Power Rankings: Rex Hospital Open

RALEIGH, N.C. -- After a memorable week at the Nashville Golf Open Benefitting the Snedeker Foundation, where Australian Cameron Davis earned his first Web.com Tour title and country music star Jake Owen entertained the Music City in his Tour debut, we proceed approximately 500 miles eastward on Interstate 40 to this week’s Rex Hospital Open in the Raleigh-Durham metroplex.

Our 13th of 23 Regular Season events will be contested at TPC Wakefield Plantation, where Conrad Shindler won last year’s title in a playoff over Chesson Hadley. After missing a short putt in the playoff that gave Shindler the title, Raleigh’s own Hadley uttered the phrase, “It sucks to suck … I don’t suck, but that putt sucked,” when meeting with the media afterward.

The Rex Hospital Open has been contested each year since 1994, with three-time champion Kyle Thompson (2007, 2011, 2015) the only multiple winner. In each of the past 15 tournament iterations, the winning score has fallen between 13 and 20 under par.

Whose course study will pay off this week, in the region known as the Research Triangle? Here are 10 players to watch at the Rex Hospital Open.

1. Kevin Dougherty. The Oklahoma State alum appears on the precipice of a breakthrough. A runner-up at Nashville Golf & Athletic Club marked his seventh top-25 finish of the season.

2. Joseph Bramlett. In his comeback season from a back injury, Bramlett has been a picture of consistency, making the cut in all eight starts and recording five top-25s.

3. Stephan Jaeger. With four Web.com Tour titles since summer 2016, including a triumph at the Knoxville Open earlier this month, the Germany native carries a winning mindset anytime he tees it up.

4. Adam Svensson. The Canada native, winner of this year’s The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic, shot a final-round 65 in Knoxville to finish tied for fifth.

5. Brandon Matthews. With three top-11 finishes in his last five starts, the long-hitting Temple alum is finding his stride in his rookie Web.com Tour campaign.

6. Adam Long. The Duke alum returns to the Raleigh-Durham metroplex with comfortable vibes, and he has already recorded five top-20 finishes this season.

7. Josh Teater. The Kentucky native finished runner-up in Nashville, after a 10-foot birdie look to force a playoff slid just by. He embraces the nerves of contention and is ready to feel them again.

8. Kyle Thompson. The PGA TOUR member has struggled for the majority of the 2017-18 season, but you can never count out the event’s only three-time winner. And his third child is named Raleigh.

9. Wyndham Clark. The 24-year-old Oregon alum has finished inside the top 20 in four of his past five Web.com Tour starts, including a runner-up in Evansville and a third-place showing in Knoxville.

10. Jose Toledo. The Guatemala native shot a back-nine 29 to conclude the Nashville Golf Open, match his career-best Tour finish (T15) and assure a spot in this week’s field.