PGA Tour Rankings before Masters
Tiger Leads the Standings Going to the Year's First Major
Although several players are coming into their own at this early stage, Tiger Woods is solidifying his place at the top.
By whatever standard one wishes to use as measurement, in whatever ranking or standings list consulted, Tiger Woods is the best player in the world. To begin this year, he's the only player with multiple wins and he's producing results that rival his best yet. Woods is the perpetual favorite to win the Masters Tournament this week, but he is an even bigger favorite, based on his play, this year.
Don't hand the green jacket to him yet, though. Geoff Ogilvy, who endured a tough start, has been playing fantastic golf. Steve Stricker, K.J. Choi, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh are also having good results. In the case of Mickelson, everything he's done extending back to last year, has been in preparation for this week. Results that are a bit less than stellar, but good nonetheless, could be what is often called "sandbagging" by Lefty. Nothing wrong with that when there's no handicap index involved and certainly not when the Masters is on the line.
Take any or all of the players mentioned and give up the rest of the field and the chances of having the winner is well above average.
Here are the top-25 in the Fedex Cup Standings going into the Masters Tournament:
- (Last Week, 1) Tiger Woods, 14,775
- (2) Phil Mickelson, 9,078
- (10) Geoff Ogilvy, 8,061
- (3) Vijay Singh, 7,807
- (4) K.J. Choi, 7,764
- (7) Steve Stricker, 6,677
- (6) Justin Leonard, 6,243
- (5) Stewart Cink, 6,151
- (8) J.B. Holmes, 6,009
- (9) Sean O'Hair, 5,981
- (11) Ryuji Imada, 5,581
- (12) Daniel Chopra, 5,168
- (13) D.J. Trahan, 5,062
- (14) Andres Romero, 4,992
- (15) Rory Sabbatini, 4,891
- (16) Steve Lowery, 4,831
- (17) Luke Donald, 4,696
- (188) Johnson Wagner, 4,680
- (18) Ernie Els, 4,636
- (48) Chad Campbell, 4,475
- (20) Bart Bryant, 4,372
- (23) Jeff Quinney, 4,015
- (21) Stuart Appleby, 3,981
- (19) Jim Furyk, 3,844
- (22) Steve Marino, 3,745
Here are the top 25 players on the PGA Tour Money List going into the Masters Tournament:
- (Last Week, 1) Tiger Woods, $3,615,000
- (2) Phil Mickelson, $2,215,080
- (5) Geoff Ogilvy, $2,114,400
- (3) Vijay Singh, $1,957,417
- (4) K.J. Choi, $1,770,682
- (6) Justin Leonard, $1,558,069
- (9) Steve Stricker, $1,518,039
- (7) Stewart Cink, $1,510,462
- (8) J.B. Holmes, $1,481,351
- (10) Daniel Chopra, $1,299,459
- (11) Sean O'Hair, $1,295,500
- (12) Andres Romero, $1,283,599
- (13) Ryuji Imada, $1,233,047
- (14) Steve Lowery, $1,151,288
- (15) Luke Donald, $1,118,600
- (16) Rory Sabbatini, $1,090,480
- (17) D.J. Trahan, $1,079,388
- (18) Ernie Els, $1,066,000
- (193) Johnson Wagner, $1,048,694
- (51) Chad Campbell, $1,020,886
- (24) Bart Bryant, $990,442
- (19) Jim Furyk, $988,805
- (21) Jeff Quinney, $972,394
- (23) Stuart Appleby, $932,235
- (20) Steve Marino, $895,883
As mentioned in weeks pasts, it has been noted that several young players are having showing how much they deserve to be members of the PGA Tour; J.B. Holmes, Steve Marino, Sean O'Hair, for example. History has shown that a little "Masters seasoning" is the general rule. It's been since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 since a player got his first win at Augusta, which indicates youth is not an advantage there. Of the youthful players, Andres Romero would seem to be the top pick. He endured an embarassing closing stretch at the British Open last year, only to return the next week and win on the European Tour. He has some seasoning, but not much Augusta experience.
Everything said, it should be another historic Masters Tournament, with Zach Johnson putting another green jacket on Tiger.
For more season-long and historical standings, rankings and fantasy golf stats, visit the Weekly PGA Tour Standings Index and the Suite 101 Golf home.
Source: PGATOUR.com.
