European Tour: Portugal Masters top 10 power rankings

No, I didn’t select Adrian Otaegui for the power rankings just for this remarkable glamour shot photo, but could you blame me if I did?

A missed cut two weeks ago at the Omega European Masters brought a halt, at least temporarily, to a strong run of golf that saw Otaegui make 6-of-6 cuts. The span included five top-fives including his first win at the Paul Lawrie Match Play.

I’ll be honest and mention Otaegui didn’t exactly face a murderer’s row on his way to the Match Play win. Nonetheless, five top-20s in six tournaments, all since late June, make for a compelling case to believe he’ll keep on rolling this week.

It’s crazy to even think that Otaegui had that kind of run in him.

While he’s been a solid player on the European Tour for four years running, his game has really rounded out well this summer. He got off to a cold start to 2017 going 15 events without a top 50 finish and missing six cuts in a row.

Then, something clicked on the way to a T7 at the Open de France that began his run.

Statistically, there are no weaknesses in his game. He’s inside the top 50 this year in the eight major categories, with a high point at No. 8 in scrambling.

The 25-year-old is 2-for-3 at the Portugal Masters with a T12 in 2014. Six of his eight rounds at Dom Pedro have been par or better, one being a 63 on Thursday in round one.