2022 Fortinet Championship: Top 10 power rankings at Silverado

Alex Noren is making his Fortinet Championship debut.

The last time he made a tournament debut worked out fairly well for him. He earned solo second late this summer at the Barracuda Championship to help lock up his PGA Tour card.

It was a bold decision at the time as he eschewed a chance to play in The Open Championship to prioritize his PGA Tour status for next season. It’s unlikely Noren had the stuff to contend with historic weeks from Cam Smith, Cameron Young, Rory McIlroy, et. al, so this was a good decision in hindsight.

Despite having to withdraw from the first FedEx Cup Playoffs event with a neck injury, Noren still qualified for the BMW Championship. He took T-52nd in the event and 70th in the FedEx Cup.

He was consistent in 2021-22 with just five missed cuts between tours.

Noren played well early in 2022 with T-6th at the WM Phoenix Open and T-5th at the Honda Classic.

The 40-year-old ranked 59th on the PGA Tour per round in total strokes gained (.482). He was 18th in SG putting (.457).

Noren’s a savvy player who was also 16th in sand saves (59%).

Length off the tee can help in spots this week at Silverado, but shorter hitters like Noren can still find success.

It’s been over four years since Noren won on any tour (2018 HNA Open de France, DP World Tour). Time may be running out, but the Oklahoma State University alum still has the game to contend with the young guns.

I like Noren to contend this week against one of the weaker fields he’ll see.