Ranking the Top 10 Players on the PGA Tour for 2015
This is a list ranking the top 10 players on the PGA Tour heading into the 2015.
You'll notice a couple players who aren't on this list—and that's not a mistake.
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have to be placed outside the top 10 because both are unknown quantities going into the season. Woods is unknown because of how his surgically repaired back will hold up, and Mickelson is questionable because of the kind of season he had last year (not getting a top-10 finish until the PGA Championship).
The list does, however, contain the best players in the game; guys who will make plenty of headlines in 2015.
10. Sergio Garcia
1 of 10
2014 Official World Golf Ranking: 3
2014 FedEx Cup Standing: 13
Sergio Garcia is coming off his best season on the PGA Tour since 2008.
He had 10 top-10 finishes, earned just over $4.9 million and had a remarkable stretch where he finished tied for second in the Travelers Championship, the Open Championship and World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational in consecutive starts.
Garcia was 14th in greens in regulation in 2014 and was second in total strokes gained.
He didn't get a win last year but was very close three times.
9. Patrick Reed
2 of 10
2014 Official World Golf Ranking: 26
2014 FedEx Cup Standing: 21
Patrick Reed won twice early in 2014, went south for most of the summer and then played like a superstar for the U.S. in the Ryder Cup.
The test for him will be to see how he handles the strong finish to his year.
Consistency has obviously been missing from his game. If Reed can find some of that, as well as getting his emotions in check, he has the game to be that top-five player he said he was after winning the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship.
His stats from 2014 are not remarkable, but his competitiveness carried him through.
8. Bubba Watson
3 of 10
2014 Official World Golf Ranking: 7
2014 FedEx Cup Standing: 4
Bubba Watson had a monster season in 2014, winning two times, finishing second three times and winning over $6 million.
He also won his second Masters title, showing again that he knows how to get around Augusta National.
Watson's talent, creativity and skills say there should be more wins on his resume. If he gets it all together, the big left-hander could become an even bigger player than he already is.
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7. Justin Rose
4 of 10
2014 Official World Golf Ranking: 6
2014 FedEx Cup Standing: 11
He validated his place among golf's elite by winning the U.S. Open at Merion in 2013. This past season wasn't all that bad, either, as Rose picked up a win in the Quicken Loans National event, registered eight top-10 finishes and earned over $3.9 million.
At age 34, Rose is in the middle of his prime and is certainly capable of adding to his 13 worldwide victories, six of which are on the PGA Tour.
6. Jason Day
5 of 10
2014 Official World Golf Ranking: 8
2014 FedEx Cup Standing: 10
One of these years, Jason Day is going to be injury-free and a terror on the PGA Tour.
Despite being dogged with thumb, wrist and back injuries, Day won the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship and also posted six top-10 finishes.
When healthy, he is as good as there is on the PGA Tour.
He's in line to grab one of golf's big prizes soon.
5. Henrik Stenson
6 of 10
2014 Official World Golf Ranking: 5
2014 FedEx Cup Standing: 52
The 2014 season will not go down as one of Henrik Stenson's greatest, but he still played well at key times during the year.
He finished in the top 15 in three of the four majors and had a good ball-striking year.
Stenson is not the longest hitter on tour, but he was very accurate and was very good in greens in regulation.
He wasn't able to put it all together last year, but he is definitely capable—as he showed in 2013.
4. Rickie Fowler
7 of 10
2014 Official World Golf Ranking: 10
2014 FedEx Cup Standing: 9
If Rickie Fowler isn't the game's brightest star, he's on the short list.
How often does a young player place in the top five in all four majors? Not often, but that's what Fowler did in 2014.
He didn't win in '14 and hasn't won since 2012, when he won his one and only event.
Fowler is on the verge of a major breakthrough.
3. Jordan Spieth
8 of 10
2014 Official World Golf Ranking: 14
2014 FedEx Cup Standing: 15
Jordan Spieth made a name for himself when he burst onto the PGA Tour two years ago. He went from a guy with no status to a member of the U.S. Presidents Cup team.
He followed that up with eight top-10s, including a pair of runner-up finishes, in 2014.
Spieth joined Fowler in chasing Rory McIlroy throughout the summer and proved he's ready for prime time.
2. Adam Scott
9 of 10
2014 Official World Golf Ranking: 2
2014 FedEx Cup Standing: 12
It stands to reason there will be some extra heat on Adam Scott this year because it will be his final season using an anchored putting stroke.
Next January that stroke will be banned, and Scott will either have to to go a regulation putter or use some sort of unanchored stroke with the long putter.
His game is good enough to win regardless of what he uses on the greens. He has a swing many of his fellow professionals are envious of, and it puts him in great position most of the time.
He definitely has the game to win more majors.
1. Rory McIlroy
10 of 10
2014 Official World Golf Ranking: 1
2014 FedEx Cup Standing: 3
By any measuring device, Rory McIlroy is the Alpha dog of professional golf.
But let's just start with how he played in the last half of the 2014 season. He won back-to-back majors—sandwiched around a World Golf Championship title—and he dominated in a very Tiger Woods-like manner.
This April at Augusta National Golf Club could be a monumental moment in his career. If he's able to master the quirks of that great course and win the Masters, McIlroy would join an elite club. He would complete the career grand slam at the grand old age of 25.
There's no telling what the native of Northern Ireland might accomplish before his career is finished.
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