World Golf Ranking: Latest top 15 ahead of the PGA Tour season finale

Sahith Theegala dropped two spots from last week to No. 15. Theegala struggled in Colorado, finishing at 11-over par and in 48^th place, which was the worst score of the week. He had a 7-over-79 in the third round and a 4-over 76 to conclude his weekend in the Rocky Mountain State. As a result, Theegala also dropped four spots to No. 12 in the FedEx Cup standings as heads to Atlanta.

Also read: Breaking down last week’s top 15 of the World Golf Rankings

Russell Henley remained at No. 14 in the rankings this week. Henley played pretty average this week, shooting 4-under par with no rounds in the 60s. He tied for 22^nd and will be 18^th in the FedEx Cup standings heading into the Tour Championship. His best rounds came in the first and third rounds with rounds of 2-over 70.

In addition, Henley ranked fifth this week with 1.992 strokes gained around the green. He also tied for second by hitting 44-of-56 fairways.

Also read: PGA Tour: 10 best courses on the 2024 schedule and where TPC Sawgrass, Pebble Beach and East Lake rank on the list

Jon Rahm dropped two spots to No. 13 in this week’s world golf rankings. This is the downfall of playing in a league that does not get world golf ranking points. Rahm has had just five possible events this year to earn points at the four majors and the Olympics. Prior to the Olympics, his best finish came at the Open Championship when he tied for seventh.

Also read: 2024 Summer Olympics: The 10 biggest winners and losers from the men’s golf event

Tommy Fleetwood remained at No. 12 in the world golf rankings. At the BMW Championship, Fleetwood tied for fifth, which was fueled by four rounds of even par or better. Fleetwood had 3-under 69s in the second and fourth rounds. He was one of four players that went from being on the outside looking in to getting inside the top 30.

Fleetwood, who moved from 31 to 22 in the FedEx Cup standings, now prepares for his second straight Tour Championship where he tied for sixth last year.

Also read: FedEx Cup FAQ: When Where, How it Works, and Much More

Over the last couple of weeks, Keegan Bradley went from barely missing out on the BMW Championship to now heading to Atlanta for the Tour Championship. Bradley shot 1-over par at the FedEx St. Jude Championship and dropped 11 spots. Luckily, those 11 spots dropped him to No. 50. Keeping him on pace to be the last player in the field in Colorado.

Bradley, who also earned an exemption to all eight Signature Events for 2025, went on to win the BMW Championship. He got an opportunity and just took advantage. Bradley now goes into Atlanta at No. 4 in the FedEx Cup standings looking to finish strong.  

Also read: Where Keegan Bradley stands on the list of Wanamaker Trophy winners to be victorious at the PGA Championship

Bryson DeChambeau remained in his position in the world golf rankings at No. 10. Like Rahm, DeChambeau is now preparing for the next LIV Golf event in Chicago for the final individual event on Sept. 13-15. Then, the following week is the Team Championship in Dallas.

DeChambeau’s team, Crushers GC, leads Rahm’s squad, Legion XIII by one-half point entering the final two events on the LIV Golf docket.

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

Patrick Cantlay is coming off a T13 finish at the BMW Championship. It ultimately was not the finish he was looking for, shooting even par on Saturday and Sunday. However, the 2021 FedEx Cup Champion enters the Tour Championship at No. 10 when the first round begins Thursday.

Also read: Open Championship Future Sites: Everything You Need to Know

Viktor Hovland remained at No. 8 in the world golf rankings. After his second top-10 finish of the season last week in Memphis, Hovland recorded three 1-under 71s before a 1-over 73 in the final round. As a result, Hovland tied for 26th and entered the Tour Championship at No. 17. He did most of his work last week in Memphis to have a chance to retain his FedEx Cup title from a season ago.

Also read: 10 underperforming PGA Tour players in 2024

Hideki Matsuyama had his caddie and coach with him in Colorado for the first time since being robbed in England. Ultimately, it was short-lived. Matsuyama withdrew from the BMW Championship while warming up before his second round on Friday.

He now hopes to get healthy ahead of the Tour Championship in the No. 3 position. In addition, Matsuyama will be leading the International Team at the Presidents Cup as the top international player (not from Europe) in the world golf rankings. The other qualifiers for the International squad are Sungjae Im, Scott, Tom Kim Jason Day, and Byeong Hun An.

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

Collin Morikawa returns to being No. 6 in the world golf rankings this week. He was one shot worse than Hovland at 1-over par as he played on the longest course in PGA Tour history at 8,130 yards. Playing at elevation, being close to a mile above sea level, Morikawa struggled over the weekend with a 1-over 73 on Saturday and 2-over 74 on Sunday.

Morikawa looks for his first FedEx Cup title as he enters the week at No. 7 in the FedEx Cup standings.

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

Wyndham Clark remained at No. 5 in the world golf rankings. Playing in his home state of Colorado, Clark had the home crowd on his side as the week progressed. Despite a final round 2-over 74, Clark was dressed in Denver Broncos gear, showing his support for his home city.

Clark even got to play his practice round with NFL Hall of Famer Peyton Manning in the Pro-Am. Ultimately, Clark tied with Cantlay in the leaderboard and went to Atlanta in the No. 8 spot.

Also read: Who has the most PGA Tour wins of all-time?

Ludvig Aberg is No. 4 this week in the world golf rankings. Aberg got back on track this week with his runner-up finish, which tied Xander Schauffele for the most second-place finishes in 2024 with three. Although Aberg doesn’t have a win in 2024, he has eight top 10s. Which is tied with Burns for third. His runner-up finish also moved him up two spots to No. 5 in the standings as he makes his Tour Championship debut this week.

Also read: U.S. Open Future Sites: Everything you need to know about America’s National Championship through 2051

If a golfer can adapt and adjust to playing at elevation, they can have some success. That is what happened to Rory McIlroy, who remains at No. 3 in the world golf rankings. After struggling last week in Atlanta, McIlroy tied for 11^th at 6-under par. All four strokes gained statistics – off the tee, approach, around the green, and putting – were positive. However, there is another step McIlroy can climb if he wants to get his record-breaking fourth FedEx Cup this week.  

Also read: 5 Longest Drives of All-time, from Tiger Woods to Dustin Johnson

Xander Schauffele sits at No. 2 this week in the world golf rankings. After his runner-up finish in Memphis, Schauffele tied with Fleetwood in fifth on the leaderboard. It marks Schauffele’s 14^th top-10 finish this season and his 25th over the last two seasons. He was stalled by a 1-over 73 in the second round but had one of the best moving days on Saturday with a 5-under 67.

He goes into East Lake in Atlanta in second place, with the pre-tournament scoring format. Schauffele has the best cumulative score to par at East Lake since 2017, without starting strokes, at 85-under par, according to Justin Ray from the Athletic.

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. Last week, Scheffler had a down week in Colorado, shooting 1-over par and tying for 33^rd. However, he is still in the top position heading into the Tour Championship as he looks for his first FedEx Cup title.

In addition, Scheffler automatically qualified for the Presidents Cup, representing Team USA. The five other qualifiers for the American squad are Schauffele, Morikawa, Clark, Cantlay, and Theegala. The remaining six players for both teams will be chosen by the captains and announced on Sept. 3.

Also read: World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler takes major shot at current FedEx Cup Playoff system to determine the FedEx Cup Champion