World golf rankings 2025: Ranking the 15 best players from the PGA Tour and LIV ahead of the new season

Tyrell Hatton begins the new year at No. 15. He had five top 10s to finish off 2024, highlighted by winning the Alfred Dunhill Link Championship on the DP World Tour. Hatton also finished second in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship before placing sixth at the DP World Tour Championship. He finished fifth at the PIF Saudi Internation on the Asian Tour to wrap up his 2024 campaign.

Also read: Breaking down the top 15 of the World Golf Rankings after the FedEx Cup Playoffs

Robert MacIntyre goes into 2025, coming off a memorable 2024. He secured his first PGA Tour win at the RBC Canadian Open with his father on the bag. That was followed one month later when he won in his home country at The Genesis Scottish Open. MacIntyre made a game-winning 22-foot birdie putt to secure the victory at the Renaissance Club in July.   

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Sahith Theegala is No. 13 in this week’s world golf rankings. Although he did not win in 2024, he had two runner-up finishes at The Sentry and at the RBC Heritage. That was part of nine top 10s, leading to his third-place finish at the Tour Championship. He is hoping to get in the winner’s circle in 2025, with hopes of rising among the game’s best.  

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The veteran Keegan Bradley is at No. 12 in the World Golf Rankings. He had an eventful offseason, capped off by securing the winning putt for Team USA at the Presidents Cup. Bradley goes into 2025, prepping not only for himself but for the 2025 Ryder Cup. He is the captain and will try to be one of the top six players in the FedEx Cup standings to play as well.

Also read: Presidents Cup 2024: 10 winners and losers as Team USA wins for the 10th straight time

Patrick Cantlay enters 2025, looking to improve off a down 2024. He only had four top 10s, highlighted by a third-place finish at the U.S. Open. He needs to find ways to be in contention on Sundays more often this season. Cantlay is part of the group of best players in the world without a major title. He has the chance to win when he needs it the most. But it will be about executing, especially in the majors.  

Related: Who has the most major wins of all time and who the current stars, like Cantlay, looking up to?

Bryson DeChambeau kicks off the top 10 of this week’s world golf rankings. DeChambeau has had a quiet offseason outside of playing in the Showdown with Brooks Koepka and making content for his YouTube channel. That includes his “Breaking 50” challenge from the front tees from notable golf stars such as John Daly and Phil Mickelson.  

Related: Where Bryson DeChambeau’s second U.S. Open title stands on the list of past champions

Tommy Fleetwood is at No. 9 on the world golf rankings to begin his 2025 season. Like Hatton, Fleetwood competed on the DP World Tour in the fall to maintain his world ranking status. He had a couple of third-place finishes at the Acciona Open and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. That was followed by a sixth-place finish in Abu Dhabi before finishing top 20 at the DP World Tour Championship.

Viktor Hovland sits at No. 8 in this week’s world golf rankings. After a down 2024 regular season, he turned it on late during the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Hovland, took advantage of his runner-up finish at the FedEx St. Jude Championship to earn a top 10 spot in the Tour Championship a couple of weeks later. He is hoping to have a more consistent 2025 season rather than needing to play his way into the FedEx Cup Playoffs in July.

Wyndham Clark enters 2025 at No. 7 of the world golf rankings. He finished in eighth place in the PGA Tour Championship to end his 2024 season. The offseason included representing Team USA in the Presidents Cup and competing in the Hero World Challenge. He won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am last February. Clark also had two runner-up finishes at the Players Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational in his eight top 10s in 2024.

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Hideki Matsuyama comes into 2025 as the sixth-best player in the world golf rankings. Matsuyama is coming off 2024 where he won The Genesis Invitational in February and the FedEx St. Jude Championship to kick off the FedEx Cup Playoffs. After winning the 2021 Masters, he is hoping to find his way back to the winner’s circle in a major championship this season.

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Ludvig Aberg sits at No. 5 on the world golf rankings entering 2025. In his first full PGA Tour season in 2024, the Swede recorded three runner-up finishes at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Masters, and the BMW Championship. That came across eight top 10s. He will look to capitalize in 2025 by trying to get into the winner’s circle in his sophomore season.   

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Collin Morikawa had a strong finish to his 2024 season with a runner-up finish at the Tour Championship. Although he did win in 2024, he had two runner-up finishes across eight top 10s. In addition to his second-place finish at the Tour Championship, he finished in that same spit at the Memorial in June. Morikawa is looking for his third major title in 2025 and first since winning the 2021 Open Championship.  

Also read: A look at every Open Championship winner: Where Collin Morikawa stands as a Claret Jug holder

Rory McIlroy remains at No. 3 on our world golf rankings. McIlroy won the DP World Tour Championship to maintain his spot in the world rankings. He also had runner-up finishes at the Irish Open and the BMW PGA Championship. That came before finishing third in Abu Dhabi. McIlroy is trying to end his major championship victory drought in 2025, which has lasted more than a decade.

Also read: The Showdown 2024: Highlights from the PGA vs. LIV match, including Rory McIlroy making clutch putts

Xander Schauffele sits at No. 2 this week in the world golf rankings. He enters the new year, looking to capitalize on his 2024 season where he collected his first two major championships. He won the PGA Championship in May with a birdie putt on the 72^nd hole to defeat DeChambeau by one. Two months later, he won the Open Championship by two strokes. Schauffele joined Jack Nicklaus as the only two players to shoot 65 or lower in the final round to win a major. However, Scheffler became the first player to do that in the same season.

Also read: 10 winners and losers from the 4 major championships in 2024, including Xander Schauffele

Scottie Scheffler remains in the top spot of the world golf rankings. He is coming having one of the best PGA Tour seasons of all time. Scheffler is the only player to win The Players Championship, the Masters, and the Tour Championship in the same year. However, his 2025 season will not begin the way he wanted to.

It was announced that Scheffler will not be competing at The Sentry this week. It was due to sustaining a puncture wound to the palm of his right hand from a broken glass while preparing for Christmas dinner. He should be good to go when he tees off at the American Express, which begins on Jan. 16.

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