Shell Houston Open Top 10 Player Power Rankings

Mandatory Credit: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports /
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Shell Houston Open
Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

J.B. Holmes gained a ton of momentum at the 2015 Shell Houston Open going into the Masters. Who will rise to the occasion this year?

The Shell Houston Open takes us back to the status quo and out top 10 player rankings for 72 hole stroke play. After last week’s match play extravaganza that featured plenty of nail-biting matches, tremendous upsets and awe-inspiring shots, it may seem tame. But there’s plenty of action to be had in Houston.

The PGA Tour now heads to the Golf Club of Houston for the Shell Houston Open, where some of the world’s best players will squeeze in one final start before next week’s Masters Tournament.

While the main competition will be for the trophy and the bragging rights (not to mention the $1,224,000 winner’s share), this week will also feature an intense battle for the final spot in the Masters. Only the winner will be able to secure a tee time this week – if the winner is already exempt, the field will remain unchanged, so the pressure’s on to make a charge at the title. The last three players to qualify for Augusta via a Shell Houston Open win were Matt Jones in 2014, D.A. Points in 2013 and Johnson Wagner in 2008.

In addition, this event will serve as a final progress report for the world’s elite players before they head to the first major of the year. Now that nearly three months of the calendar year have passed, we have a pretty good idea of who’s hot and who’s not, but this week’s results should help us tweak our expectations and will help frame the narrative as we prepare for golf’s holy week.

Without further ado, let’s get to it. Here are this week’s best bets for success at the Shell Houston Open.

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