Week 25 Power Rankings: Travelers Championship

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Officially, Mike Vitti is the Director of Research and Development in the TOUR's Marketing Department. Unofficially, he's a stats guru who analyzes all kinds of data from our ShotLink numbers.

LISTEN: Mike Vitti discusses this week's rankings on the PGA TOUR Network. Click to listen

Vitti will size up the field each week and provide his top 10 players going into the tournament, based on factors such as the player's strengths, the course setup, recent performances, etc.

After a week where par was a good score, players coming to the Travelers Championship from the U.S. Open will have to adjust their mindsets and look to go low this week.

TPC River Highlands ranked among the easiest courses to score on in 2008. The cut line last year was 2-under par, and 10 of 12 players at the top of the final leaderboard all posted scores in the 60s in each of the four rounds.

The interesting thing is that the course does not appear to favor a particular type of player. For example, in last year's event the player with the lowest driving distance average for the season, Corey Pavin, and the player with the highest driving distance average, Bubba Watson, both finished in the top 10.

Power Rankings: Travelers Championship

Rank Player   Comment Hunter MAHAN Mahan has made the cut in all 15 starts this year and has nine top-25 finishes. He's finished T2, 1st, and T2 at the Travelers Championship in the last three years and comes in this year ranked in the top 30 in greens in regulation and birdie-conversion percentage. Kenny PERRY Perry has finished in the top 10 seven times in 20 starts in Hartford, plus he's had top-15 finishes in three of the last four years. He enters the week ranked in the top 25 in greens in regulation, scrambling percentage, and par-breaker percentage. Stewart CINK Last year Cink captured his second victory at the Travelers Championship in Hartford, where he's finished in the top 10 five times in 11 career starts. He also posted his second top 10 of the year a few weeks ago at the Memorial. David TOMS Toms ranks in the top 20 in driving accuracy, greens in regulation, proximity to the hole and putts per greens in regulation. He has finished in the top 10 in six of 15 starts this season and tied for sixth at the Travelers Championship in 2007. Bubba WATSON He tied for sixth last year at the Travelers Championship and is coming off a good week at the U.S. Open. As usual Watson is leading the PGA TOUR in driving distance, but he is also 16th in birdie or better conversion percentage. Steve MARINO Marino, who has finished in the top 25 in each of his last three starts, has scored in the 60s in nine of his last 12 rounds and has the third most rounds in the 60s on the PGA TOUR. He ranks eighth in greens in regulation and is 10th in par-4 scoring average. Dustin JOHNSON Johnson has finished in the top 25 in three of his last four starts. He ranks in the top 10 in driving distance, greens in regulation, putting average and par-breaker percentage. Lucas GLOVER Glover is coming off a draining week with his win at the U.S. Open, so it will be interesting to see how he performs in Hartford. He enters the Travelers Championship ranked in the top 15 in total driving and birdie average. Vijay SINGH Singh has top-5 finishes in the last two years in Hartford, plus he's finished in the top 20 in three of his last five starts this season. He's in the top 40 in driving distance and greens in regulation, but will need to convert a few more birdies to have another strong finish. Anthony KIM Kim is making his first start at the Travelers Championship but his game seems well-suited for the venue. He comes in ranked third in birdie average and is the leader on the PGA TOUR in birdie-conversion percentage.