Power Rankings: Chiquita Classic

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After two weeks off to recharge their batteries, players will get back into the swing of things this week at the Chiquita Classic at TPC River's Bend in the Cincinnati suburb of Maineville.

There will be plenty of firepower in the field with nine of the top 10 on the money list scheduled to compete. The purse is $550,000 with $99,000 going to the winner.

Last year's winner was Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey, who has moved to the PGA TOUR and is having his best season of his career, ranking 40th in the FedExCup points race.

The lone player not competing among the top 10 on the Nationwide Tour money list is Erik Compton, who is coming off one of his biggest wins of his career earlier this month at the Mexico Open. Compton, who is ranked second on the money list, is taking off this week but knows what an important stretch is coming up.

"I think we play eight weeks in a row or something like that so there's going to be plenty of work to be done over the next few weeks," Compton said after his win in Mexico. "I know I'm going to rest up and be ready to go once I get back out there."

Here are this week's power rankings.

Power Rankings: Chiquita Classic

Rank   Player Comment Mathew GOGGIN He is comfortably sitting at No. 1 on the money list with more than $300,000. He's also had two victories and one more would give him an instant promotion to the PGA TOUR. It's hard not to ignore his dominance this season. He won his first time out this season on the Nationwide Tour and also won the last time he played in mid-June in Wichita. Richard H. LEE There are four players with the last name Lee scheduled to compete this week, but one to watch is Richard. He quietly finished two shots in back of Erik Compton in Mexico by shooting rounds of 68-69-67-69. Lee has moved up to No. 17 on the money list with $94,672 and is poised to do even more in his rookie season. Kyle THOMPSON If his three last tournaments are any indication it's a good bet that Thompson will be somewhere in contention on Sunday. In his last three Nationwide Tour tournaments he has a win, a second place and a tie for fourth in Mexico. He's fourth on the money list and wouldn't mind joining Goggin as a multi-winner on tour. However, he didn't fare too well at last year's Chiquita Classic where he missed the cut. Geoffrey SISK He has only one top 25 this season and is ranked a distant 83rd on the money list but he did very well at the Chiquita Classic last year with a tie for third. He hasn't played on the Nationwide Tour since the Rex Hospital Open in mid-June, but did qualify for the U.S. Open where he shot 77-78 to miss the cut. He tied for 34th his last time out at the Rex Hospital Open. Will WILCOX There's probably nobody on Tour who's stock has risen as fast as Wilcox, who Monday-qualified into the Stadion Classic and turned that opportunity into a tie for third. He hasn't looked back and is now ninth on the tour's money list. Here's why his stock keeps going up - he leads the tour in the all-around category and is second in greens in regulation. His next move could be a victory.

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John Dell has covered golf for the Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina for the last 17 years. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR. You can reach him at johndell@triad.rr.com.