2020 Masters: Top 10 power rankings at Augusta National

Tyrrell Hatton doesn’t have the Masters pedigree to ascend higher on my rankings. That said, it’s hard to deny him from a top 10 spot based on his current form.

His win last month at the European Tour’s top event, the BMW PGA Championship, was his second win worldwide in 2020 and third in the last 12 months. He won in February against a stacked field at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Hatton followed up his BMW PGA win with T-3rd at the CJ Cup, T-28th at the Zozo Championship and T-7th in a tune-up last week at the Houston Open.

Hatton ended strong in Texas with 67-65 on the weekend. He had a strong putting week at seventh in strokes gained (1.44) and was top 20 off the tee and on approach.

The Englishman’s had a boom or bust resume at major championships. Hatton has made just 11 cuts, but five of them netted top-10s. The high water mark came with a T-5th at the 2016 Open Championship. He was also T-6th at the same event in 2019.

This year hasn’t quite gone his way with two MC’s at the first two majors. He missed out on the money in his first trip to Augusta National in 2017. He improved to T-44th in 2018 then was T-56th a year ago.

At age 29, this is historically when players start to feel more comfortable at the majors. Obviously that’s skewing younger based on this year’s winners both being in their mid 20s.

Part of having success at the Masters is having the precision to leave your ball in the right spots on approach. Hatton ranked fourth on the PGA Tour last season in SG approach (.694). He wasn’t great out of the rough, but that’s not a concern this week. He was eighth in proximity from the fairway (28’5”).

Hatton can heat up when his game’s on. He was second with 4.55 birdies per round. I’m predicting low scores at a warm and wet Masters.

He’s a bit like Jon Rahm in that he can have trouble keeping his anger in check. Fortunately there’s been a lot to smile about for Hatton lately, a trend I expect to continue.