Power Rankings: TimberTech Championship

Steven Alker opened the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs by winning for the fifth time this season two weeks ago at the Dominion Energy Championship in Richmond, Virginia. The Kiwi will lead the field of 50 this week as PGA TOUR Champions visits Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida, for the first time.

Believe it or not, Alker's dominance this season can bring to an end the Playoffs THIS week, if he wins again. If he doesn't win he can still clinch but will need a little help from his friends.

The field will compete for a purse of $2.2 million with the winner taking home $350,000 in this no-cut event. The Playoff points are doubled as every dollar earned equals two points.

The top 36 players in the standings after this week will advance to the Charles Schwab Cup Championship at the Phoenix Country Club next week.

Just Missed: Thongchai Jaidee, Lee Janzen, Harrison Frazar, Steve Flesch

Notables not in the field: Steve Stricker, Ernie Els, Brandt Jobe and Fred Couples.

Port Royal Yacht & Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida plays host to PGA TOUR Champions for the first time. Robert Trent Jones laid out his design in the early 1960s. Joe Lee lent his creativity for upgrades in 1988, but it has been Jack Nicklaus who has had the most recent influence with his major redesign in 2003 and subsequent upkeep in 2014. In 2003 the entire layout was replaced entirely with Bermuda. Celebration covered the tees, fairways and rough while TifEagle was the preferred choice on the putting surfaces. Nicklaus returned in 2014 to eliminate unnecessary bunkers reshaped a few of the green complexes.

The stock Par-72 presents risk-reward Par-5 holes that stretch anywhere from 511 yards to 634 yards. Half of the holes have water in play but there's only 1.25 inches of rough to navigate if players happen to miss the generous fairways. TifEagle Bermuda greens provide 6,000 square feet on average and will run at a tasty 12.5 feet on the Stimpmeter. Interesting to note that Sam Snead was once the pro here way back when.

Hurricane Ian dumped four inches of rain on the property but other damage was minimal. After isolated thunderstorms on Thursday sunshine and temperatures in the mid-80s will cover the 54 holes on the weekend. Coastal breezes will blow 15 to 25 MPH all three days but consistently from the ENE.

Last Time - Dominion Energy Championship

Just Missed: Alex Cejka - T46, Ken Duke - T32, Darren Clarke - T46, Stephen Ames - T11, and YE Yang - T22.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out through Twitter or email me mikeglasscott@gmail.com.