Devil Ball Golf World Top 5: Rory still has the edge
Welcome into the Devil Ball Golf World Top 5, our weekly power rankings that looks at a shorter window than the two-year timeframe which guides the Official World Golf Ranking.
5. Patrick Reed (Last start: T-24 at Humana Challenge, OWGR: 15): The 2014 winner of the Humana Challenge faded on Sunday -- well, relatively speaking. His 1-under 71 dropped him 15 places on Sunday. However, he's got a win in 2015 and has a respectable title defense in a tournament that's really tough to win once much less in consecutive years.
4. Jimmy Walker (Last start: WIN at Sony Open in Hawaii, OWGR: 13): In the two events Jimmy Walker has played in 2015, he's beaten the collective field by nine shots in regulation. It's hard to start the year off much better than that. The beginning of the season has become Walker's strong suit.
3. Bubba Watson (Last start: 10th at Hyundai Tournament of Champions, OWGR: 4): Watson reboots this week at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, which should suit his game well. He was runner-up a year ago to Kevin Stadler, who can't defend his title due to injury.
2. Jordan Spieth (Last start: WIN at Hero World Challenge, OWGR: 9): Spieth won his final two tournaments of 2014, the Aussie Open and Hero World Challenge, by a combined 16 shots. He makes his 2015 debut at TPC Scottsdale, so we'll see if he can pick up where he left off in 2014.
1. Rory McIlroy (Last start: 2nd at Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, OWGR: 1): The unquestioned world No. 1 jumps back into the European Tour's Middle East Swing in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. McIlroy is the favorite, of course, and hopes for a better result in the U.A.E. than the consistent heartbreak in Abu Dhabi.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
