OWGR April 2015-Fighting for a entry to Match Play, Players and US Open

Three OWGR deadlines coming up in the next 9 weeks, April 20th for the top 64 in WGC Matchplay, April 27th for the Top 50 for the Players Championship, and June 8th for the top 60 into the US Open.

I guess there is another one as the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth also invites the top 50 but few players from the PGATour travel to England for that tournament if they are not a member of the PGATour.

Here is what the top 100+ players should look like tomorrow.

1   Rory McIlroy	11.067
2   Henrik Stenson	7.661
3   Bubba Watson	7.451
4   Jordan Spieth	7.316
5   Jason Day	6.388
6   Adam Scott	6.255
7   Dustin Johnson	5.910
8   Jim Furyk	5.804
9   Sergio Garcia	5.675
10   Jimmy Walker	5.508
11   Justin Rose	5.120
12   J.B. Holmes  (SHO Winner)	4.936
13   Rickie Fowler	4.607
14   Martin Kaymer	4.555
15   Patrick Reed	4.545
16   Matt Kuchar	4.484
17   Hideki Matsuyama	4.137
18   Billy Horschel	4.000
19   Brooks Koepka	3.601
20   Victor Dubuisson	3.591
21   Kevin Na	3.361
22   Phil Mickelson	3.352
23   Ryan Palmer	3.323
24   Chris Kirk	3.321
25   Zach Johnson	3.236
26   Bill Haas	3.197
27   Jamie Donaldson	3.147
28   Graeme McDowell	3.121
29   Ryan Moore	3.092
30   Lee Westwood	3.065
31   Ian Poulter	2.990
32   Hunter Mahan	2.947
33   Keegan Bradley	2.931
34   Anirban Lahiri	2.925
35   Brandt Snedeker	2.857
36   Charl Schwartzel	2.833
37   Louis Oosthuizen	2.819
38   Stephen Gallacher	2.713
39   Joost Luiten	2.675
40   Matt Every	2.630
41   Branden Grace	2.613
42   Bernd Wiesberger	2.593
43   Thongchai Jaidee	2.562
44   Paul Casey	2.521
45   Webb Simpson	2.499
46   Shane Lowry	2.447
47   Russell Henley	2.442
48   Gary Woodland	2.412
49   Brendon Todd	2.354
50   Marc Warren	2.352
***Players Champ Bubble  (April 27)
51   Danny Willett	2.339
52   Luke Donald	2.333
53   Harris English	2.252
54   Jason Dufner	2.233
55   Matt Jones	2.175
56   Andy Sullivan	2.169
57   Alexander Levy	2.164
58   Marc Leishman	2.156
59   Tim Clark	2.137
60   Miguel A Jimenez	2.117
***US Open Bubble (June 8)
61   George Coetzee	2.113
62   Mikko Ilonen	2.112
63   Charley Hoffman	2.103
64   Thomas Bjorn	2.094
65   John Senden	2.076
***WGC MatchPlay Bubble (April 20)
66   Ben Martin	2.066
67   Francesco Molinari	2.065
68   Tommy Fleetwood	2.064
69   Marcel Siem	2.042
70   Daniel Berger	2.026
71   Graham Delaet	1.974
72   Ross Fisher	1.909
73   Koumei Oda	1.856
74   Kevin Streelman	1.833
75   Steve Stricker	1.808
76   Russell Knox	1.787
77   Nick Watney	1.778
78   Richie Ramsay	1.765
79   Cameron Tringale	1.757
80   Jonas Blixt	1.727
81   Hiroshi Iwata	1.725
82   Brendon de Jonge	1.716
83   Pablo Larrazabal	1.713
84   Ernie Els	1.710
85   Padraig Harrington	1.705
86   Sangmoon Bae	1.695
87   Brendan Steele	1.676
88   Robert Streb	1.655
89   Scott Piercy	1.642
90   Shawn Stefani	1.629
91   Kevin Stadler	1.617
92   Justin Thomas	1.603
93   Brian Harman	1.592
94   James Hahn	1.587
95   Gary Stal	1.577
96   Charles Howell-III	1.575
97   Romain Wattel	1.546
98   Scott Hend	1.544
99   Shingo Katayama	1.529
100   Emiliano Grillo	1.493
===========
101   Morgan Hoffmann	1.490
102   Daniel Summerhays	1.488
103   Angel Cabrera	1.467
104   Thorbjorn Olesen	1.440

Note:  Luke Donald has said he is not playing the WGC MatchPlay because of his brother's wedding.

Bubble MatchPlay Players have the Masters, Hilton Head and Shenzhen International to confirm their spot in San Francisco.  The Japanese Tour also has a tournament the week after the Masters so Koumei Oda could qualify via the Token Homemate Cup.

Great stuff!

Tiger Watch:

Tiger is down to 111th in the OWGR.  According to PD, He can get inside the Top 20 should he win the Masters and he will be at 119th at best should he miss the cut (or otherwise not finish).

I think he needs a two way T3rd or better to qualify for the Match Play.  He is already qualified for the Players and the US Open.

Nice work. Thanks.

I asked this elsewhere but wondered if you knew the answer. Who has left the top 50 since the the end of 2014 top 50 cut of for the masters invitations?

Mac,
I'll make an uneducated stab at this:
Danny Willett
Luke Donald
Marc Leishman
Mikko Ilonen
Steve Stricker

Marc Warren definitely the unlucky one, now in the Top 50, a day late and a few dollars short at the crucial moment.

McLaren wrote:Nice work.  Thanks.

I asked this elsewhere but wondered if you knew the answer.  Who has left the top 50 since the the end of 2014 top 50 cut of for the masters invitations?

The OWGR weekly update includes where they ended the previous year.

http://www.owgr.com/ranking

So

Luke Donald, Jason Dufner, Marc Leishman, Miguel Jimenez, Mikko Ilonen, Thomas Bjorn, Steve Stricker and of course Tiger Woods.

What about Willett?

Bjorn, Miguel, Duf and Tiger are all in via other exemption criteria.

On Willett, Oops, I was looking at last weeks rankings, not this weeks.

and Yes, Bjorn, MAJ, Duf, and Tiger are in via other exemptions.  But that was not the question.

GPB wrote:On Willett, Oops, I was looking at last weeks rankings, not this weeks.

and Yes, Bjorn, MAJ, Duf, and Tiger are in via other exemptions.  But that was not the question.

Although it was where I was going with this.

***NEWSFLASH***

Patrick Reed could get to the Top 5 if he wins Augusta.  

(according to a PD tweet)

Is it true that his estranged parents actually live in Augusta? Talk about awkward.

Obviously Rory is safe at #1, but eight different players can be #2 after this week.  Henrik, Bubba, Jordan, Jason, Adam, Dustin, Jim and Sergio can all be #2 with a win

Walker and Holmes can become #3.

Rose can get to #4

Kaymer, Fowler, Reed to #5

Anyone downed to #23 Ryan Palmer can crash the Top 10.

Going into this week, Spieth is about 195 pts behind Rory, so even if he wins, Rory still has a comfortable lead for the #1 spot.

But should Spieth win, Rory better pay attention to the warning in the rear view mirror, objects may be closer than they appear.

Spieth is playing next week as well and presumably the Match Play.

Woods needs a 3 Way tie for third to have a chance for qualifying for Match Play...2way T3 should be more than enough.

Streelman needs a Top 10 to have a chance at the WGC.
Cabrera also needs a 2 way T3rd.

Jimenez is most likely out of the matchplay, Fleetwood needs a good finish in China next week.

Big  Movers

Spieth to #2 (about 125 gross pts behind Rory)
Rose to #8
PMick to #18
Poulter to #26
Casey to #36
Hoffman to #50
Tiger to #101

Top 65 Bubble Golfers

60	Alexander	Levy	2.1307
61	John	Senden	2.1032
62	George	Coetzee	2.0875
63	Thomas	Bjorn	2.0371
64	Ben	Martin	2.0319
65	Miguel A	Jimenez	2.06287
66	Tommy	Fleetwood	2.0280
67	Francesco	Molinari	2.0280
68	Mikko	Ilonen	2.0262
69	Daniel	Berger	2.0176
70	Marcel	Siem	2.0117

Bubble Players and what their plans are this week.  I believe the OWGR cutoff is Monday.

60 Alexander Levy Playing in China
61 John Senden idle
62 George Coetzee Idle
63 Thomas  Bjorn  Idle
64 Ben Martin Playing Hilton Head
65 Miguel A Jimenez Playing Champions Tour
66 Tommy Fleetwood Playing China
67 Francesco Molinari idle
68 Mikko Ilonen idle
69 Daniel Berger Playing Hilton Head
70 Marcel Siem  Playing Hilton Head

The "idle" players are not playing in Hilton Head or China

Correct on MatchPlay cut-off, April 20th it is.
Players cut-off: World Top 50 as at April 27th.

Anyone playing Hilton Head, down to #142 Alex Cejka can get into the Match Play.

Anyone playing China, down to #86 Larrazabal can qualify for Match Play.

And should Koumei Oda win the Japan Tournament, he can qualify.

Well with Spieth moving into contention, I ran some #1 scenarios for him.

If he wins Heritage and the Match Play, he will be number 1 if Rory finishes 5th or worse at the Match Play

If he finishes 2nd at Heritage and wins the Match Play, he will be number 1 if Rory does not win his grouping.


Assuming Matchplay is rated OWGR 76.

=======

Koumei Oda does not look like he is going to win in Japan and snag a spot in the MatchPlay.  He is T44 and 7 shots behind the leader after 36 holes.

=======

To reach Top 65, 

Ross Fisher needs a Solo 3rd or better.
Siem needs a solo 17th or better

=======

No word on Tim Clark and Marc Leishman's status for the Matchplay.

Great Sunday front 9 for Howeller in Shenzen, where would a win put him ranking wise?

Good win for Fattybarnrat in China. He showed a lot of guts (and he has plenty to show) on the last 2 holes.

And Tommy Fleetwood on his way to Harding Park.

I think Tommy Fleetwood would be a good bet for the next English major winner.

Perhaps lorus, but very streaky right now. All very well blowing hot but he blows icy cold too. Needs to improve his consistency, a lot, wouldn't you think?

Yep, Fleetwood headed to San Francisco:

Some projections, pending results in Hilton Head  

Fleetwood is up #54
BarnRat is up to #77
Jimenez is at #64
HaoTong Li is at #124
Woods at #105

. . . . And Martin will be OK, but Streelman not doing anywhere near enough to join the party. Unfortunately.

To pass Jimenez, 

Martin needs a T52 or better.  Looking very likely
Streelman needs the equivalent of solo 25th.  T36 right now.



If two players WD from Matchplay (Luke and Tim Clark), then it looks like the Mechanic will be last man in to San Francisco, even if Streelman posts a good back nine.


Edit at 1:10 pm Hilton Head Time

Streelman is finished and currently T54.  Looks like Jimenez will be #65 tomorrow so he only needs one WD (Luke Donald) to make it to match play.

Furyk up to #5 after his win.  He would have been #5 if he had lost the playoff, but now he is somewhat close to Bubba instead of barely ahead of J-Day.

Miguel is at #65 so he plays MatchPlay, when Donald WDs.
Francesco is #66 so he can play the Match play if Tim Clark WDs
Mikko Ilonen is #67 (he's in, if Francesco doesn't play)

GPB,
Franny is injured right now, so may not play, though he'd be daft not to give it a try if he can just hold a club.

kwinigolfer wrote:GPB,
Franny is injured right now, so may not play, though he'd be daft not to give it a try if he can just hold a club.

Thats one of the problems with guaranteed payouts!

GPB wrote:Furyk up to #5 after his win.  He would have been #5 if he had lost the playoff, but now he is somewhat close to Bubba instead of barely ahead of J-Day.

Miguel is at #65 so he plays MatchPlay, when Donald WDs.
Francesco is #66 so he can play the Match play if Tim Clark WDs
Mikko Ilonen is #67 (he's in, if Francesco doesn't play)

Would the rules allow for a special invitation for tiger?

McLaren wrote:

GPB wrote:Furyk up to #5 after his win.  He would have been #5 if he had lost the playoff, but now he is somewhat close to Bubba instead of barely ahead of J-Day.

Miguel is at #65 so he plays MatchPlay, when Donald WDs.
Francesco is #66 so he can play the Match play if Tim Clark WDs
Mikko Ilonen is #67 (he's in, if Francesco doesn't play)

Would the rules allow for a special invitation for tiger?

only if about 38 more players don't want to play.  Like that year when it was played in Australia.

Kuchar knocks Kaymer out of the Top 16.  That means Kaymer might get drawn in the same pool as Rory or Jordan or Stenson.  

Horschel is the only player in the Zurich field that could knock Hideki out of the 16th spot, and I think Horschel would have to win.

Can't see that results in the Far East change the make-up of The Players qualifiers; would think Alex Levy comes up just short.

As for the MatchPlay, Ilonen and Bjorn are presumably first alternates - wonder whether they fly to San Francisco or just go back to Europe and put their feet up.

There look to be about 16 or 17 owgr Top 100 golfers in the Spanish Open line-up in a couple of weeks, headed by Sergio and Vickie Dubie. Should earn the winner something above the subsidised tarriff. Better days are coming Europe!

kwinigolfer wrote:Can't see that results in the Far East change the make-up of The Players qualifiers; would think Alex Levy comes up just short.

As for the MatchPlay, Ilonen and Bjorn are presumably first alternates - wonder whether they fly to San Francisco or just go back to Europe and put their feet up.

Wu Ashen's win moves him from #247 to about #122 depending on Zurich results.

Westwood's win in Indonesia gets him inside the Top 30, which means he is the second group of Match Play participants.  With Kaymer, PMick, Zach and Poulter among others.  That means GMac is in the third group of players from #33 to #48.

Bradley has to finish solo 5th or better to nudge out Hunter Mahan to get to the 17-32 group.

Hideki looks like he will hang on to the 16th spot.  Horschel was the only player who has a chance to overtake him and he needs to win.  Currently T50th.

It doesn't look like anyone is going to go from Group 4 to Group 3.

Levy's T3 will not be enough to get him into the Top 50 and an invite to Timmy's party.  If Justin Thomas is not already qualified for the Players, he could get an 11th hour invite with a good round today.  Ditto Daniel Berger.

Day will move to #5 if he wins, and so can Rose will goto #6 (if Day does not finish 2nd).

Where would Westwood have needed to finish in New Orleans to earn the same points his win in Indonesia got him, I wonder?

T3!
3rd place would have earned him 16 pts.

Thanks Kwini. Somehow you have to think he's taken the easy option then!

I suspect the appearance fee was shouting louder than the owgr points!

#6-#10 is Rose, Day, Johnson, Scott, Garcia

IIRC, Scott has the longest consecutive streak in the Top 10.  Certainly in jeopardy in the next two week.  He has been in the top ten since finishing second at 2012 Open Championship.

Tringale (#55) and Berger (#62) are one week too late on entering the Top 64.

So what will Howeller need in the coming weeks for U.S. Open qualification? Got the feeling from the past 2 weeks that he's finally back to his pre injury old self.
He has a week off this week as he's coming home to slum it with us and present the prizes for the event he sponsors. I don't think he'll go to the Mauritius Open, so that leaves The Spanish, the BMW PGA and the Irish before the U.S. Open cut off.

David Howell is up from #134 to #104, a good climb up the rankings but more work still to be done. He needs to reach the Top 60 by June 1st and/or June 15th, so he needs some good finishes or it'll be to the International Sectional Qualifier for him, on May 25th. Not in Mauritius, but entered in Espana. Good luck to him.

kwinigolfer wrote:the International Sectional Qualifier for him, on May 25th.

Usual place, Walton Heath. Both courses.

I'm sure he's got through at WH before. That's Bank holiday Monday after the PGA, worth a trip for those fairly local as I understand it's free entry for spectators.

Howell probably needs to earn 35-40 OWGR points to be in Top 60 before the US Open qualifying deadlines.

JAS wrote:I'm sure he's got through at WH before. That's Bank holiday Monday after the PGA, worth a trip for those fairly local as I understand it's free entry for spectators.

Correct. One spectator I saw a few years ago managed to be a caddie for the day. Player was pulling a trolley and spectator offered to carry the bag. Offer accepted. Wonder if he qualified.....?

I'm never wrong wrote:

JAS wrote:I'm sure he's got through at WH before. That's Bank holiday Monday after the PGA, worth a trip for those fairly local as I understand it's free entry for spectators.

Correct. One spectator I saw a few years ago managed to be a caddie for the day. Player was pulling a trolley and spectator offered to carry the bag. Offer accepted. Wonder if he qualified.....?

When was this? 1985?
Actually people pulling trolleys is a pet peeve, they're designed to be pushed.

trolleys are a small pet peeve, especially when they are left at the entrance to greens instead of the exit; bags are surely designed to be carried?

super_, I see TOC is to be adorned with grandstands with sufficient capacity to seat 21,000 "patrons" in July. Seems excessive, but think you've said before that TOC is a lousy course for following the action on foot.

Super - he might have been pushing it. I only saw it being placed to one side at the tee area. Since they have only been holding it at WH since 2005, not that long ago.

I'm never wrong wrote:Super - he might have been pushing it. I only saw it being placed to one side at the tee area. Since they have only been holding it at WH since 2005, not that long ago.

The image of a player pulling a cart almost always comes with the caveat they are a complete chopper. Must have been a bit of a billy no mates to have no one carrying his bag for him.