Power Rankings: Myrtle Beach Classic

History is made every week on the PGA TOUR. For many, a victory contributes to defining a career. However, for all 132 in the field at this week’s Myrtle Beach Classic, careers will include participating in the first-ever PGA TOUR stop in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Given its familiar role as a destination for recreational golfers and among the capitals of the golf world, that’s hard to believe.

The famed Dunes Golf and Beach Club is poised to host. How it will test, what’s up for grabs and more is detailed in the rankings below along with others to consider.

OTHERS TO CONSIDER

• Andrew Novak … No, he’s not treated to paspalum grass this week, but the 29-year-old has proven this year that he’s not a one-trick pony. Since a T8 at the WM Phoenix Open (on Bermudagrass), he’s 8-for-9 with three top 10s and another pair of top 25s. He’s 20th on the PGA TOUR in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and T28 in proximity to the hole.
• Chris Gotterup … While a hoot for many who partake, because of its team format, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans can be ignored when reviewing the prospects of participants in it when they return to individual competition. However, what shouldn’t be dismissed is the impact a positive performance can have for a guy who was scuffling upon arrival in the bayou. This is the angle for the 24-year-old first-time member of the PGA TOUR. After teaming with Austin Eckroat for a T11 at TPC Louisiana, Gotterup put four rounds together at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson and registered a season-best T24 on his own ball. He can throttle back off the tee at Dunes Club and ride the momentum.
• Ben Griffin … Extending the premise for Gotterup, Griffin is the case in point as it concerns missing the cut at the Zurich Classic. He landed in NOLA with a pair of top 20s bookending a 4-for-4 run. After the short week, he resumed his ascent with a T13 at TPC Craig Ranch. It’s the kind of mojo he wants to retain in advance of next week’s second appearance in the PGA Championship.
• Davis Thompson … The former star at the University of Georgia has been one of the quietest among the steady performers of the last nine months. The relative silence exists only because has hasn’t cracked a top 10 since January of 2023, but he’s logged nine top 25s in his last 19 starts, including in half of his last dozen. It’s a familiar trajectory for a talent of his pedigree in a sophomore season. He’s also one of the most balanced, so he’s as close to the centerline of the learning curve as it gets right now.

It was announced a year ago this week that the PGA TOUR had inked a four-year agreement to establish the Myrtle Beach Classic. It’s an Additional Event played concurrently with the sixth Signature Event of the season – the limited-field Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina.

While victories in Additional Events don’t yield automatic exemptions into Signature Events, the 300 FedExCup points credited can lift winners into consideration for the Aon Next 10. First case, the winner at Myrtle Beach will join the field at next week’s PGA Championship if not already exempt. As of midday Tuesday, 14 in the field in Myrtle Beach will be getting tee times at Valhalla Golf Club. This week’s champion also will join the fields of the 2025 editions of The Sentry and THE PLAYERS Championship. His PGA TOUR membership exemption in the winners category will extend through 2026.

Commonly referred to simply as Dunes Club, the Robert Trent Jones design isn’t actually new to PGA TOUR-sanctioned competition. What’s now known as the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship on the PGA TOUR Champions was contested here from 1995-99. Back then, it played as a par 72 and shorter than 7,000 yards.

This week, Dunes Golf and Beach Club presents as a par 71 at 7,347 yards. Jones’ son, Rees, went to work in upgrading and strengthening the course in the last quarter-century in part so that it could stand up as a consistently strong test for PGA TOUR-caliber talent. Non-overseeded Champion Bermudagrass greens have been enlarged to 6,000 square feet and ready to push 12 feet on the Stimpmeter. But while tournaments almost always conclude with a putt, efficiency from tee to green is expected to characterize the inaugural champion.

Not unlike Harbour Town Golf Links down the coast on Hilton Head Island, host of the RBC Heritage three weeks ago, positioning the ball off the tee at Dunes Club is more important than distance. While the only rough is two inches high, fairways are not wide on average. And although the targets at Dunes Club are 6,000 square feet on average are considerably larger than at Harbour Town, because the putting surfaces are unfamiliar, ball-strikers will feast. This is a reliable phenomenon when a course is making its debut.

The same threat for inclement weather that exists at Quail Hollow Club 150 miles to the northwest characterizes the forecast at Myrtle Beach through Friday. Similarly, the weekend is stacked up to be absolutely gorgeous with daytime high in the 70s. Because exposure to the sea increases the feel of the wind, which will be moderate at times, the need to control ball flight is further enhanced. Sharp form upon arrival will be rewarded.

ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE

• MONDAY: Power Rankings (Wells Fargo)
• TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (Myrtle Beach); Sleepers (Wells Fargo)
• WEDNESDAY: Golfbet Insider
• SUNDAY: Points and Payouts (Wells Fargo); Points and Payouts (Myrtle Beach); Medical Extensions; Qualifiers; Reshuffle

*Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.