The men's major championship season has officially ended, and Scottie Scheffler has ascended to generational talent territory with his win at Royal Portrush.
Four major wins in his first 25 starts, all of them by at least three shots, and doing so while looking unbelievably calm and thinking none of this matters, there's no one on the PGA Tour that can stop nihilist king right now. He is inevitable, and the Tiger Woods comparisons are completely warranted and justified at this point in time.
With that being said, we won't be seeing the best golfer in the world for a couple weeks, as the PGA Tour hits its final stretch before the start of the FedEx Cup Playoffs at the FedEx St. Jude in Memphis.
This week, the Tour travels to TPC Twin Cities for the 3M Open, and the majority of the players in the field are looking to make their push to secure a spot within the top 70 of the FedEx Cup rankings. Currently, only 26 players in the field are qualified for the first playoff event.
The biggest thing that will help players around TPC Twin Cities is finding the short grass off the tee. This course consistently plays as one of the most penal for tee shots that miss the fairway on the entire Tour schedule, so avoiding trouble will help immensely this week.
We were able to find another winner last week with Scottie taking down The Open, bringing the total to 13 on the year from the rankings. This week's field is a bit of a crapshoot, but let's see if we can steal another one. Also, despite his strong play at Portrush, Haotong Li is not in this week's rankings.
Honorable Mentions: Jacob Bridgeman, Tony Finau, Doug Ghim, Beau Hossler, Michael Thorbjornsen
9. Matt McCarty
I'm sure Matt McCarty is kicking himself for just barely missing the cut at Royal Portrush last week. His play was not terrible, he just got a little unlucky, especially after a T22 at the Scottish the week before. However, this week should be a good bounce back spot for McCarty.
The 27-year-old is currently in the top 25 on Tour in both driving accuracy and strokes gained putting this season. Even when he does miss the fairway, McCarty's average proximity from the rough ranks 12th on Tour, so he is ready for whatever the course throws at him.
While he's never played TPC Twin Cities before, he finished T19 at the Rocket Classic this year. And there is a not-insignificant relationship between guys who play well at Detroit Golf Club and performing well at TPC Twin Cities, so I like McCarty's chances this week.
8. Akshay Bhatia
After threatening at The Players this year, Akshay Bhatia hasn't really been able to keep up his strong play, with only two top-25 finishes since.
The good thing is that Bhatia's approach numbers are still strong, as he has had six straight weeks with positive strokes gained approach play, along with a driver that is straightening back out.
I had high hopes for Akshay maybe making a push for the Ryder Cup team after barely missing out on the Presidents Cup squad last year, but he can still finish his year strong to make up for not reaching that stretch goal.
7. Andrew Putnam
In this week's edition of "Let's use a meme to make a comparison that only like five people will get", I wonder if Andrew Putnam feels like Soulja Boy in that Breakfast Club interview where he claims Drake stole his whole flow about Brian Campbell.
One of the shortest hitters on Tour, Putnam still excels at every other aspect of the game. Despite his strokes gained off the tee number being -0.68 strokes per round, Putnam still ranks 39th on Tour in strokes gained total thanks to his short game and irons making up for his lack of pop.
TPC Twin Cities has ended up playing somewhat distance-agnostic over the years, and playing that way sets up unbelievably well for someone as consistent as Putnam to come in and put up a strong weekend in Minnesota.
6. Rickie Fowler
Here's something that'll be fun to think about during the offseason: All of the unrestricted sponsor's exemptions that Rickie Fowler received that led to him getting into The Open and finishing T14, and possibly saving his Tour card.
Of course, all credit to the Golf Boy for taking advantage of the spot in The Open, but some changes need to be made so that the Tour actually rewards good, consistent play, rather than filling up the TV with bad commercials.
That being said, I think Rickie can play well this week at the 3M. Fowler had all aspects of the game firing at Royal Portrush, and he's been able to stretch together decent finishes a few weeks in a row.
Finding the putter has been key for Fowler's success recently, and his last couple of starts at The Open and the John Deere have shown that he can get the ball rolling well. Rickie is hovering right around the bubble for the FedEx Cup right now, so expect that fire to be lit under him this week.
5. Chris Gotterup
Massive, massive congratulations are owed to Chris Gotterup for following up his Scottish Open win with a solo 3rd at The Open and playing his way into Ryder Cup consideration with the best hot streak of his career (his worst finish in his last five starts is a T26 at the Rocket Classic).
Gotterup is still going to need to play very well these next few weeks to really feel like a lock for the bus to Bethpage, and I think he could continue it this week.
Everyone and their mother expected Gotterup to struggle at The Open after his win, and that didn't happen. It's possible the late travel back to the U.S. from Northern Ireland may catch up with him, but we're going to ride the hot hand this week and look for the 26-year-old to make a run in Minnesota.
4. Taylor Pendrith
I feel like I need to say this every time I pick Taylor Pendrith, but I am begging him to have a good week with his short game. That's legitimately all Pendrith needs to do, and he'll start winning way more often.
The 34-year-old Canadian has been one of the best drivers on Tour, currently in the top 10 in strokes gained off the tee. It's possible that a missed cut at The Open allowed Pendrith to return to the U.S. sooner and adjust to the time change in plenty of time for this week's tournament. Additionally, readjusting to PGA Tour green speeds will come more easily to Pendrith.
He finished fifth last year at the 3M, leading the field off the tee, and I don't see why he can't repeat his performance this year.
3. Max Greyserman
I'm really putting Max Greyserman up this high in the rankings because of his poor performances in Scotland and Northern Ireland. I'm willing to throw out because those are unique course styles that the Tour doesn't play all that often.
On top of that, he'll be looking to overcome his playoff loss at the Rocket Classic from a few weeks ago still to Aldrich Potgieter. The 30-year-old has a solid all-around game, so he can translate across courses well. Plus, he came in solo second here last year, so expect another strong performance from Max Greyserman this week.
2. Sam Burns
As of right now, Sam Burns is probably on the U.S. Ryder Cup team, but he could use a couple solid performances to secure that spot a bit further. He's cooled off a bit since his hot streak in May and June when he almost won the U.S. Open, but Burns is coming back to a course where he has played very well.
In three starts, the Texan has finished T7, T12, and T32 at the 3M, and his mix of strong iron play, good driving accuracy, and extremely strong putting should lead to Burns finally breaking his winless streak this week.
1. Maverick McNealy
Ever since the start of June, Maverick McNealy has been one of the most consistent performers on Tour, and it feels like no one is talking about it.
He has finished in the top 25 in four of his last five starts, the lone exception coming at the U.S. Open, where he finished 37th. Coming off of his best performance in a major this season, I expect McNealy to really push his way towards the back end of the U.S. Ryder Cup roster these next few weeks. Let's see if he can impress captain Keegan Bradley with a win this week in Minnesota.