WGC-Mexico: Top 10 power rankings at Club de Chapultepec

Rickie Fowler took a couple weeks off following his win at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, making him one of the freshest players in the field this week. While much was made of Fowler’s near collapse on Sunday in Phoenix, it’s also worth noting he was the clear cut best player for much of the week. He putted great (2.385 strokes gained per round) and largely struck the ball well.

That and a T66 the week before at the Farmers Insurance Open are his only two starts of 2019.

Fowler, 30, has played both editions of the WGC-Mexico. He took T16 in 2017 and T37 last year. He had three rounds in the 60s in 2017 but was derailed by a Saturday 73.

“For the most part I’m going to play fairly conservative off the tees,” Fowler said before the 2017 WGC-Mexico. “The big thing here is getting the ball in play. I think that’s kind of the strategy going forward, just trying to make it as simple as possible because there are a few trees and it’s pretty dense.”

Fowler generally gains ground on the field with his driver, but that will largely be shelved. Instead, the Californian can stand to benefit putting on poa annua greens, short game and ball striking. He was in or near the top 50 on Tour last season in approaches from 125 yards and up. He was also 14th in scrambling and has the creativity to get around Chapultepec even if he’s off line.