Power Rankings: BMW Championship

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Sep. 12, 2011
By Rob Bolton, PGATOUR.COM Fantasy Columnist

With the only scheduled break on the PGA TOUR schedule in the rearview mirror, it's time for the home stretch of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

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The Dubsdread Course at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club will host for the 20th time this week. Since its debut in 1991, it stepped aside just once for Bellerive County Club (in St. Louis) in 2008. That allowed Rees Jones time to reconstruct the third leg of the postseason. (The tournament will migrate to Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind. in 2012.)

Originally intended to draw the attention of the United States Golf Association for a U.S. Open, Jones' renovation features beefy and treacherous green complexes.

To wit, it ranked fourth-most difficult in greens in regulation last year; it was 11th in 2009. Breaking it down further, Dubsdread was 11th-most challenging in greens in regulation from the fairway a year ago; it checked in at fourth-hardest from lies off the fairway.

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Adding to the test is the fact that the fairways themselves offer little letup off the tee, having ranked 16th in 2010 at 61.45 percent in driving accuracy. Bottom line: Keeping one's ball in play is paramount this week.

Outstanding late-summer weather will extend throughout the tournament. Sunshine is expected every day with rising high temperatures into the low 70s by Sunday. Winds will be moderate at worst, and even that's hedging conservatively.

Power Rankings: BMW Championship

Rank	Player		Comment
		Matt KUCHAR	Ranks third in FedExCup points, highest among non-winners in 2011. Top-10s in both appearances at Cog Hill since the redesign, including a T3 last year. Currently 46th on TOUR in fairways hit and 36th in greens in regulation.
		Luke DONALD	Local resident (Evanston) has top 10s in three of his last four starts, including a share of third at the Deutsche Bank. Under par in all seven rounds of the Playoffs, with an actual scoring average of 67.57. Placed T10 here in 2009.
		Adam SCOTT	With a T8 at TPC Boston, he proved that his closing 76 at The Barclays was an ignorable blip. Four top-10s in his last six starts, including a victory. Ranks 60th in fairways, 35th in greens and second in the all-around. Placed T15 here last year.
		Webb SIMPSON	Coming off a well-timed break after his second victory in three starts. Went 19-for-25 (76 percent) in scrambling at TPC Boston, matching his highest clip of the year in one event. Has led the all-around ranking since the U.S. Open concluded.
		Dustin JOHNSON	En route to victory here last year, he ranked T17 in greens in regulation and fifth in putting. Made noise for leading the field at the Deutsche Bank in both fairways hit and distance off the tee, but settled for a share of 42nd place.
		Zach JOHNSON	Ranks eighth on TOUR in fairways and 40th in greens in regulation. Finished inside the top-10 in both stats en route to a T16 at the Deutsche Bank two weeks ago. Shared 15th here last year; finished alone in fifth in 2009.
		Nick WATNEY	Closing 80 at TPC Boston was costly, but an anomaly all the same. Shared 15th here last year when he ranked inside the top 15 in all splits tee-to-cup. Currently 31st on TOUR in greens in regulation and fourth in the all-around.
		Steve STRICKER	Since winning the John Deere Classic, he's gone five starts without a top 10 for the first time since he ended a streak of five straight with his victory at last year's John Deere. Finished T8 here in 2010. Leads the TOUR in many relevant stats.
		Brandt SNEDEKER	If he still has an axe to grind after his infamous four-putt on the 72nd hole here in 2009 (to fall outside the top 30 in FedExCup points, thus losing a spot in the finale), he enters with tremendous mojo after a pair of T3s to start this year's postseason.
		David TOMS	Given the course profile, he sneaks into the feature despite starting the Playoffs with a missed cut and a tie for 59th. He's currently fourth on TOUR in fairways hit and second in greens. Top-25s in seven of his last eight starts at Cog Hill, including both post-renovation.