Power Rankings: Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am

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Editor's note: Vartan Kupelian is the Champions Tour Insider and a PGATOUR.COM Contributor. Each week, Kupelian will size up the field and provide his top 5 players going into the tournament, based on factors such as the player's strengths, the course setup, recent performances, etc.

Defending champion Bernhard Langer, recovering from surgery on his left wrist, won't be in the field this week at the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am in Lutz, Fla.

Langer was awarded the victory when the final round of last year's tournament was cancelled because of rain. Mark O'Meara and Mike Reid shared second place, one stroke behind.

Tom Lehman will be eyeing his third victory of the year and second in a row. He has won the Allianz Championship and the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic.

This year's Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am marks the 24th anniversary for the Champions Tour in Tampa, equaling the second-longest span in one metropolitan area (Naples). This is also the 19th consecutive year for this event at the TPC Tampa Bay, the longest span at the same course on the Champions Tour.

This week's Champions Tour Power Rankings:

Power Rankings: Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am

Rank Player   Comment Tom LEHMAN He's won two of his four starts. Why? He hits 83.33 percent of the greens, best on the Champions Tour; makes the most birdies (5.83 average) and is first in scoring average (66.92). That's why. Mark O'MEARA Runner-up to Bernhard Langer last year, he was one shot behind when rain forced cancellation of the final round. He's second in birdie average behind Lehman and fifth in scoring. Nick PRICE T5 last year at Outback, he's No. 2 on the Charles Schwab Cup points list and the money list. No. 1 in driving accuracy, the '09 Outback winner is hitting 83.81 percent of the fairways on the Champions Tour. Tom WATSON Back-to-back winner at TPC Tampa Bay in 2007 and 2008, he likes the track. Watson bounced back at Augusta National with a 72 after an opening 79. He's 10th in Total Driving and second in Greens in Regulation. Corey PAVIN Sooner or later, he's going to notch that first Champions Tour victory. He's fifth in Putting Average (1.686), 10th in Scoring Average (68.11) through nine rounds and 13th in the All-Around statistics.