OK, I'm going be completely honest with y'all. By the time we get to the final major of the year and I start thinking about (or being told I'm) doing another full-field ranking, I'm fighting everything in my being to keep from trolling all of you.
The good news is I'm not going to do that because all I have to do is look back at the last time we were at Bellerive -- BMW Championship in 2008 -- and get some of the players. Hang on while I look ...
(Sigh)
Top 10 back then: Camilo Villegas, Dudley Hart, Jim Furyk, Anthony Kim, Stephen Ames, K.J. Choi, D.J. Trahan, Tim Clark, Hunter Mahan, Aaron Baddeley, Freddie Jacobson and Steve Stricker.
(Sigh)
Hmmmm ... that didn't help.
Well, enjoy ...
1. Tony Finau
How many players get that fist major win at the PGA? Seven of the past nine if you're counting. This year will be no different. Finau is ready. So far this year he finished T-10 at the Masters (after dislocating his ankle Wednesday at the Par 3 contest!), fifth at the U.S. Open, and T-9 at The Open. He's coming into this week off a T-10 at Bridgestone.
2. Justin Thomas
In the modern era (since 1944), only Tiger Woods has defended this championship (2006-07). Coming off the win last week at the Bridgestone with his grandparents there, it's just too much to ask emotionally for J.T. to get back up and defend.
3. Brooks Koepka
The reigning U.S. Open Champion is in the right place, coming off a fifth-place last week at the WGC-Bridgestone. His distance off the tee on a wet, soft golf course will be a big advantage.
4. Dustin Johnson
OK, past five finishes: First, third, cut (The Open), first, third. Check out the past eight rounds: 68, 66, 65, 66, 69, 71, 66, 64. Thank goodness he's on the U.S. Ryder Cup team.
5. Rory McIlroy
Would it be fair to say this has been the quietest one-win, five-top-10 seasons ever? For a guy coming in off a runner-up finish at The Open and a T-6 last week at Firestone, not many people are talking about McIlroy as a contender. They should be. He has won this event twice. After talking to him Monday afternoon, his mind is in the right place to do it again.
6. Justin Rose
I know he pulled out last week before even hitting a shot because of back spasms, but that's actually a good thing. He wanted to be 110 percent for this last major of the year. Rose has this going for him -- 13 starts, 11 top-25s, eight top-10s, two wins.
7. Keegan Bradley
Remember when ...? That was being said a lot about Keegan before this year. Bradley finished at the Canadian Open a couple weeks ago. He has won this major and understands the pressure that comes with it. This is a bike he remembers how to ride.
8. Rafael Cabrera Bello
While I understand Rafa has had only one top 10 this calendar year and that was way back in the first week of March, he is still a top-30 player in the world who seems to be trending in the right direction. I think he shines this week with his second-best major finish.
9. Kiradech Aphibarnrat
Here's my "super-secret sleeper" top-10 pick for a major. Looking at his record in majors, there is zero reason he should be in this position. Still, I have a sneaky feeling Kiradech will be more comfortable this week than he has ever been at a major championship.
10. Tommy Fleetwood
He has, arguably, the most recognizable hair in golf. I spoke to him Monday afternoon about there being less pressure this week than there was at The Open, considering he was from England. Despite that pressure, he finished T-12 at The Open, which came after his Sunday charge and runner-up finish at the U.S. Open.
11. Kevin Chappell
12. Byeong Hun An
13. Xander Schauffele
14. Jordan Spieth
15. Gary Woodland
16. Kyle Stanley
17. Jon Rahm
18. Alex Noren
19. Si Woo Kim
20. Rickie Fowler: I had high hopes for Fowler coming into this season, but that's golf. Still one of the most popular golfers on the PGA Tour, Fowler's game just doesn't feel like it fits this course. On top of that, his game isn't peaking coming into this week.
21. Brendan Steele
22. Patrick Reed
23. Pat Perez
24. Phil Mickelson
25. Jason Day: This is the one I'm going to regret because I think there's a chance he could finish much higher. That being said, even with his play at the Bridgestone last week, two days playing with Tiger and two days trying to win at home in Ohio put a strain on him. He will struggle to recover from that this week.
26. Matt Kuchar
27. Chris Wood
27. Charley Hoffman
28. Thorbjorn Olesen
29. Cameron Smith
30. Luke List
30. Luke List
31. Aaron Wise
32. Peter Uihlein
33. Bubba Watson
34. Patrick Cantlay
35. Paul Dunne
36. Ross Fisher
37. Emiliano Grillo
38. Charles Howell III
39. Henrik Stenson
40. Paul Casey
41. Daniel Berger
42. Tiger Woods: If only this were the Ice Bucket Challenge ... but then there's ice baths, which Woods said he needed to combat inflammation, limited practice sessions and a driver that's as sketchy as his back. Yeah, I don't have high hopes for Tiger this week. There's a part of me that believes he won't even be around for the weekend, but I won't let myself go there because of what "big picture" that might mean for the future.
43. Marc Leishman
44. Adam Scott
45. Matthew Fitzpatrick
46. J.B. Holmes
47. Jimmy Walker
48. Russell Knox
49. Scott Piercy
50. Kevin Kisner
51. Jason Dufner
52. Louis Oosthuizen
53. Thomas Pieters
53. Charl Schwartzel
54. Webb Simpson
55. Bryson DeChambeau
57. Ryan Moore
58. Shane Lowry
59. Julian Suri
60. Anirban Lahiri
61. Alexander Bjork
62. Branden Grace
63. Russell Henley
64. Bill Haas
65. Hideki Matsuyama
66. Chris Kirk
67. Austin Cook
68. Brandt Snedeker
69. Zach Johnson
70. Craig Hocknull: This guy is truly the world's most interesting golfer -- ever. He invented a putter. He's a trick-shot artist. He spends nine months as the PGA director of instruction at Saber Sports Trainer in Gilbert, Arizona -- the other three months he's the director of instruction at Glenwild Golf Club and Spa in Park City, Utah. Hocknull is the first PGA club professional to be a tri-national association member: PGA of Canada, PGA of Australia, and PGA of America. Did I mention he was born in the remote highlands of Papua New Guinea to Scottish parents but spent time in his childhood living among the Aboriginals?This guy has to make the cut.
71. Patton Kizzire
72. Tyrrell Hatton
73. Ryan Armour
74. Stewart Cink
75. Eddie Pepperell
76. Shubhankar Sharma
77. James Hahn
78. Scott Brown
79. Andy Sullivan
80. Sergio Garcia: Missing the cut might hurt Sergio's Ryder Cup chances more than any other -- and he knows it. The hardest thing in golf to do is not try too hard. When you do, it doesn't end well.
81. Beau Hossler
82. John Daly
83. Michael Kim
83. Ian Poulter
84. Brian Harman
85. Thomas Bjorn
87. Jordan Smith
87. Brian Gay
88. Billy Horschel
89. Martin Kaymer
90. Ollie Schniederjans
91. Vijay Singh
92. Matt Wallace
93. Nick Watney
94. Brandon Stone
95. Troy Merritt
96. Chez Reavie
97. Y.E. Yang
98. Kevin Na
99. Francesco Molinari
100. Davis Love III
101. Ryan Fox
102. Yuta Ikeda
104. Chris Stroud
105. Brian Smock
106. Ryuko Tokimatsu
107. Danny Willett
108. J.J. Spaun
109. Omar Uresti
110. Matt Dobyns
111. Dylan Frittelli
112. Chesson Hadley
113. Ted Potter Jr.
114. Adam Hadwin
115. Rich Beem
117. Paul Broadhurst
118. Jim Furyk
119. Padraig Harrington
120. Whee Kim
121. Jason Kokrak
122. Andrew Landry
123. Jamie Lovemark
124. Andrew Putnam
125. Jhonattan Vegas
126. Haotong Li
127. Satoshi Kodaira
128. Marty Jertson
129. Rich Berberian Jr.
130. Michael Block
131. Andrew Levy
132. Joaquin Niemann
133. Yusaku Miyazato
134. Shaun Micheel
135. Mikko Korhonen
136. Jason Schmuhl
137. Craig Bowden
138. Justin Harding
139. Adrian Otaegui
140. David Muttitt
141. Danny Balin
142. Brice Garnett
143. Ben Kern
144. Sung-jae Im
145. Sean McCarty
146. Jonah Kok
147. Mike Lorenzo-Vera
148. Zach J. Johnson
149. Seung-su Han
150. Matt Borchert
151. Ryan Vermeer
152. Jorge Campillo
153. Bob Sowards
154. Jaysen Hansen
155. Shugo Imahira
156. Shawn Warren: Sorry, Shawn. I don't have anything against you. I'd probably like you and would love to buy you a beer sometime. Someone had to be last on the list and you lost the rock/paper/scissors game I played between the final three.