2022 Open Championship: Top 10 Power Rankings at St. Andrews
Xander Schauffele is hot at the right time. He took down a field featuring 14 of the top 15 ranked players in the world at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open and looked in control throughout much of the final round.
He was battling just to make the cut after a 2-over 72 before rounds of 65-66-70 to win by one over Kurt Kitayama. Schauffele was able to stroll up the 18th fairway comfortably, needing just a bogey to win.
He made no worse than bogey all week. He was T-6th in greens in regulation (70.83%) and ninth in putts per GIR (1.686).
That’s back-to-back wins for Schauffele after he posted four rounds in the 60s to win by two at the Travelers Championship. Back-to-back-to-back if you count his 36-hole exhibition win last Monday and Tuesday at the J.P. McManus Pro-Am in Ireland that featured names like Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas, etc.
Schauffele also won in the spring with Patrick Cantlay at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
The X Man has made seven cuts in a row.
He’s 2-for-3 at the majors with T-13th at the PGA Championship and T-14th at the U.S. Open.
As we all know, Schauffele has had plenty of close calls at getting his elusive first major. In 21 starts, he owns nine top-10s with two runner-up finishes and six top-fives.
At The Open Championship, the San Diego State alum is 4-for-4 playing the weekend and took T-2nd in 2018. He was the 54-hole co-leader four years ago at Carnoustie.
This will be Schauffele’s debut at St. Andrews.
Next. Kitayama, Wu, and Donaldson Claim British Open Spots. dark
The 28-year-old ranks fifth on the PGA Tour in total strokes gained per round (1.708) and is 44th or better in each SG category.
He’s also tops in sand saves (67.14%) and 13th in approach proximity from 50-125 yards (16’8”).
There are plenty of worthy candidates for the top spot in the power rankings this week, but you can’t ignore the run Schauffele’s been on the past few weeks.