Golf rankings, player capsules

The Sports Xchange's 2013 PGA Tour rankings, selected by TSX Golf Staff, based on 2012-2013 performance.

1. Tiger Woods, United States -- Woods was at Congressional last week, but only to fulfill his duties as host of the AT&T National and talk to the media about his strained left elbow, which kept him from defending his title in the tournament. He said he's not touching a club for a few weeks while undergoing treatment, and then he'll begin strengthening exercises that should make him fit for the 142nd Open Championship at Muirfield. Tiger said that the regimen for healing the injury includes stem-cell treatment, ultrasound, ice and anti-inflammatory medication. ... This was the third time that Woods was forced to miss the AT&T National, the other coming in 2008 (left leg and knee) and 2011 (left knee and Achilles tendon). At least he seems to be getting wiser as he gets older in not always trying to play through injuries, and he said this one was not that bad until he re-injured it trying to hit out of the deep rough in the U.S. Open at Merion. In 2011, he limped off the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass after nine holes in the Players Championship because of his left leg was hurting so much, and he missed the next 11 weeks. In 2008, he played through the pain of a broken leg and won the U.S. Open, but then missed the rest of the season. ... Before the injury, Woods was having a terrific season. He earned four victories in six stroke-play events on the PGA Tour and regained the No. 1 spot in the World Golf Rankings, and he is leading the FedEx Cup standings. Since being injured, he tied for 65th in the Memorial and tied for 32nd in the U.S. Open, so it will be interesting to see how he bounces back.

2. Justin Rose, England -- Even though he planned to play in the AT&T National last week as late as Sunday night, the U.S. Open champion woke up Monday morning at his home in Lake Nona, Fla., and knew he couldn't make it to Congressional for the tournament that began Thursday. So, he reluctantly announced that he was withdrawing from the event, which he won in 2010, because of fatigue after a brutal three-week run that included his first major title in the national championship at Merion. ... Rose was spotted with his son at Nona Blue, a restaurant owned by Graeme McDowell, and said that in addition to being tired, his body was very sore and that he has been unable to practice as much as he would like because of the demands on his time. That's something that all first-time major winners must learn to come to grips with, knowing when to say no to all the requests so that it does not impact their game moving forward. ... After the media blitz in New York following his victory over Phil Mickelson and Jason Day, Rose did well to finish in a tie for 13th at the Travelers Championship. He seemed headed for a top-10 finish but clearly ran out of gas with three bogeys down the stretch on Sunday. Had he gone the other way on the back nine, he would have been in contention for another victory. Rosy had planned to take three days off before heading to Congressional, but now he will have time to decompress at home and then prepare for the 142nd Open Championship at Muirfield, Scotland, in two weeks.

3. Matt Kuchar, United States -- Kuchar is coming to the end of a two-week break, skipping the Travelers Championship and the AT&T National before heading to Europe two weeks ahead of the 142nd Open Championship to play in the Alstom Open de France for the first time this week. Even though he never has played Le Golf National near Versailles, he will try to become the first American to win the French national open since Barry Jaeckel in 1972 at Biarritz La Nivelle Golf Club in Ciboure on the Bay of Biscay. ... Kuchar, who has played 15 times on the PGA Tour this season, had not committed to the Aberdeen Asset Scottish Open, in which he tied for 10th in 2011, as of late last week. Thus, it appears that his outing in France will be his last before the 142nd Open Championship in two weeks at Muirfield, Scotland. That means he probably will make next week a golfing vacation and play some of the famed links courses in the United Kingdom, as many of Americans have done over the years ahead of the third major of the season. ... Kuchar is on the verge of what already might be a career season, having won this season in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and the Memorial Tournament, the first time he has multiple victories in one season. He has finished in the top 10 six times, which is tied for second on the circuit, and he leads with 35 top 10s in the last four-plus seasons. Kooch is second behind Tiger Woods in both the FedEx Cup Standings and on the money list with $4,393,265.

4. Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland -- Even playing on home soil in the Irish Open, McIlroy could not turn his season around, shooting 74-72--146 and missing the cut by two strokes at Carton House in Maynooth, County Kildare. Although he has not played his best on the PGA Tour, he has made it to the weekend in all but one of his 10 events on the U.S. circuit, the exception when he withdrew in disgust from the Honda Classic. However, he has three missed cuts in as many starts on the European Tour, the others coming in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in England. ... Even though McIlroy admitted a few weeks ago that he should have played more this year after changing equipment and making swing changes, the schedule page at RoryMcIlroy.com indicates that he will not play again until he tees it up at the Open Championship for the sixth time in two weeks at Muirfield. He has played in the Barclays Scottish Open three times, but not since it moved from Loch Lomond to Castle Stuart two years ago, and he was not listed in the field for next week's tournament as of the weekend. ... McIlroy said he felt lost while recording only two birdies during his first round last week in the Irish Open. He rallied the next day with five birdies but also had five bogeys and was gone for the weekend. He drove the ball very poorly, hitting only nine of 28 fairways, but he managed to reach the green on 27 of 36 attempts before averaging 33 putts per round, including 34 in round one.

5. Adam Scott, Australia -- In what apparently was his final competitive tune-up for the third major of the year, the Masters Champion could break par only when he shot 2-under 69 on Saturday in the difficult conditions at Congressional in the AT&T National. He wound up in a tie for 57th. It was his worst finish of the season in nine events on the PGA Tour, and it has to be a concern that the previous low point was a tie for 45th in the U.S. Open at Merion, in his last outing. ... Scotty went to something of an abbreviated schedule last year in order to concentrate on the majors, and it certainly paid off, both in the Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St. Annes last year, even though he gave away the tournament at the finish, and again this season at Augusta National. The schedule page at adamscott.com indicates that he will not play again until the 142nd Open at Muirfield in two weeks. ... Scott was in danger of missing the cut for the first time since the 2012 HP Byron Nelson, the only time he missed the weekend last year, until he made pars on the last three holes on Friday at Congressional. His score of 73-71--144 made it by two shots, but after his 69 on Saturday, he closed with a 76, his worst score since he posted the same number in the third round of the 2011 Barclays. Scott was among the leaders by hitting 56 of 72 greens in regulation, but he ranked near the bottom by averaging 32.8 putts per round and minus-1.545 in strokes gained putting with his long putter.

6. Brandt Snedeker, United States -- Snedeker was in position to make a move in the final round of the AT&T National, trailing leaders Bill Haas, Andres Romero, James Driscoll and Roberto Castro by only three strokes. However, he never really got going on Sunday at Congressional, closing with an even-par 71 to finish in a tie for eighth. Still, it was his seventh top-10 finish of the season, tying Billy Horschel for the lead on the circuit, and his first since he tied for eighth in the Players Championship, which should send him to the third major of the year with a bit of momentum. ... Snedeker was on the early commitment list for the Greenbrier Classic, in which he tied for 16th in 2010 and tied for 38th last year, but he had a change of heart and decided not to play this week on the TPC Old White Course. He has played 14 times this season on the PGA Tour despite being hampered by injuries, and the schedule page at brandtsnedeker.com indicates that he will not play again until the Open Championship at Muirfield in two weeks. ... Sneds played solid golf at Congressional, starting 69-71-69, but could not close in on the leaders in the final round because he recorded only two birdies, on the sixth and 16th holes. His best stretch of golf came when he played 10 holes through No. 14 in a bogey-free 4 under in the first round, but he could not duplicate that the rest of the way. He rallied to stay in the hunt in the second and third rounds but didn't have much left in the final round.

7. Phil Mickelson, United States -- Trying to bounce back from the disappointment of his record sixth runner-up finish in the U.S. Open, which was especially rough because he held the lead in the final round at Merion and could not close the deal, Lefty rejoins the PGA Tour this week for the Greenbrier Classic. He is playing in the tournament for the third consecutive year and hopes to make the cut on the TPC Old White Course for the first time. In 2011, he shot 70-73--143 and missed the weekend by two strokes, and last year wound up at 71-71--142 to miss by three. He has yet to break the par of 70. However, he said his family has had a great time at the Greenbrier Resort, so he is back again. ... Mickelson has played 13 tournaments this season and finished in the top three on five occasions, including his victory in the Waste Management Phoenix Open. That would be a great half-season for most players, but this is a guy who has won 41 times on the PGA Tour, so coming close does not mean much to him. He has tied for second in his last two tournaments, the FedEx St. Jude Classic and the U.S. Open, and also finished third in the Wells Fargo Championship and tied for third in the WGC-Cadillac Championship. ... Mickelson has won four major titles, the last at the 2010 Masters, and he will tune up for the 142nd Open Championship in two weeks at Muirfield by playing in the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open next week at Castle Stuart for the 11th time.

8. Luke Donald, England -- Following two weeks off after he struggled to a 76 in the final round of the U.S. Open at Merion to tie for eighth, Donald has made the trip across the Atlantic and will play this week in the Alstom Open de France. He has played in the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open five times previously, and he won the tournament two years ago at Castle Stuart. However, he is not on the commitment list, and the schedule page at lukedonald.com indicates he is going to skip the tournament next week ahead of the Open Championship at Muirfield. ... In his only previous appearance at Le Golf National near Versailles, he finished in a tie for 11th in 2010. After opening with rounds of 70-69-67, he ranked among the leaders and had a chance to win, but he stumbled to a 1-over-par 72 on Sunday and finished five strokes out of the playoff in which Miguel Angel Jimenez defeated Francesco Molinari and Alejandro Canizares. Luke has won in eight countries around the world and would like to make France the ninth. ... Donald has not been at his best this season on the PGA Tour, but he hasn't been that far off either, with eight finishes in the top 25 in nine starts, including three top-10 finishes. He tied for fourth in the Tampa Bay Championship and tied for third in the RBC Heritage in addition to his finish at Merion, but he is winless after claiming seven titles around the globe in the last two years. That includes three on the PGA Tour, the last coming more than a year ago in the Transitions Championship.

9. Dustin Johnson, United States -- Following his tie for 18th in the BMW International Open at Golfclub Munchen Eichenried in Munich, Germany, DJ will not play again until the 142nd Open Championship in two weeks at Murifield, Scotland. He flew back to the United States with his girlfriend, Paulina Gretzky, daughter of hockey's Great One, for a little time off at home before heading back across the Atlantic. ... Johnson has finished in the top 15 each of the last three years in the Open Championship, including a tie for second two years ago at Royal St. George's, and says he enjoys playing in Europe. He's going to fly to Ireland next week ahead of the third major of the year and play some of the famous links courses with some buddies before heading to Muirfield. He plans to arrive in Scotland on Sunday night so he can get in three full days of practice because he has never seen the course, which has not hosted the Open since 2002. ... After getting his season off to a great start by winning the Hyundai Tournament of Champions to give him victories in each of his first six seasons on the PGA Tour, Johnson has been slowed by illness and injury. He has only two other finishes in the top 10, a tie for fourth in the Shell Houston Open and a tie for 10th in the St. Jude Classic. DJ did tie for 13th in the Masters, but he missed the cut in the U.S. Open and is hoping for better in the third major of the year.

10. Webb Simpson, United States -- With only a week off since a tie for fifth in the Travelers Championship, one of his four top-10 finishes this season, Simpson hopes to keep it going this week when he plays in the Greenbrier Classic for the fourth time. He has been inconsistent since winning the U.S. Open last year at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, but with his title defense at Merion in the rearview mirror, perhaps he can get back to playing his best golf. ... Webb is playing for the fourth time in the Greenbrier, and after shooting 74-76--150 to miss the cut by a whopping 12 strokes in 2010, he has finished in the top 10 each of the last two years and could have won both times on the TPC Old White Course. In 2011, he started with 65-68-69 before shooting even-par 70 in the final round to tie for ninth. Last year, Simpson was looking for his second victory in three outings when he started 65-66-65 to take a two-stroke lead into the final round. However, he closed with a 73 and tied for seventh. Simpson went 59 holes without a bogey before carding four in the last seven holes to blow a lead in the final round of the tournament for the second straight year. ... This apparently will be Simpson's last appearance before the Open Championship at Muirfield in two weeks, because he is not on the commitment list for either the John Deere Classic or the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open next week. He has missed the cut in two of his last three majors, but he skipped the Open Championship last year because his wife, Dowd, was due to give birth to their second child, Willow Grace.

11. Bill Haas, United States -- Bouncing back from an up-and-down round on Saturday, Haas posted a brilliant 5-under-par 66 to win the AT&T National by three strokes over Roberto Castro. It was his first victory since he holed a 43-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to beat Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley in the 2012 Northern Trust Open. He now has five wins on the PGA Tour, at least one in each of the last four years. ... Haas is moving on this week to play in the Greenbrier Classic on the TPC Old White Course for the third consecutive year. Two years ago, he opened with a 1-over-par 71 before reeling off rounds of 67-65-67, but he lost in a playoff when Scott Stallings made birdie on the first extra hole. Last year, he started with 68-69-65 but closed with a 72 and slid to a tie for 33rd. This will be his 17th event on the PGA Tour this year, and the last before he heads to Scotland for the Open Championship at Muirfield. ... Haas, who led the field with 25 birdies at Congressional, carded nine of them on Saturday but managed only his second consecutive 68 because of three bogeys and a triple-bogey 7 on No. 11, where he hit his approach into the water. However, he was rock solid in the final round, with his only bogey coming at the fifth hole. Haas would have broken 70 each day, but he also hit into the water at No. 11 on Thursday, when he opened with a 70. He tied for fourth in the field by hitting 55 of 72 greens in regulation and was second in strokes gained putting at plus-2.498, averaging 28.0 putts per round with his belly putter.

12. Keegan Bradley, United States -- Despite being winless on the PGA Tour since the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Bradley is having a solid season with six top-10 finishes, including second in the HP Byron Nelson Championship, two shots behind Sang-Moon Bae. He hopes to keep it going when he plays for the 18th time this season, making his third consecutive appearance in the Greenbrier Classic. ... Bradley hasn't done so well in his first two appearances on the TPC Old White Course at the Greenbrier Resort, finishing in a tie for 43rd in 2001 and a tie for 46th last year. However, he has shown signs that he might be a threat on the course if he can be a little more consistent. He shot 67-69 in the middle rounds two years ago but couldn't break the par of 70 the other two days. A year ago, he seemed to be on his way to a top-10 finish by starting with 68-68-66, but he stumbled home with a 74 that included seven bogeys after he carded only three in the first three rounds. ... Bradley has shown that he is a major player by winning the PGA Championship two years ago at Atlanta Athletic Club and tying for third last year in his title defense at Kiawah Island. He played in all four of the Grand Slam events for the first time last year, tying for 34th in his initial appearance in the Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. The schedule page at keeganbradley.com indicates that he is taking the two weeks off before playing in the 142nd Open at Murifield.

13. Lee Westwood, England -- Westwood was planning to play in the AT&T National and the Alstom Open de France ahead of the 142nd Open Championship, but he pulled out of both, believing that rest and practice are what he needs most in preparation for the third major of the year. He has played 13 times on the PGA Tour this season after moving his family from Worksop, England, to Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., late last year. ... Westwood started the season with a tie for fifth in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in January and flew back in England for the first time since his big move in May, when he tied for ninth in the BMW PGA Championship, the flagship event of the European Tour. He posted a tie for 15th in the U.S. Open at Merion, but he hit the wall in his last event, the Travelers Championship, where he shot 78 in the final round to finish 74th, or dead last among golfers who played all 72 holes. That must have convinced him that he needed a break. ... Westwood said that the French national championship, which he has played 10 times, is one of his favorite events and promised to be back in the future. In addition to enjoying Paris and Versailles, he has finished in the top 10 on four occasions at Le Golf National. Westy nearly won the tournament in 2009, when he closed with a 6-under-par 65 but lost to Martin Kaymer in a playoff. The Englishman has won in 20 countries around the world, but not in France, and that will have to wait for at least another year.

14. Steve Stricker, United States -- Even though he is going to play only about 11 times on the PGA Tour this season and skipped the AT&T National despite a strong record at Congressional, Stricker did play last week in the two-day CVS Caremark Charity Classic at Rhode Island Country Club in Barrington, R.I. Not only did he play, but Stricker continued his strong run of results this season despite the limited schedule, teaming with Bo Van Pelt to win the event and set a tournament scoring record in the process. ... Strick, who was playing in the charity event co-hosted by Brad Faxon and Billy Andrade for the first time, twice holed out for eagle as he and Van Pelt posted a best-ball total of 59-58--117, 25 under par, to win by four shots over Andrade and Bill Haas. The previous low score was 118, set by Matt Kuchar and Zach Johnson two years ago. Stricker sank a 30-foot putt on the eighth hole for his first eagle, then holed out from 121 yards with a wedge on the par-4 16th. Since 1999, the CVS Caremark Charity Classic has given more than $16 million to New England charities. ... Stricker headed back to Wisconsin after splitting the $300,000 winner's check with Van Pelt, and he will take another week off before playing next in the John Deere Classic, which he won in 2009, 2010 and 2011. That will be his eighth tournament of the year, which means he has only three remaining, unless he believes he has a chance to win the FedEx Cup and decides to participate in the PGA Tour playoffs.

15. Hunter Mahan, United States -- Roughly half the field in the AT&T National did not finish the second round on Friday because a thunderstorm halted play during the afternoon. However, Mahan did not have to stick around to see if he would make the cut after he shot 75-72--147 to miss by two strokes. It was his third missed cut in 18 events this season on the PGA Tour, but the first since he missed the weekend on consecutive weeks in his title defense at the Shell Houston Open and at the Masters in April. ... Mahan has played 18 tournaments on the PGA Tour this season, the highest total among the top players on the circuit, and after playing each of the last three weeks, he apparently needs a break. He is going to take two weeks off, which will give him time to get to Scotland early to make his links-golf preparation for the 142nd Open Championship at Muirfield. ... Since shooting 9-under-par 62 in the first round of the Travelers Championship, Mahan has failed to break 70 in his last five rounds. Last week in the AT&T National, he made bogeys on three of his first five holes in round one and never really recovered despite bouncing back momentarily with birdies on the seventh and eighth holes. The round completely got away from him when he three-putted the ninth green from 36 feet for a bogey 6 and then hit his approach into the water on No. 11 and took a double-bogey 6. When he started the next day with bogeys on the 10th and 12th holes, his chance to play the weekend virtually was gone, even though he played the last 14 holes at difficult Congressional in 1 under.

16. Ernie Els, South Africa -- Apparently, the Big Easy is taking two weeks off after claiming the 70th victory of his career around the globe. That's not definite because he is on the commitment list of the Aberdeen Asset Scottish Open next week, although that tournament does not appear on the schedule page at ernieels.com, which usually is pretty accurate. He has played in the Scottish Open 17 times previously and won the tournament in 2000 and 2003 when it was played at Loch Lomond. In his only appearances at Castle Stuart, the current venue, he tied for 25th in 2011 and tied for 52nd last year. ... Whether he plays in Scotland or not, Els will be among the favorites with Tiger Woods and Justin Rose in the 142nd Open Championship at Muirfield. Not only is he the defending champion, having won last year at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, but he won the last time the oldest tournament in the world was played at Muirfield in 2002. In addition, he might be the hottest player in the world, with four top-10 finishes recently -- second in the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters, a tie for sixth in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, a tie for fourth in the U.S. Open at Merion, and his victory in the BMW International Open in Germany two weeks ago. ... Els, who was No. 1 in the World Golf Rankings on three occasions in 1997 and 1998, fell out of the top 50 for the first time since 1993 and did not qualify for the 2012 Masters. However, he has made a strong comeback that started last year in the Open Championship, and last week he was back up to No. 14 in the world.

17. Bubba Watson, United States -- Not only did Bubba melt down with a triple-bogey 6 on the 15th hole of the final round while seemingly on his way to victory in the Travelers Championship two weeks ago, but on-course microphones caught him berating and essentially blaming his caddie, Ted Scott. He was chastened almost immediately by on-course commentator David Feherty, who reminded everyone of who hit the shot, and Watson also was criticized the next few days in the media. ... Apparently, Scott will still be on the bag this week when Watson plays in the Greenbrier Classic on the TPC Old White Course for the first time. Scott, who has been with Watson for seven years, later took the blame for convincing Watson to hit the wrong club, while Bubba said that perhaps a gust of wind came up and knocked the ball into the water. When Watson claimed his first PGA Tour victory three years ago at the Travelers, he credited Scott for staying with him through his growing pains in the early years of his PGA Tour career. Watson's career peaked with a win in the Masters last year. ... Bubba admittedly is a volatile sort who has gotten himself into trouble before, most notably when he insulted the French on a trip to play in the Alstom Open de France three years ago. Not only did he not know the names of the Paris monuments, but he snapped at tournament officials, cameramen and reporters in addition to pouring a bottle of vintage French wine off his hotel balcony. News travels quickly on the Internet, and judging by the social media response, he didn't gain any new fans in this latest episode.

18. Graeme McDowell, Northern Ireland -- Like his pal Rory McIlroy, McDowell didn't bring his best stuff home to the Irish Open, shooting 71-74--145 to miss the cut by one stroke at Carton House. It's been a strange season, because even though he has won on both major tours, he also has missed the cut a total of five times, including his last four times out, the others coming in the Players Championship, the BMW PGA Championship and the U.S. Open. ... G-Mac isn't completely happy with his play this season despite victories in the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town and the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Bulgaria, so he's going to play once more ahead of the Open Championship at Muirfield in two weeks, teeing it up Thursday in the Alstom Open de France. This will be his eighth appearance at Le Golf National near Versailles, where his only top-10 finish was a tie for fourth in 2004, when he closed with a 7-under-par 64. McDowell has missed the cut three times but posted three other finishes in the top 20, including a tie for 17th last year. ... Even though he carded only two birdies each day last week in the Irish Open, that was good enough in the first round because McDowell had only one bogey mar his round, on the 17th hole. It appeared that he would make the cut easily when he played his first 11 holes in even par the next day after starting at No. 10, but he carded three bogeys in a span of six holes through No. 8 and could not save himself by holing a 10-foot birdie putt at No. 9.

19. Jason Dufner, United States -- Perhaps worn down a big by playing 17 times

on both major tours this season, Duf has not committed to any events before the 142nd Open Championship in two weeks at Muirfield. After he tied for fourth in the U.S. Open at Merion, he missed the cut in the Travelers Championship and might have decided it was time to get away for a while. ... Dufner did not play at all last year between the second and third majors of the year, but that was because he was taking a delayed honeymoon with his wife, Amanda. Even though he didn't approach the heights he reached in the first half of 2012, when he claimed his first two PGA Tour victories in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and the HP Byron Nelson Championship, he came back refreshed and finished the regular season second in the FedEx Cup standings. ... After playing well late into last year given some new opportunities in Asia thanks to his breakthrough year on the PGA Tour at the age of 35, he also flew off to compete in two events on the Middle East Swing of the European Tour early this year. He tied for 16th in the CIMB Classic and the WGC-HSBC Champions, both in China, late in 2012 and tied for ninth in both the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters and the Abu Dhabi HSBC Champions in January after starting the season with a tie for 18th in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii. He admitted that he lost his swing a bit in the windy Middle East, but all of that travel might have caught up with him as well.

20. Ian Poulter, England -- Trying to find the consistency that has eluded him for much of this season, Poulter is back on the European Tour this week for the Alstom Open de France. He played brilliantly in the Ryder Cup, followed that up by winning the WGC-HSBC Champions late last year in China and started this season with a tie for ninth in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and a tie for fourth in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championships. After struggling a bit, his game seemed to be coming around when he opened with 71-71 on the difficult East Course at Merion in the U.S. Open, but then played the weekend in 73-76 to tie for 21st. ... Poults is playing at Le Golf National near Versailles for the 11th time, with four top-10 finishes in his last six appearances. His best result was solo third in 2009, when he opened with a 1-over-par 72 but followed with rounds of 69-66-67 and finished three strokes out of the playoff in which Martin Kaymer defeated Lee Westwood. Last year, Poulter again opened with a 72 but came back with three consecutive scores of 69 and wound up three shots behind winner Marcel Siem of Germany. He also had three rounds in the 60s in 2006 and tied for third, three strokes behind champion John Bickerton, and also finished ninth in 2007. ... Poulter's ball-striking has not been sharp this season, as he has hit only a little better than 60 percent of the fairways and greens in 10 events on the PGA Tour, and he has been so-so with his normally reliable putter. He ranks 41st in strokes gained putting at plus-.430 and 48th with an average of 28.81 putts per round.

Others receiving consideration: Zach Johnson, United States; Charl Schwartzel, South Africa; Sergio Garcia, Spain; Jason Day, Australia; John Merrick, United States; Charles Howell III, United States; Martin Laird, Scotland; Angel Cabrera, Argentina; Kevin Streelman, United States; D.A. Points, United States; Billy Horschel, United States; Russell Henley, United States; David Lingmerth, Sweden; Sang-Moon Bae, South Korea; Boo Weekley, United States; Harris English, United States.