Sony Open in Hawaii: Power ranking the top ten at Waialae

HONOLULU, HI - JANUARY 15: Justin Thomas of the United States, Zach Johnson of the United States and Justin Rose of England walk to the 17th green during the final round of the Sony Open In Hawaii at Waialae Country Club on January 15, 2017 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

8 of 11

JEJU, SOUTH KOREA – OCTOBER 19: Xander Schauffele of the United States prepares to putt on the 6th green during the first round of the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges on October 19, 2017 in Jeju, South Korea. (Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images) /

Could this be another big year for the X man? The San Diego State University product made a name for himself last summer in fall en route to two victories and runaway Rookie of the Year honors.

Now, with expectations bestowed upon him, it’s time to see what Schauffele’s made of.

So far, so good.

He comes into the week off of a T22 at the Sentry and two top-fives in the fall portion of the schedule (T3 at the CIMB Classic and T2 at the Japan Tour’s Dunlop Phoenix).

It’s hard to take too much away from Schauffele’s missed cut in his Sony Open debut in 2017. He missed five of his first seven cuts to begin the calendar year before slowly (then quickly) gaining traction. Plus, he wasn’t exactly hacking it around Waialae with scores of 69 and 70 to miss the weekend by just two.

If Schauffele – ranked 118th in driving accuracy – can hit enough fairways, he should find himself in good position. He was 64th in strokes gained tee-to-green and 40th in strokes gained putting.

Home/Golf Power Rankings