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Barbasol Championship: Top 10 power rankings

By Mike Randleman

AUBURN, AL - JULY 14: A tee marker during the first round of the Barbasol Championship at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Grand National on July 14, 2016 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
AUBURN, AL - JULY 14: A tee marker during the first round of the Barbasol Championship at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Grand National on July 14, 2016 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /
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Barbasol Championship
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WV – JULY 08: Smylie Kaufman tees off the sixth hole during round three of The Greenbrier Classic held at the Old White TPC on July 8, 2017 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

Since winning on the Web.com Tour and at the PGA TOUR’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open as a rookie in 2015, things haven’t quite been peaches and cream for Kaufman.

At No. 136 in the FedEx Cup, the 25-year-old will have to reel off a few cuts by the end of August to make it back to the playoffs and secure his card as exemption is due up soon.

Like a lot of young players, Kaufman has had an up-and-down season. The downs: six missed cuts in a row in the spring. The ups: four straight made cuts right after, including a T5 at the Wells Fargo Championship, his highest finish since the win.

Kaufman is at his best when he’s capitalizing on his length off the tee (20th in distance, 175th in accuracy). The rough isn’t too penal at Grand National, but if he’s really spraying it, Kaufman could have trouble hitting out of the trees.

In a field lacking star power, Kaufman should have plenty of support behind him, if only to bug him about how buddies Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas are doing.

This is Smylie’s first go-round Grand National. At No. 151 in the world, he’s one of the higher ranked players in the field and is worth a shot to take this week.

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