Week 8 Power Rankings: Accenture Match Play

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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

POWER RANKINGS: Mayakoba Golf Classic | Moonah Classic

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.

The format of the World Golf Championships -- Accenture Match Play Championship is not about player versus the course, it is about player versus player. Each match is like an individual tournament with a two-player field. In this format, scoring stats are the key areas to look at entering this event.

There are well over 100 different scoring statistics tracked on the PGA TOUR. The obvious one to look at is scoring average, but there are a few other stats to look for, including a couple that even the most avid golf fans may not know.

Some of the other scoring stats to look at include birdie conversion percentage (the percentage of times a player turns a green in regulation into a birdie), birdie average (the average number of birdies per round), bogey average (the average number of bogeys per round), bounce back (the percentage of times a player makes a birdie on the hole immediately following a bogey or worse), and the birdie-to-bogey ratio (this is basically the birdie average divided by the bogey average).

With that, here are this week's power rankings...

Power Rankings: Accenture Match Play Championship

Rank Player   Comment Tiger WOODS He worked hard on his short game over his eight-month layoff. Plus, the format allows him to make a few mistakes and shake off the rust. He's averaged about two birdies per bogey in the past few years and leads in birdie-to-bogey ratio. Steve STRICKER Entering this week Stricker is averaging over three birdies for every bogey he records. He is fifth in scoring average and has successfully converted a third of his birdie attempts. Geoff OGILVY Averaging over five birdies per round, Ogilvy is leading the TOUR in birdie average and has converted over 40 percent of his attempts. He is averaging over two bogeys per round so this is something to watch for this week. Phil MICKELSON The format should fit his risk/reward style, but he's only made it past round three once in nine starts. He's converted over a third of his birdie attempts in '08 and annually ranks in the top 20 in birdie average. Justin LEONARD Leonard is ninth in birdie average and ranks sixth in bounce back percentage making a birdie over a third of the time following a bogey. He also ranks sixth in greens in regulation. Luke DONALD Donald is leading the TOUR in scoring average. He also ranks fourth in three putt avoidance and 13th in bogey average. He really limits his mistakes on the course and this could make him a tough draw this week. Tim CLARK Clark is second in scoring average headed into this week. He ranks fourth in birdie-to-bogey ratio and is sixth in scrambling. He could go deep in this tournament. Dustin JOHNSON He's long off the tee, but also has surprising touch around the greens. He's in the top 10 in driving distance and sand saves. He's also high in birdie average (4th), birdie conversion percentage (13th) and birdie-to-bogey ratio (10th). Zach JOHNSON Johnson is third in scoring average, eight in greens in regulation, 12th in scrambling and is third in bogey average. He is another player that limits his mistakes and could be a tough out in this event. Boo WEEKLEY Weekley leads the PGA TOUR in greens in regulation and is 12th in birdie average. He's also good at making more than two birdies for each bogey he records, which ranks him at eighth in birdie-to-bogey ratio.