Power Rankings: TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes

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Will Zalatoris is trending nicely entering this week in Colorado. (Stan Badz/PGA TOUR)

Will Zalatoris is trending nicely entering this week in Colorado. (Stan Badz/PGA TOUR)

Three weeks have passed since the Korn Ferry Tour has made its Return to Golf, and this week the Tour heads to the Centennial State for the TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes.

Last week in Utah it was Kyle Jones who notched his first Korn Ferry Tour win. He topped Paul Haley with a birdie on the second playoff hole at the Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank.

A year ago in Colorado as the event made its debut it was Nelson Ledesma who won by one over Brett Coletta. The victory stamped a spot in The 25 for the Argentinian.

TPC Colorado, designed by Arthur Schaupeter Golf Course Architects, can be stretched to nearly 8,000 yards. Last year, the par-5 13th hole measured 773 yards – the longest hole in PGA TOUR-sanctioned history.

Will it be a long-bomber who comes out on top in 2020? Here are 10 players to watch at the TPC Colorado Championship  

1) Will Zalatoris – The Wake Forest alum has done everything but win so far this season and has been a model of consistency. He’s gone T6-T3-4 in the three tournaments since the Return to Golf and a win is imminent.

2) Dylan Wu – Despite two missed cuts in the first three events since the Korn Ferry Tour’s break, Wu showed flashes of his early-season brilliance last week with a T5. He’s in the top-10 on Tour in both Driving Accuracy and Greens in Regulation, which should serve him well at altitude.

3) Braden Thornberry – The former collegiate standout at Ole Miss finished T7 a year ago in Colorado, one of only two top-10 finishes he had in 2019. Thornberry comes into this week after a Sunday 64 in Utah.

4) Kyle Jones – Last week’s winner in Utah rocketed up The 25 to 8th. The former TOUR member is looking to make a return and has had a steady season on the Korn Ferry Tour so far – he’s made 5-of-6 cuts and is a deft putter.

5) Patrick Fishburn – A winner on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada last year and Utah native, Fishburn will feel right at home playing at altitude. He’s already one of the longest hitters on Tour and is starting to get his footing as a full-fledged Korn Ferry Tour member.

6) Lee Hodges – Hodges finished 13th a year ago at Heron Lakes, and was T18 in Utah last week. The Alabama alum has had a steady if unspectacular season but look for him to breakout in a big way this week.

7) Erik Barnes – It was one of the feel-good stories of the Korn Ferry Tour’s break as Barnes took a job at a local grocery store to help pay bills for his family. A week ago in Utah he was in the mix until late Sunday and his T13 was his best result of the season. He also finished T7 last year in Colorado.

8) Dawie van der Walt – The veteran is coming into the week off a T8 result in Utah, his best of the season. A year ago in Colorado he finished T3, his best Korn Ferry Tour result since his two-victory season in 2015.

9) Jared Wolfe – While being able to hit it a long way is good most weeks, look for Wolfe, already a winner this season, to have a solid week in Colorado. He sits first on Tour in Total Driving (a stat combining distance and accuracy). The fifth-ranked golfer in The 25 comes to Colorado after a week off.

10) Greyson Sigg – The Georgia alum is hoping to prove that slow and steady does indeed win the race. Sigg has gone 9-for-9 so far in finding the weekend on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020 with six top-25 finishes. Every part of his game is just solid, and it’s just a matter of time before he strings four great rounds together.