKER Stricker enters this week ranked 10th in proximity to the hole and tied for sixth in putting average. He has recorded top-5 finishes in three of his seven starts this season and has finished in the top 15 at Redstone GC in the last three years. Chad CAMPBELL He's coming off his second top-25 finish of the season and finished tied for second in Houston in 2008. A great ball striker, Campbell ranks 14th in proximity to the hole and is tied for eighth on approaches from the fairway. Charley HOFFMAN He has not finished worse than 30th in any of his seven starts this season. Entering this week, Hoffman is seventh in greens in regulation, tied for 20th in proximity to the hole from the fairway and is 18th in putting average. Alvaro QUIROS He's averaging almost 320 yards per drive on the measured driving holes and over 300 yards on all par 4s and par 5s. He will likely hit several 400-yard drives under these course conditions. He's also converted over 70 percent of his scrambling chances. Padraig HARRINGTON Harrington's tie for 11th at last week's event was his best finish on the PGA TOUR since winning last August at the PGA Championship. He has made the cut in each of his three appearances at the Shell Houston Open. Stuart APPLEBY A two-time champion of the Shell Houston Open, he has finished first or second in three of his last four starts at this event. The Aussie has made the cut in six of eight starts in '09 and posted his first top-10 at the Transitions Championship. Dustin JOHNSON Johnson is eighth in both driving distance and greens in regulation and is 10th in proximity to the hole from the fairway. He missed the cut last year in his only appearance in Houston, but has finished in the top 25 in half of his starts this season. David TOMS Toms has three top-10s in seven starts this year. He did not play in this event in 2008 and finished tied for 27th in 2007. He currently ranks second in driving accuracy and 16th in proximity to the hole.