Northern Trust Open Fantasy Golf Power Rankings

The Northern Trust Open returns the focus to competitive golf & it could be Matsuyama’s week.

After the PGA Tour‘s rank-and-file finish up at Pebble Beach, they’ll head south to Los Angeles for the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club. Professional golfers regularly play on some of the best tracks in the world, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a better two-week stretch than the one we’re in the midst of right now. Getting to watch Augusta National and Harbour Town back-to-back in April is fantastic, but there’s just something special about the stately California tracks, two of the most iconic in the PGA Tour rotation.

The Northern Trust should serve as a return to normalcy after the hustle and bustle of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. There will be no four-day celebrity competition, putting the focus squarely back on the players, and the more familiar 36-hole cut will make its return. Certainly, the views might be less breathtaking than those at Pebble, but it’s not like Riviera is a cookie-cutter TPC track–it’s a gem in its own right.

One thing that the two events have in common is the high quality of the field. This week’s Northern Trust Open will feature five of the world’s top ten players, including Nos. 1 and 2: Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy. I’ve written before about the budding rivalry between these two young superstars, and it’ll be great to get a chance to see them in action. While the first and second round tee times have yet to be announced, pairing the two together seems like a natural choice.

Without further ado, let’s get to it. Here are the best bets for success at the Northern Trust Open.

Next: Hideki Matsuyama