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2022 Players Championship: Top 10 power rankings at TPC Sawgrass

By Mike Randleman

May 10, 2018; Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, USA; A view of The Players championship trophy in front of the club house during the first round of The Players Championship golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass - Stadium Course. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
May 10, 2018; Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, USA; A view of The Players championship trophy in front of the club house during the first round of The Players Championship golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass - Stadium Course. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports /
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2022 Players Championship, Rory McIlroy, TPC Sawgrass, PGA
Rory McIlroy poses with the trophy showing off his gold soled golf shoes after winning The Players Championship at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Sunday, March 17, 2019. [Gary Lloyd McCullough/For The Florida Times-UnionThe Players Championship Golf /

As Rory McIlroy’s major championship stretch is coming close to a decade, he’s continued to pile up PGA Tour titles and maintain his status as one of the game’s elite.

The 2019 Players Championship is his most prestigious victory since he won his fourth major championship at the 2014 Open Championship.

The Northern Irishman fired 67-66-70-70 in 2019 to win at TPC Sawgrass. It was one of the best ball-striking weeks of his career. McIlroy averaged 305 yards off the tee and hit 80.56% greens in regulation to win in spite of an average putting performance.

McIlroy played poorly at this event as a youngster with three straight missed cuts. One famously fell during his 21st birthday. He’s since taken a liking to this Pete Dye design and the move to March.

He plays a lot more in America these days, too, which makes it easier to put more dedication into playing well at this event.

Starting in 2013, McIlroy’s accumulated five top-12 finishes at the Players Championship and made the cut all but one year.

“So for me two big things were, off the tee, the course plays a lot longer in March than it does in May, so I was able to hit driver a lot more,” McIlroy was quoted by ASAP Sports in 2020. “The fairways are a little softer, so the course plays a touch wider. And then I think the other thing is having the rough overseeded around the greens, that was a big thing for me because I’ve always been more comfortable chipping out of that sort of overseeded rough rather than a pure Bermuda.”

McIlroy fired a 65 to take the 18-hole lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week. He couldn’t keep the momentum going, finishing T-13th.

Nonetheless, it was still his ninth top-20 in a row worldwide. That span goes back to August 2021 and includes his win this PGA Tour season at the CJ Cup.

The Northern Irishman doesn’t have enough measured rounds on the PGA Tour to qualify for statistical rankings. In 12 rounds recorded by Shotlink, he’s gaining .947 strokes off the tee, .848 putting, and 2.123 total  If not for negative figures in his approach play, he might have picked off a couple more wins of late.

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