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PLAYERS Championship: Top 10 power rankings at TPC Sawgrass

By Mike Randleman

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 16: Tiger Woods of the United States plays a shot on the 18th hole during the third round of The PLAYERS Championship on The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 16, 2019 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 16: Tiger Woods of the United States plays a shot on the 18th hole during the third round of The PLAYERS Championship on The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 16, 2019 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA – MARCH 13: Xander Schauffele of the United States plays a shot during a practice round for The PLAYERS Championship on The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 13, 2019 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA – MARCH 13: Xander Schauffele of the United States plays a shot during a practice round for The PLAYERS Championship on The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 13, 2019 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /

The Players Championship is a tough tournament for first-timers. Xander Schauffele didn’t get the memo in 2018.

At age 24, he finished T-2 (68-68-71-67) thanks to an expert ball-striking week. He hit 66.07% fairways and 72.22% greens in regulation. His 274 aggregate score would have won the Players all but one time between 2011-2017.

This was one of many examples where Schauffle’s played well against elite fields. He won and finished second at both the WGC-HSBC Champions and Tournament of Champions. Schauffele also won the Tour Championship and has six top-10s at the majors, including two T-2s.

The mercurial nature of the Players Championship reared its head for Schauffele as he posted 70-74 to miss the cut by one.

I like him to bounce back and contend for his first win since January 2019. He’s come close in the interim, placing second four times.

The Californian has two runner-ups in the 2019-2020 season and six top-25s. Schauffele has finished in the top 25 in four consecutive starts, including T-24 last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

He ranks ninth on Tour in total strokes gained (1.574). That’s where he sits in strokes gained tee to green (1.561). Schauffele is 18th in SG off the tee (.59) and 14th in SG approach (.781).

Most pros will tell you they’ll take an even-par scoring average on the par-4s for the season and run. Schauffele is a notch better than that, ranking 11th at 3.95.

He’s a safe pick for your fantasy lineup as he’s missed just one cut since August.

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