Power Rankings: 2019 BMW Championship

BY WILL GRAY

AUGUST 12, 2019 AT 1:35 PM

Golf Channel's game has a new look in 2019.

This year in addition to picking a tournament winner we’re also shifting the focus to head-to-head matchups, with both the Golf Pick ‘Em game and an additional Sunday-only contest that focuses on the final round. Both contests can be found in the NBC Sports Predictor app, which fantasy players can download to make their selections each week.

Players can compete for weekly cash prizes, with the best scores during the season qualifying for the season-ending FJ $100,000 Championship, where cash and prizes will be awarded to top finishers.

The contests continues this week with the BMW Championship, as the PGA Tour heads to Medinah outside Chicago for the second of three playoff events.

Here's a look at some of the players to keep an eye on as Keegan Bradley defends the title he won last year at Aronimink:

1. Jon Rahm: The Spaniard couldn't catch Patrick Reed last week in New Jersey, but he didn't exactly cool off. Rahm has finished T-11 or better in each of his last six worldwide starts, including a win at the Irish Open, and appears poised to make a run at the $15 million prize on offer next week in Atlanta.

2. Rory McIlroy: McIlroy seems to have left the disappointment of Royal Portrush behind him, with top-10 finishes in each of his two most recent starts. That includes a tie for sixth Sunday in New Jersey, where McIlroy opened with 65 and remained in the mix the rest of the way. Expect the good vibes from a memorable 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah to bolster his effort this week.

3. Brooks Koepka: Koepka remains the overall No. 1 seed despite a T-30 finish last week, and there's ample motivation to remain in that position given the revamped format in play next week at East Lake. Koepka's major-caliber game should be an ideal fit for Medinah, so expect a bit of a bounce back after a slow start to his postseason.

4. Patrick Reed: Reed was trending in the right direction a week ago, and now he brings even more momentum with him to Chicago after his one-shot win at Liberty National. Reed has now finished inside the top 25 in each of his last six starts, including a top-10 finish at The Open, and he's eager to ride his current streak given his standing in the points race and potential for catching the eye of Presidents Cup captain Tiger Woods.

5. Justin Rose: Rose lost a playoff at this event last year, becoming world No. 1 for the first time in the process. He returns hoping to finish one slot better in the midst of another consistent run, having finished T-20 or better in five straight starts dating back to the Memorial in June. Always an elite ball-striker, he's currently second on Tour this season in strokes gained: putting.

6. Justin Thomas: Thomas continued his quietly solid play in the wake of a spring wrist injury last week, tying for 12th for his fourth straight top-12 finish. Having missed the PGA Championship because of the injury, Thomas' cautious approach seems to have paid off as he's once again playing well (and fully healthy) entering a pivotal two-week stretch.

7. Webb Simpson: You have to go all the way back to a missed cut at the Valspar Championship in March to find a stroke-play event in which Simpson finished outside the top 30. A remarkably consistent summer has produced three runner-up finishes over his last six starts and Simpson is fifth this season in total strokes gained.

8. Dustin Johnson: Johnson held the lead at the halfway point in New Jersey, but a pedestrian weekend dropped him all the way into a tie for 24th. It hasn't been a second half to remember for DJ, who was a runner-up at both the Masters and PGA, but he should fit the bill in terms of a skill set that will thrive in a demanding ballpark like Medinah.

9. Adam Scott: The Aussie is set to make his East Lake return for the first time since 2016, thanks in large part to a final-round 65 at Liberty National that got him into fifth place. Scott has played a typically sparse schedule this summer, but he has still come away with top-10 finishes in four of his last six starts dating back to Bethpage in May.

10. Patrick Cantlay: Cantlay won the Memorial in June, but he's been largely solid the rest of the way. He enters the BMW second on Tour in total strokes gained, fifth in tee-to-green and no worse than 18th in any of the six main strokes gained categories the Tour monitors. He has finished inside the top 10 in nine of his last 10 starts dating back to March.