Week 1 Power Rankings: Mercedes-Benz Champ.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: With the 2009 PGA TOUR season about to kick off, PGATOUR.COM is unveiling several new features this year, including Mike Vitti's weekly Power Rankings. Officially, Vitti is the Director of Research and Development in the TOUR's Marketing Department. Unofficially, he's a stats guru who analyzes all kinds of data from our ShotLink numbers. Vitti will size up the field each week and provide his top 10 players going into the tournament, based on factors such as the player's strengths, the course set-up, recent performances, etc.

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At the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship, you will see the extremes of driving distance on both ends of the scale. This phenomenon is due to the trade winds at the Plantation course at Kapalua that you will hear about all week.

What you really need to know about the effect of these winds is that the average driving distance for the field in the last two years has been less than 255 yards -- the shortest average of any venue on TOUR during that time.

Strangely, since the advent of ShotLink in 2003, there have been more drives of at least 400 yards at the Plantation Course than any other venue. In fact, more than 55 percent of all 400-yard drives on TOUR since 2003 have occurred on the Plantation course. That includes the longest drive ever recorded by ShotLink, a 476-yard bomb by Davis Love III in 2004 on the 18th hole.

In addition, Kapalua has some of the easiest fairways and greens to hit on TOUR. Last year the field found the fairway from the tee and greens in regulation more than 80 percent of the time.

So what does this all mean to this week's rankings? Go with the power hitters.

Power Rankings: Mercedes-Benz Championship

Rank Player   Comment Vijay SINGH Including the Chevron World Challenge, Singh has four wins since the last week of August. He finished 25th in driving distance and 12th in GIR in '08. Singh has seven top-five finishes in 12 starts at Kapalua, with a win in '07. Camilo VILLEGAS Villegas ended 2008 on a high note, breaking through with wins in the last two Playoffs events. But he also played well earlier in the season, with seven top 10s. He ranked fourth on TOUR in par breaker percentage. Anthony KIM Kim ranked 11th in driving distance, averaging just over 300 yards; third in scoring average; and 18th in total putting. He should score well on this course. Daniel CHOPRA The defending champion of this event has a unique combination of power and touch on the greens. In 2008, Chopra averaged 294.2 yards in driving distance and was first on TOUR in total putting. J.B. HOLMES Holmes definitely has the power for this course, ranking in the top three in driving distance his first three seasons on TOUR. Geoff OGILVY Winner of the Australian PGA in December, Ogilvy enters the event in top form. He may benefit the most from the easy-to-find fairways, as although Ogilvy ranked tied for 168th in GIR in 2008, he was seventh in proximity to the hole from the fairway. Boo WEEKLEY Weekley finished 2008 ranked 19th in ball striking, and his play at Hilton Head in 2007 shows he can manage windy conditions. Weekley is excellent in going-for-it situations; he ranks seventh in hitting the green in two on par-5 holes. Ernie ELS Els has not played at Kapalua since 2005, but he has recorded five top-10s in seven career starts at the Mercedes-Benz Championship. Els ranked third last year in proximity to the hole from the fairway. Kenny PERRY Perry only has one top-5 finish at Kapalua in six career starts, but he has the distance and accuracy to perform at this venue. Perry ranked 22nd in ball striking and was sixth in proximity to the hole from the fairway. Justin LEONARD Getting back to his old form, Leonard finished last year tied for fourth in proximity to the hole and was 20th in total putting. Leonard has recorded four finishes in the top 8 in nine career starts at Kapalua.