Shane Lowry played some incredible golf at Firestone this past weekend to take the WGC Bridgestone Invitational. He posted -11 (70-66-67-66) to win by two shots over Bubba Watson. Jim Furyk and Justin Rose blew plenty of opportunities on Sunday and blew their 54 hole lead. It was painful to watch. Honestly the entire tournament proved to be a pretty lackluster broadcast. I’m a diehard golfer and I have no desire whatsoever to play Firestone. Everything about the tournament looked mundane…back and forth fairways with few hazards and holes that look incredibly similar to one another. I’m really looking forward to watching the PGA Championship at Whistling Straights this week.

Whistling Straights is hosting the PGA Championship for the third time in 11 years. The Ryder Cup will also take place in Kohler, WI in 2020. The course plays as a par 72 around 7,500 yards. There is plenty of course history to consider. Distance is a plus at Whistling Straights but it hasn’t guaranteed success. I’m looking mostly at driving distance and par four scoring this week. I think most of the field will do well to score on the par 5s…the difference may be the three par 4s that extend over 500 yards each. Odd stat of the week…14 of the last 16 PGA Championship winners already had a PGA Tour win in that same season.

Below are my fantasy golf power rankings for this week. Feel free to throw me any feedback you have. Good luck this week.

2015 PGA Championship Fantasy Power Rankings

  • 1) Jason Day – he is top 3 in both driving distance and par 4 scoring average. He is due for a major and has finished top 12 in his last four events. He played well at Firestone but could not figure out the 650 yard 16th hole…triple bogeying it on Saturday.
  • 2) Bubba Watson – he can bomb it and he’s due for a win after two straight second place finishes. He’ll take advantage of the par 5s…just need him to putt well everywhere else
  • 3) Brooks Koepka – there is so much hype this week for Koepka considering he isn’t necessarily a big name…I’m buying it. Top 10 in driving distance and par 4 average. Top 20 in his last five tournaments. Already won this year. Sign me up.
  • 4) Justin Rose – absolutely brutal putting performance at Firestone on Sunday. That being said, he finished T3 and shot 63 on Saturday. Last three finishes went 3-4-6.
  • 5) Jordan Spieth – he’s Jordan Spieth and I feel bad ranking him 5th. He’s obviously figured out this major thing…winning the first two this year and finishing one stroke out of a playoff at St. Andrews. He’s not especially long but that has never hurt him in the past. Good final round at Firestone to build off of.
  • 6) Henrik Stenson – loving the PGA Championship with back to back 3rd place finishes coming into this year. Leads in total driving and coming off a 6th at Firestone.
  • 7) Rickie Fowler – decent week at Firestone where he finished T10. He has been pretty hot as of late…really just riding that wave right now.
  • 8) Rory McIlroy – I have no clue how to rank Rory this week. He’s obviously one of the best golfers in the world when healthy but it sounds like he just started swinging again last week. Whistling Straights is a tough walk…I’m not sure how his ankle will be feeling if he makes it to Sunday.
  • 9) Robert Streb – another good all-around player that is hot right now. Top 20 in his last four starts. Decent distance and good par 4 scoring average.
  • 10) Hideki Matsyuama – he’s faded a bit as of late but his ball striking and par 4 average (3rd) will keep him in this tournament.
  • 11) Zach Johnson – finished 3rd here in 2010. He doesn’t have the length off the tee but he’s deadly accurate and will keep the ball in front of him.
  • 12) Adam Scott – pretty disappointing play at Firestone. A lot of guys had difficulties with the narrow fairways and ridiculously hard greens though. He’s played well here before and can bomb it off the tee. Steve Williams helps too.
  • 13) Louis Oosthuizen – another guy who didn’t play great at Firestone but it seems like he is always contending at the majors. Runner up at both Chambers Bay and St. Andrews.


Jay Armour is a Chicago area small business owner who loves to play, watch and talk about golf. He follows the sport religiously and plays it poorly. He thinks fantasy golf is giving him ulcers and is an unapologetic Tiger Woods fan.