PGA Championship: Top 10 power rankings at Bethpage Black

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HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA – APRIL 18: Francesco Molinari of Italy plays his shot from the 14th tee during the first round of the 2019 RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links on April 18, 2019 in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

It’s wild how at this time last year you could reasonably wonder if Francesco Molinari would ever win a PGA Tour event. The solid player from Italy was a known name in the golf world and a perennial top-30 player, but he blended into the scenery.

Now after a dominant 2018 at the Quicken Loans National, Open Championship and Ryder Cup, as well as a T5 and 54-hole lead at the Masters, Molinari is on the short list of favorites for every major.

The 36-year-old comes in rested after taking three weeks off following an MC at the RBC Heritage. It’s hard to nitpick that result too much after his draining week at the Masters.

Molinari also won this year at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and was third at the WGC-Match Play.

At Bethpage, Frankie Mo finished T27 at the 2009 U.S. Open (71-70-74-71) and MC at the 2016 Barclays (76-73). As I’ve said in these power rankings before, Molinari appears a transformed player since last summer. He’s longer off the tee, even more accurate with his irons and can get by around the greens in the clutch.

He has four top-10s in his last six majors.

Molinari is 11th on Tour in scrambling and fourth in sand saves.

His ball striking stats aren’t overly impressive on the surface, but he has proven to drive and iron the ball at an elite level when needed.

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