Hunter's Too Early FPO Top 10

The following rankings are purely the opinion of Hunter Thomas and based on last year's performance and what he thinks will happen in 2021. 

#10 - Missy Gannon

#9 - Kristin Tattar

#8 - Heather Young

#7 - Sarah Hokom

#6 - Valerie Mandujano

#5 - Hailey King

I firmly believe Hailey King is a future superstar of our sport. With that being said, I do not think she is quite there yet. She had moments of greatness last year with the most memorable being when she toppled Paige Pierce in a playoff for $20,000. However I feel like we should not throw the rest of the season out the window just because of how amazing (and it was AMAZING) that one moment was. She has all of the aspects to be the best player in the world. She has arguably the best forehand form in the FPO field, a very good putter, and a backhand that stands up to the rest of the field. The only thing holding her back is the confidence in her game. We saw it at the Pro Tour Championship and it will be interesting to see if that spills into 2021.

#4 - Henna Blomroos

I would love to have seen what a full year in 2020 would have looked like with Henna able to compete on the Pro Tour. She started her year off with two third place finishes at Las Vegas and The Memorial and then came in second at Waco before Covid shutdowns caused the tour to pause. She was able to play some more events and place well in Finland, but it is tough to say what those finishes would look like in a full FPO field. One thing that I am confident in is that we are in for a treat when Henna and some of the other European talent are able to come back to the FPO field on the Pro Tour!

#3 - Catrina Allen

Let me be clear. I firmly believe that Catrina Allen has the talent to not only compete with, but beat anyone in the field at any given moment. The only reason that she is not #2 or #1 on my list is her putting. In 2020, she seemed to be the only player that could compete with Paige regularly, but we have to remember that we were missing a big chunk of top talent due to Covid. As the year went on, her putting seemed to improve and be less and less of an issue with a few exceptions. I am a big fan of Cat and I hope that the work she puts in this offseason proves me wrong on the putting green and she is able to push to that #1 spot.

#2 - Eveliina Salonen

This is a bold pick, but I am confident in it. Eveliina’s 2020 season could easily have been her big breakout year had Covid not put an end to it. If she is able to make it back to the USA for the tour in 2021, I think she is one of the only players on the planet right now that could regularly compete with Paige in FPO. Her season started last year with a second place at Las Vegas, a fourth place finish at The Memorial, and then finally a win at Waco before having to return home. The rest of the season, she only lost twice and both were at the hands of the number four player on my list, Henna Blomroos.

#1 - Paige Pierce

This was an easy choice for me. I do not think there is a solid argument to make currently for anyone to hold this spot other than Paige. She was able to carry a 53% win percentage in 2020 with 7 pro tour wins and she was able to take down the one and only major in 2020. There is no reason that we should not expect the same dominance in 2021.

Agree? Disagree? Let Hunter know over on Twitter @FDG_Hunter_T