St. Jude Classic: Power Rankings for TPC Southwind

Francesco Molinari

This Italian has been playing wonderful golf for most of the season, but he took it to a new level at the recent BMW PGA Championship, firing a pair of rounds in the 60s to finish just two strokes off of Alex Noren’s winning pace. That outstanding performance should give him all the momentum he needs as we head into this crucial summer stretch.

Fresh off four consecutive top 25 finishes, including that BMW runner-up and a share of sixth place at THE PLAYERS Championship, Molinari has been consistently impressive over the past couple of months. Given his ball striking skills, that’s not surprising — the Italian ranks second on the PGA TOUR in strokes gained: approach-the-green, trailing only second-shot virtuoso Jordan Spieth. He tied for 34th in his TPC Southwind debut last year, and with a full four rounds now under his belt, he looks poised to take a big step forward this time around.

When he’s on, Molinari is one of the most dangerous players in the game, so you shouldn’t be surprised to see him so high on this list. The St. Jude Classic might not boast the best field in the world, but it would still be a worthy setting for his inaugural PGA TOUR win.