Week 8 Power Rankings: Mayakoba Golf Classic

text size

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.

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. MORE: Power Rankings - Accenture Match Play Championship | Power Rankings - Moonah Classic

The first two winners of the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya - Cancun, Fred Funk and Brian Gay, have used accuracy and not length from the tee to take home the victory.

That is not to say that the bombers have not played well too, but the guys on top were ones who keep it in the short grass more often than not.

Power Rankings: Mayakoba Golf Classic

Rank Player   Comment Brian GAY Defending champion Gay has finished in the top 20 in four of his first five starts this season. He is currently 19th in the FedExCup standings and is ranked third in driving accuracy, 11th in greens in regulation, fourth in scrambling, and 15th in birdie average. David TOMS At 11th in the FedExCup standings, Toms has had a solid start to the 2009 season, finishing in the top 10 in two of his four starts. He enters this event ranked fourth in driving accuracy, fourth in putting average and eighth in scoring average. Richard S. JOHNSON Johnson comes in hitting about 70 percent of the fairways and is ranked in the top 25 in greens in regulation. He also ranks in the top 25 in birdie average and has made the cut in all five starts this season and recorded four top-25 finishes. Kevin NA Na is making his first start at Mayakoba, but arrives after two top-5 finishes and a T25 in his first five events of the season. Na has played extremely well on the greens, ranking in the top 25 in putting average, putts per round and three-putt avoidance. Joe DURANT Durant is usually one of the best ball strikers on TOUR. He currently ranks ninth in driving accuracy and is also ranked 15th in putting from inside 10 feet. He has missed the cut in his last two starts, but his ball-striking abilities give him an advantage. Heath SLOCUM Slocum has not scored well this year, but this could be a good venue for him to break out of his slump. He is 11th in driving accuracy, tied for fourth in proximity to the hole and is 25th in putting average. Steve MARINO Marino has finished in the top 10 in each of the first two Mayakoba Golf Classic events. He started the year strong with two top-25 finishes, but has missed the cut in his last three starts. John MERRICK He has opened with rounds of 64 in his two starts at Mayakoba and finished tied for third last year. Six of his eight rounds on the course have been in the 60s. He finished second this year at the Bob Hope. Chris DiMARCO DiMarco has two top-25 finishes in five starts this season. He enters this week ranked 12th in driving accuracy and 11th in scrambling. Nick O'HERN Making his second start of the year on the PGA TOUR, O'Hern is another player that relies on accuracy. In 2008 he ranked 12th in driving accuracy and 8th in proximity to the hole.