St. Jude Classic: Power Rankings for TPC Southwind

Rickie Fowler

This Oklahoma State product’s game has been in tip-top shape this year, and if that wasn’t enough, he’s demonstrated a lot of resilience over the past few weeks. After an unfortunate tie for 60th at THE PLAYERS Championship, Fowler managed to snap back into form at last week’s Memorial Tournament, tying for second place. Don’t expect him to start misfiring now, especially against this week’s thinner field.

In just 10 starts this year, Fowler has already found the top 20 on seven occasions. His season has been highlighted by a win at the Honda Classic and a tie for third at the Shell Houston Open, but he’s enjoyed plenty of other successes too, including solid weeks at the WGC-Mexico Championship and The Masters. A statistical stalwart, Fowler is seventh on the PGA TOUR in strokes gained: approach-the-green and ninth in strokes gained: putting, a potentially lethal combo. Three years ago, in his first and only start at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, he got a promising result: a tie for 13th.

Fowler proved last week that his PLAYERS performance was just a blip on the radar screen, so it looks like he’s our frontrunner for this event. The 28-year-old has been simply outstanding this year.