Week 23 Power Rankings: St. Jude Classic

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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: Mike Vitti discusses this week's rankings on the PGA TOUR Network. 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 players face another tough challenge this week as the PGA TOUR moves to Memphis for the St. Jude Classic. Based on the relative-to-par scoring average, TPC Southwind has ranked in the top-10 toughest courses each year since 2005.

Only 53 percent of approach shots at TPC Southwind last year found the green in regulation; like last week's Memorial Tournament, players will find it difficult to hit every green. However, unlike the easy-to-find fairways last week, the field will be playing from out of the rough with a bit more frequency in Memphis, as only 56 percent of the tee shots safely found the short grass from the tee in 2008.

Keep an eye on the 12th hole this week. It ranked among the 10 toughest holes on the PGA TOUR in 2008, but at 406 yards it was the only one to measure less than 450 yards.

Power Rankings: St. Jude Classic

Rank Player   Comment Justin LEONARD Leonard enters this week ranked 17th in driving accuracy, 17th in scrambling, and eighth in putting average. He's the defending champion and has finished in the top 10 five times in 10 starts in Memphis. Phil MICKELSON He missed the cut in his only Memphis start, but has top-10 finishes in five of his last seven starts this year. His scrambling stats are deceiving -- he didn't get off to a solid start around the greens but has improved by almost 10 percent in recent weeks. David TOMS Toms, a two-time winner of the St. Jude Classic, has finished in the top 10 six times in the last seven years at TPC Southwind. Plus, he comes into the week ranked first on TOUR in driving accuracy, ninth in proximity to the hole and fourth in scoring average. Robert ALLENBY Ranked ninth on the PGA TOUR in ball striking, Allenby always seems to be around the leaderboard on the tougher courses. He has finished in the top 25 in Memphis four times in six starts, including a tie for second in 2008. Tim CLARK Clark has finished in the top 25 in eight of 12 starts this season and ranks fourth in greens in regulation, 21st in driving accuracy, and seventh in total putting. He tied for 18th at last year's St. Jude Classic. Bob ESTES Estes has finished in the top 25 in half of his 20 starts at the St. Jude Classic and was the winner of the tournament in 2001. He's ranked 18th in driving accuracy and 19th in scrambling for the year. John SENDEN Always among the leaders in greens in regulation, Senden ranks second this season having hit the green just over 71 percent of the time. He's also finished in the top 25 in half of his six starts at the St. Jude Classic, including a ninth-place finish in 2006. Stephen AMES Ames has five top-25 finishes this season in a dozen starts and is ranked 14th on the PGA TOUR in ball-striking. The Canadian notched his best finish at the St. Jude Classic last season when he tied for 13th. Boo WEEKLEY Weekley has not played since withdrawing from THE PLAYERS Championship, but he had finished in the top 13 in his last three starts prior to that event. He currently ranks in the top 30 in ball-striking, plus he tied for fourth in Memphis in 2008. Sergio GARCIA Garcia has not played enough rounds to be ranked, but he has averaged inside of 30 feet on approaches from the fairway in the events that he's played. He is only making his third career start at St. Jude Classic but tied for fourth in 2008.