Golf Rankings, player capsules

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

1. Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland -- A week after an embarrassing missed cut in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship after the hoopla surrounding his move to Nike, there was no indication that McIlroy would add a tournament before the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in three weeks. As the No. 1 player in the World Golf Rankings, he would play No. 64, which last week was Bernd Wiesberger of Austria, in the first round of the Accenture. Due to the unpredictable nature of match play, Rory could be eliminated early even if he plays well, and he would head for the Florida Swing of the PGA Tour with very little competitive feedback from his new clubs. ... Another Irishman, Padraig Harrington, said McIlroy needs to play as much as he can with the new sticks, even if it's only in low-key practice rounds against other pros. Work on the practice range is fine, but taking it to the course is another thing, although Paddy said he expects that McIlroy will figure things out fairly quickly. ... Last week, McIlroy and instructor Michael Bannon were in Dubai for practice sessions overseen by technicians from the Nike test lab in Texas, known as "The Oven." Also on hand was yet another Irishman, Shane Lowry, who will play this week in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. Members of the Irish media who were aware of that fact figured that Lowry could give McIlroy some friendly competition on the course, which would give him some work with his new Nike gear under actual playing conditions. McIlroy decided not to stay in Dubai for the tournament, which he won in 2009 for his first victory as a pro.

2. Tiger Woods, United States -- Even though he stumbled coming home, Woods claimed the 75th victory of his PGA Tour career by four strokes in the Farmers Insurance Open. He is only seven wins short of Sam Snead's record. Woods won the tournament for the seventh time, and along with his victory in the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, set a record with eight victories on the same course. He won his PGA Tour season opener for seventh time, and he is 50-4 when holding at least a share of the 54-hole lead. ... The schedule at tigerwoods.com gives no indication as to when he will play next, as the major championship are the only tournaments listed other than the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, where he missed the cut, and the Farmers. Last year, he played at Pebble Beach, where he won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and the U.S. Open in 2000, for the first time in 10 years and tied for 15th. Tiger loves Pebble but is not fond of the poa annua greens, especially when they are soft at this time of year, so there's no telling if he will be there next week. The Northern Trust Open, his hometown event, is the following week, and he hasn't played at Riviera since 2006. ... Woods played brilliantly for three rounds in opening up a four-stroke lead with rounds of 68-65-69 last week on the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean in La Jolla. He lost his driver swing late Sunday before darkness halted play, but he scrambled to an eight-stroke lead with four birdies and no bogeys in the first 14 holes of the final round. Then he carded two bogeys and a double bogey coming in to shoot 72.

3. Luke Donald, England -- With much less fanfare than Rory McIlroy got for his switch from Titleist to Nike, it was announced last week that Donald has signed a new long-term contract with Mizuno. The Englishman has been playing Mizuno clubs since his college days at Northwestern, and they have helped him to 14 victories in his career, plus 55 weeks at No. 1 in the World Golf Rankings during the last two years. ... Luke, who presently is No. 3 behind McIlroy and Tiger Woods, said he tested equipment made by several other companies before deciding to stick with Mizuno, which does not demand that all 14 clubs in his bag be theirs. He plays 11 Mizuno clubs, including all of his wedges and irons, plus the TaylorMade Rocketballz driver and 3-wood, in addition to the Odyssey White Hot Tour XG putter. That putter isn't going anywhere, as in 2011 he used it to play 434 holes without a three-putt. McIlroy opened the season in Abu Dhabi with 14 Nike clubs, but he switched back to his Scotty Cameron putter on the second day en route to missing the cut. Donald said he has no concerns about McIlroy getting things sorted out. ... The Englishman reiterated that he would start his 2013 season in two weeks in the Northern Trust Open at Riviera, near Los Angeles. His biggest goal this season, as always, is to win tournaments, and in particular, to break through and claim the first major title of his career. When asked when he will start preparing for the Masters in April, he said: "I start now."

4. Dustin Johnson, United States -- Playing for the first time since withdrawing after one round of the Sony Open in Hawaii because of the flu, Johnson got off to a fast start while opening with a 3-under-par 69 in the Farmers Insurance Open. However, he could not break par the rest of the way and wound up in a tie for 51st. He finished at even par, the first time he was not under par in a tournament in which he played 72 holes since the PGA Championship last August. ... DJ, who captured the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions, might need this week off to fully regain his strength after pulling out of the Sony after one round and then posting a so-so finish at Torrey Pines. Bubba Watson, who also was hit by the flu in Hawaii, couldn't even make it to the first tee of the Farmers before withdrawing because he still was under the weather. Johnson will return to the PGA Tour next week for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, which he won in 2009 and 2010 for two of his seven PGA Tour victories. ... Last week at Torrey Pines, Johnson made eagle on the first hole of round one and added two birdies on his front nine. However, that was the best run he had all week. He salvaged a 72 in round two despite making three consecutive bogeys through No. 5, but his only two birdies late in the third round left him with a 75. DJ drove into an unplayable lie on the seventh hole en route to a double-bogey 6 that left him with a closing 72.

5. Brandt Snedeker, United States -- Last year, Snedeker came from seven strokes behind to win the Farmers Insurance Open and he found himself in the same position last week, but this time it was Tiger Woods and not Kyle Stanley he was chasing. Still, he got to within three shots of Woods by carding four birdies in his first nine holes early in the final round, which took two days to complete because fog wiped out play Saturday. However, Snedeker could manage only one more birdie and finished with a 3-under-par 69 to tie for second, four shots behind Woods. ... Sneds will be playing for the third consecutive week and fourth in the first five when he tees it up in the Waste Management Phoenix Open for the sixth consecutive year. He also has committed to the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am the following week. Snedeker recorded his best finish at TPC Scottsdale two years ago, when he posted four consecutive rounds in the 60s to tie for eighth, four strokes out of the playoff in which Mark Wilson defeated Jason Dufner. Until then, his highest finish was a tie for ninth in 2008. ... Snedeker was tied for the lead last week at Torrey Pines after opening with a 7-under-par 65, but a 75 in round two proved to be costly, and he finished with 69-69. He was four strokes out of the lead when darkness halted the final round on Sunday, deciding not to putt from 10 feet for birdie. When he returned on Monday, Snedeker missed the putt and played the last four holes in 1 over.

6. Justin Rose, England -- Rose was among the leaders early and posted bookend rounds of 68-68 last week in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, but he could manage only 71-71 in the middle rounds and finished in a tie for 16th. Even though he couldn't hold the lead a week earlier in the final round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and tied for second, overall he had to consider it a strong start to his season on the Middle East Swing of the European Tour. ... Rose is taking three weeks off at his home in Florida before starting his PGA Tour schedule in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. Then he will play the first two events of the Florida Swing, the Honda Classic and the WGC-Cadillac Championship, where he claimed one of the biggest victories in his career last year in the run-up to the Masters in April. ... After his fast start last week in Qatar, Rose lost touch with the leaders when he posted nine consecutive pars on the front nine in round two at Doha Golf Club. He posted a total of 13 birdies in the first and last rounds but could manage only three each day in the middle rounds. His iron play was solid, as he hit 57 of 72 greens in regulation, but he could have been better off the tee and on the greens. Rose hit only 31 of 56 fairways, and he averaged 30 putts per round, taking 32 on Saturday and 30 on Sunday. That led to at least two bogeys every day and a total of nine in 72 holes.

7. Adam Scott, Australia -- After one of the longest offseasons among the top golfers in the world, Scott is sharpening his skills with instructor Brad Malone, his brother-in-law, on the Gold Coast in Australia. He is scheduled to start his season in two weeks in the Northern Trust Open at Riviera, where Luke Donald also will get started. The rest of the best already have gotten started, other than Lee Westwood, although several, such as Steve Stricker and Ian Poulter, are in the middle of long breaks after playing in the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii. ... Scott, who represents the Palms Golf Course at Sanctuary Cove in Queeensland, probably is cutting down on the surfing and tennis as the season approaches, although he is a keen tennis fan and always keeps his eye on the Australian Open. This year, however, he didn't have a rooting interest since he no longer dates Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, a world-class tennis player. Last year, Malone had to tell Adam to stop playing so much tennis with Ivanovic because his powerful forehand shot was creeping into his golf swing and causing too much of a draw. ... In the past, Scott usually started his season early, on the West Coast Swing of the PGA Tour or the Middle East Swing of the European Tour, and was successful in both areas. However, last year he decided to start late and play fewer tournaments so he would be fresh for the majors, and it nearly paid off with his first Grand Slam title before he made bogeys on the last four holes at Royal Lytham & St. Annes to hand the Open Championship to Ernie Els.

8. Lee Westwood, England -- Even though he has moved his family to Florida so he can concentrate on the PGA Tour and the three majors that are played in the United States, Westwood will get his 2013 season under way this week in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. It is one of eight tournaments he plans to play before the Masters in April. Westwood will play for the first time in the U.S. this year when he tees it up next week in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. ... The Englishman is playing in Dubai for the 19th time in the last 20 years, missing only in 2002, when he took a break from the game while having his swing retooled by instructor David Leadbetter. He's never won at Emirates Golf Club, but he has come close, finishing second three times -- including two of the last three years -- among his seven finishes in the top 10. In 1999, he played the weekend in 69-67 and wound up four strokes behind countryman David Howell. Three years ago, he made a birdie on the 72nd hole to get into a playoff with Miguel Angel Jimenez, who won with a four-foot par putt on the third playoff hole after Westwood missed from five feet. And last year, he held the 54-hole lead after shooting 69-65-67, but he managed only a 70 in the final round and lost to Rafael Cabrera-Bello by one stroke, missing a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole. ... Westwood hopes to get off to a running start this week after moving his family to West Palm Beach in December and being able to practice in the warmer weather after often being limited during the winter in Worksop, England, because of the cold.

9. Phil Mickelson, United States -- Playing in his hometown event, the Farmers Insurance Open, which he has won three times, Mickelson could not break 70 in any of his four rounds and wound up in a tie for 51st. He usually starts fast on the West Coast Swing, but after tying for 37th the previous week in the Humana Challenge, he is searching for answers as he heads for the next event in Arizona, another of his favorite spots. ... Lefty plays frequently on the West Coast Swing, and he will be at it again this week in the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the third of five in a row. He will follow that with his title defense at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and then will play in the Northern Trust Open, but he will skip the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, as he did in 2010. Phil attended nearby Arizona State, once lived in Scottsdale and has played in the Phoenix area event the last 22 years and 23 times in all. He posted four rounds in the 60s and beat Justin Leonard with a birdie on the third playoff hole in 1996 for the first of his two victories in the event. Nine years later, he followed an opening 2-over-par 73 with a 60 and went on to win by five strokes over Kevin Na and Scott McCarron. ... Mickelson started 72-71--143 last week at Torrey Pines and made the cut right on the number despite making bogeys on his last two holes Friday. Hoping to make a run on the weekend, he instead shot 75 in round three before playing solid if not spectacular golf in the final round, carding only one bogey in a 2-under-par 70.

10. Bubba Watson, United States -- Bubba battled through the stomach flu at Kapalua to finish in a tie for fourth in the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions, but two weeks off wasn't enough for him to shake off the illness. He was set to play in the Farmers Insurance Open last week, but he withdrew before teeing off Thursday morning because he still did not feel well. He wrote on Twitter: "Pulling out of tourney this morning, don't have energy for golf. Feel the same as Maui. Got to say thanks to my peeps for the prayers!" ... Watson hopes another week off will be enough, because he's scheduled to play this week in the Waste Management Phoenix Open for the eighth consecutive year. It's a home game for him because he lives right down the road from TPC Scottsdale, and another week at home in his own bed should help. Bubba posted his best finish in the Arizona desert last year, a tie for fifth, opening with a 6-under-par 66 and eventually finishing four strokes behind winner Kyle Stanley. His only other top-10 finish was a tie for eighth in 2007, when he posted four rounds in the 60s but wound up seven strokes behind champion Aaron Baddeley. ... Watson, who captured the 2011 Farmers Insurance Open by holing a 12-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to beat local favorite Phil Mickelson, was scheduled to play the first two rounds with Mickelson and defending champion Brandt Snedeker in one of the tournament's marquee groups, but he was replaced in the field by Billy Mayfair.

11. Jason Dufner, United States -- Recording three birdies in the first 10 holes of the final round, Duf moved to within two strokes of the lead on Saturday in Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. However, he stumbled with a bogey at No. 11 and a double bogey at No. 15 before rallying at the finish to wind up in a tie for ninth. The 35-year-old American equaled his finish of the previous week in Abu Dhabi. He has placed in the top 20 in each of his last five overseas tournaments, dating to late last year. ... Dufner's name dropped off the commitment list for the Waste Management Phoenix Open two weeks ago but was back on last week, so he will be playing for the third consecutive week after making the long trip back from the Middle East. He is playing in the tournament at TPC Scottsdale for the fourth time. He nearly won it two years ago, when he posted four rounds in the 60s but lost when Mark Wilson made a birdie on the second playoff hole. Last year, he took the first-round lead with a 7-under-par 64 but could not keep it up and finished in a tie for eighth. ... After falling back in the final round last week in Qatar, Dufner salvaged his round and his week by finishing with three consecutive birdies. Had he started quicker, he might have been in the mix, but he opened with 71-70 before shooting 67-69 on the weekend. The difference, as if often is with Dufner, came on the greens, as he needed a total of 66 putts in the first two rounds and 54 in the last two.

12. Webb Simpson, United States -- Even though he did not play last week in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, there was plenty going in San Diego on that involved Simpson. First was the players meeting with executive director Mike Davis of the United States Golf Association, in which the proposed ban on putters anchored to the body was discussed. The U.S. Open champion is one of the three players to use a belly putter and win a major title in the last two years, the others being Ernie Els and Keegan Bradley. In addition, Simpson was selected to be on the Players Advisory Council. ... Even though he has played in the Waste Management Phoenix Open the last four years and tied for sixth each of the past two seasons, Webb is skipping the Arizona desert event this week. It appears that he will return to the PGA Tour in next week for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, which he has played only twice and not since 2010. ... Winning his first major title, in addition to giving Simpson a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour, opened up some new financial doors for him. Even though he knew he could have made more money, perhaps much more, he decided to stick with Titleist and told his agent, Thomas Parker, that he didn't even want to look at equipment other manufacturers had to offer. He's been with Titleist since he came out of Wake Forest and has played the company's equipment virtually his whole life, so he figured if it's not broke, why fix it?

13. Ernie Els, South Africa -- Finishing off a disappointing three-week run on the European Tour, the Big Easy could not break 70 in any of his four rounds for the second consecutive week and wound up in a tie for 73rd in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, which he won in 2005. Previously, he tied for 18th in the Volvo Golf Champions in South Africa and tied for 39th in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. ... Els and his family are back at their home in Florida. He is planning to take two weeks off before starting his PGA Tour season in the Northern Trust Open at Riviera, where he posted four rounds in the 60s and won by two strokes over Tiger Woods, Davis Love III and Ted Tryba in 1999, when the tournament was known as the Nissan Open. ... Els carded his third birdie of the second round on No. 16 last week at Doha Golf Club in Qatar, and that allowed him to make the cut right on the number at 72-71--143. Then he played the weekend in 74-76 and left with a bad taste in his mouth after playing a nine-hole stretch through No. 12 in 7 over par in the final round. Els finished off that downhill run with double bogeys on the 11th and 12th holes. He again struggled with his belly putter, averaging 30.8 putts per round, taking fewer than 30 only when he had 29 in round two.

14. Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa -- Coming off a week at home on his farm in Mossel Bay, South Africa, after winning the Volvo Golf Champions, Oosty never found his best form while finishing in a tie for 34th in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. Still, after playing into December, he has gotten off to a good start before heading back to Florida to start his second season as a full-time member of the PGA Tour. ... According to the schedule at his website, he will take three weeks off before playing for the first time this season on the PGA Tour in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. If that's accurate, it means he will pass on the Africa Open, which he has won the last two years when it was played in the first week of the season. This year, the tournament will be played in two weeks and would mean a long flight three days before the start of the Accenture. ... Oosthuizen broke the par of 72 on each of the first three days last week in Qatar, shooting 71-69-68, but came home with a disappointing 72 as the tournament finished on Saturday. His best golf of the week came in a bogey-free 68 Friday, but he never was in touch with the leaders and finished 10 strokes behind winner Chris Wood of England. His ball-striking was good enough, as he hit 33 of 54 fairways and 58 of 72 greens in regulation, but he averaged 31.3 putts per round, taking 31 each of the first three days and 32 on Saturday.

15. Matt Kuchar, United States -- After getting off to a solid start to his season in the first three events on the PGA Tour schedule, Kooch is taking a break at home and might not play again until the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in three weeks. He tied for fifth in the Accenture last year. If he comes back earlier, it could be for the Northern Trust Open at Riviera, where he has played seven times during his career. ... Kuchar, who leads the PGA Tour with 31 top-10 finishes in the past three-plus seasons, tied for ninth in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, tied for fifth at the Sony Open in Hawaii, then missed a third top 10 when he tied for 16th in the Humana Challenge. He has gone low several times, with a 63, 64, two 65s and a 66 to his credit already this season. He is 41 under par for 11 rounds, as the Hyundai was shortened to 54 holes because of extreme wind. ... Perhaps it was the wind in Hawaii, but Kuchar's ball-striking numbers are not good, as last week he ranked 129th by hitting only 54.8 percent of the fairways and 103rd in greens in regulation at 71.2 percent. However, he averaged 28.0 putts per round with his longer, but not anchored, putter, which helped him lead the PGA Tour with four eagles and 53 birdies through three events. Once he gets his swing back, he can focus on the goals he has set for this season -- winning his first major title, having multiple victories in a season for the first time and making a run at the FedEx Cup at the Tour Championship in Atlanta.

16. Ian Poulter, England -- With three weeks left before he plays again in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, Poults had plenty of time last week for personal appearances. He was a guest on "Feherty Live," hosted by David Feherty of the Golf Channel on Jan. 23 at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando Resort, in addition to making appearances at the PGA Merchandise Show at the Orlando Convention Center. Since he lives at Lake Nona, on the outskirts of Orlando, it was only a short drive in one of the several cars he has in his collection. ... Poulter came on with Feherty at the end of the show, after Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Sandy Lyle and Butch Harmon. Among the players, Poulter is the only one without a major championship, and being an Englishman, he said the one he would most like to win is the Open Championship, although the clothes-horse also said he could find a pair of pants in his closet to go with the green jacket if he won the Masters. ... Poulter said at the end of last year that he is going to try to play only 26 weeks this season because the grind had him worn down at the end of 2012. He opened with a tie for ninth in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, but he is taking six weeks off before the Accenture, which he won in 2010. The schedule page at ianpoulter.com does not list any events, but he told Feherty he also will play at Doral and Bay Hill on the Florida Swing.

17. Keegan Bradley, United States -- Following a fast start to his season with a tie for fourth in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, Bradley has struggled with a tie for 49th in the Sony Open in Hawaii before missing the cut last week in the Farmers Insurance Open. He missed the cut four times last season, with the most recent coming in the Barclays, the first event of the PGA Tour playoffs in August. ... Bradley will try to get back on track this week, when he is playing in the Waste Management Phoenix Open, and then he apparently will take two weeks off ahead of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. He played at TPC Scottsdale for the first time last year and posted a tie for 16th, shooting the par of 71 or better every day, including 68 in the first round and 67 in the last. ... Last week at Torrey Pines, Keegan shot 70-77--147 to miss the cut by four strokes. He started with a listless 2-under-par 70 on the easier North Course but lost his game completely in round two, when he did not make a birdie all day in the rain on the South Course. He still had an outside chance to reach the weekend with a birdie-eagle finish because the cut line was in flux when he reached the 17th hole on round two. However, he hit his drive into an unplayable lie en route to a double-bogey 6 and could manage only a par 5 on the closing hole. Bradley hit only six of 18 fairways on Friday, and while he did reach the green on 13 of 18 attempts, he was often out of position and needed 35 putts.

18. Steve Stricker, United States -- Hoping that treatment and rest will take care of the nerve problem that caused pain down his left leg at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, Stricker still is three weeks away from returning to the PGA Tour under the shortened schedule he has planned for 2013. He usually doesn't get in much work at home in Wisconsin this time of year anyway because of the weather, other than in the double-wide mobile home he uses as an indoor driving range. ... Stricker's simple swing is one that doesn't seem to need much work, as he proved while finishing second to Dustin Johnson in defense of his Hyundai title, and who knows, he might have made it two victories in a row at Kapalua had he not struggled to walk to hilly fairways of the Plantation Course. Hopefully, he'll be fit when he returns for the Accenture, because the Golf Club at Dove Mountain is another hilly course that is a challenge to walk. ... Stricker led the field in the Hyundai by hitting 87.04 percent of the greens, and that still leads the PGA Tour for the season. However, he averaged 31.0 putts per round, and while the large greens at the Plantation Course can skew the numbers, he will have to putt better than that. He has long been considered one of the best putters in the world, but it was that part of his game that let him down as he struggled late last year, especially as he went 0-4 in the Ryder Cup.

19. Zach Johnson, United States -- Coming off a season in which he won the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial and the John Deere Classic in addition to posting a 3-1 record in the Ryder Cup at Medinah, Johnson was hoping to get off to a fast start on the new year by playing in the first three tournaments. However, the best he could do was a tie for 18th in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, with only 30 players in the field, as he missed the cut in the Sony Open in Hawaii and tied for 23rd in the Humana Challenge. ... Johnson has another two weeks off before he plays in the Northern Trust Open for the eighth time in nine years. The narrow fairways and smallish greens on Riviera's classic course would seem to be the perfect fit for Zach's steady game, but when he tied for 17th last year on the George C. Thomas masterpiece, it was the first time he had cracked the top 20 on the layout a few miles from the Pacific Ocean. ... As good as last year was for him, Johnson had one moment of which he is not proud. While playing in the first round of the World Challenge on Nov. 29 at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif., he was caught on camera using a profanity. A devout Christian, Johnson later used Twitter to apologize. "Hey guys, I cussed on the course today and it was on the air," Johnson wrote. "I am very sorry. I am flawed and a sinner, and I admit my mistake."

20. Hunter Mahan, United States -- Trying to bounce back from a disappointing second half of last season and a slow start this year when he tied for 26th in the 30-man Hyundai Tournament of Champions, Mahan played some solid golf last week while tying for 15th in the Farmers Insurance Open. It was only his second top-10 finish in his last nine official PGA Tour events, the other a tie for eighth in the Tour Championship in September. ... Hoping to take some momentum from the Farmers, Mahan is playing the next two weeks in the Waste Management Phoenix Open and the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. He is playing at TPC Scottsdale for the sixth time, and he won the tournament for the second of his six PGA Tour victories in 2010. He shot 65-65 on the weekend, including an eagle and two birdies down the stretch in the final round, to beat Rickie Fowler by one stroke. His only other top-10 finish in the tournament was a tie for ninth in 2005, the first time he played in the event. ... Mahan played his best golf last week at Torrey Pines after carding three bogeys in his first five holes on the South Course in round one. He played the last 13 holes in a bogey-free 6-under-par to shoot 3-under 69, a score he matched in round three. He shot 72 the other two days, salvaging his week in the final round by playing the last 10 holes in 3 under. Mahan scored reasonably well despite averaging 30.5 putts per round.

Others receiving consideration: Graeme McDowell, Northern Ireland; Martin Kaymer, Germany; Nick Watney, United States; Rickie Fowler, United States; Bill Haas, United States; Charl Schwartzel, South Africa; Sergio Garcia, Spain; Jim Furyk, United States; Carl Pettersson, Sweden; Bo Van Pelt, United States; Peter Hanson, Sweden; Nicolas Colsaerts, Belgium; Ryan Moore, United States; Jason Day, Australia.