2022 Zurich Classic of New Orleans: Top 10 Power Rankings

If you’re looking at 2022 alone, Shane Lowry might be at the top of the list of guys who deserve a win.

I don’t love how he blamed the weather for his shortcomings down the stretch at the Honda Classic, but he did have a point. His solo second-place finish by a shot will sting just as much as a T-3rd last week at the RBC Heritage.

Lowry looked set to separate from a crowded leaderboard when he took the lead early on the back nine on Sunday. A double-bogey on the par-3 14th, his only blemish on the card, eroded his confidence as he couldn’t make a necessary birdie down the stretch to miss out on a playoff by one shot.

Did I mention he was also T-3rd at the Masters? Not quite the same close call as the other two, but it still counts as his best major championship finish since winning the 2019 Open Championship.

Lowry’s made nine straight stroke play cuts worldwide since November.

The 35-year-old is still in his prime. His playing partner, not so much.

It’s why I couldn’t inch them higher up the power rankings.

Ian Poulter is 11 years older. The Englishman still shows some flashes of brilliance, but at this point he appears poised to a pseudo retirement collecting easy checks in the Saudi League.

Poulter’s mustered one top 10 worldwide in 2022 and hasn’t done so on the PGA Tour since August at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational (T-10th).

Still, Poulter has a flare for team formats. It’s a lot easier to beat 79 other teams than a field of 120 or more players.

Poulter’s short game prowess is an asset. He’s 27th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained around the green (.32). He’s also 60th in SG putting (.215) and has experience holing key putts.

Lowry will try to lift them in ball striking. He’s 20th in SG tee to green (1.038) led by sixth in SG approach (.923). Lowry’s short game stats are a bit disjointed as he’s 136th in SG around the green (-.097) and second in scrambling (71.52%). Make of that as you will.

This is the first time these two have paired up. They did not play together at either the 2018 or 2021 Ryder Cup.

Poulter snagged T-9th at the 2019 Zurich Classic of New Orleans alongside Sam Horsfield. Lowry and Padraig Harrington missed the cut by three that year.