2024 Players Championship: Top 10 power rankings at TPC Sawgrass

There are aspiring PGA Tour pros who would love to rattle off three straight top-25s. That can be life-changing money for recent Korn Ferry Tour graduates. It’s a drop in the bucket for Rory McIlroy, who’s likely wondering what he needs to do to contend for titles like he’s accustomed to.

It’s clear he’s not too far off. Last week was bookended with tough rounds, but he played about as well as anyone in the mid-portion of the Arnold Palmer Invitational with 2-under 70 on Friday and 68 Saturday in tough conditions at Bay Hill.

He was in the top-10 entering Sunday before slipping to T-21st. McIlroy was 5-over through 11 holes on Sunday before battling back for a 2-under finish to salvage things a little.

The Northern Irishman ranked second in the field in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee (4.679) and putted well enough at 19th (1.564) to get the job done in those two regards.

“I'm going to Sawgrass next week, like, super comfortable with how I'm hitting it off the tee,” McIlroy was transcribed by ASAP Sports. “If you can get the ball in play there, then I think that's half the battle. But then you've got very small, demanding greens that you got to hit it on the right levels, and you have to be pretty precise with your approach play as well.”

Iron play will be McIlroy’s key to success this week. I think he’ll get things tidied up compared to last week, but I don’t know if he can do a full 180 from losing four-plus strokes to the field on approach last week.

That’s why I envision a mere top-10 this week for Rory.

He’s making his 14th Players Championship appearance. He’s been sporadic, like most big names have been at TPC Sawgrass. McIlroy missed his first three cuts before placing top 12 the next four years.

He won the Players in 2019 but has two missed cuts and a T-33rd since.