World Golf Rankings: Breaking down this week’s top 15

Brian Harman dropped a spot to No. 15 in this week’s world golf rankings. Harman is coming off a 60^th place finish at the Open Championship last week. He is currently 21^st in the FedEx Cup standings. In addition, Harman is currently 10^th in the Team USA Presidents Cup standings. The top six players in the standings earn an automatic spot. After that, captain Jim Furyk will make six more selections to round out his 12-man squad.

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

Tommy Fleetwood also dropped one spot to No. 14 in the world golf rankings. Fleetwood missed the cut at the Open and now his eyes are fully set on the Olympics. He is representing Team Great Britain, along with Matt Fitzpatrick this week in Paris. Fleetwood has been victorious at Le Golf National in the past. He won a DP World Tour event there in 2017 and was part of the winning European squad in the 2018 Ryder Cup. That experience could favor him this week.

Also read: 2024 Olympics: 10 men’s golfers who can win the gold medal

Russell Henley was also another golfer to move down one spot in the world golf rankings. Henley is coming off his best finish at the Open Championship, a T5 in 10 career starts. As a result, that helped him get to No. 12 in the world golf rankings, the highest of his career. He is currently 13^th in the FedEx Cup standings, hoping to compete in his second straight Tour Championship.

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Although he did not play this weekend, Hideki Matsuyama moved up three spots to No. 12 in the world golf rankings. The world golf rankings are not solely based on week-to-week performance but based on a rolling time period. As a result, that is why Matsuyama rose this week. He now prepares for the Olympics, representing Team Japan along with Keita Nakajima.

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Sahith Theegala remained at the No. 11 spot in this week’s world golf rankings. He was the only player among this week’s top 15 of the world golf rankings competing in the 3M Open. Theegala finished tied for sixth at 13-under par at TPC Twin Cities in Minnesota. He now has a couple of weeks off to prepare for the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

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Jon Rahm also remains in the 10^th position of the world golf rankings. Rahm guided his team to the Legion XIII’s four team victory this season in LIV Golf. However, he also got his first LIV Golf individual title this week in the United Kingdom. At 13-under par, Rahm defeated Joquin Niemann, Cameron Smith and his fellow Legion XIII teammate Tyrrell Hatton by one stroke. Rahm now gears up for the Olympics, representing Spain along with David Puig.

Also read: 2024 Open Championship: First round winners and losers

Also, in LIV Golf’s event in the United Kingdom, Bryson DeChambeau finished tied for 11^th at 8-under par. He remains in the ninth position of this week’s world golf rankings. He now prepares for the next LIV event Aug. 16-18 at the Greenbrier in West Virginia. The Greenbrier will mark the third-to-final tournament on the LIV Golf schedule. After Greenbrier, LIV Golf will be in Chicago for the final individual event of the 2024 season. That is then followed by the final event in Dallas for the team championships.   

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

Patrick Cantlay also stayed in his spot of No. 8 in the world golf rankings. Cantlay, who is coming off a T25 at the Open, nearly missed out on the Olympics. As a result, he is focused on the FedEx Cup playoffs that begin with the FedEx St. Jude Championships Aug. 15-18. He is currently 11^th in the standings and 87 points away from being inside the top 10.

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Viktor Hovland also remained in the No. 7 spot in the world golf rankings. Hovland has to turn the page after missing the cut at the Open and focus on the Olympics, like Fleetwood. During the Olympics, Hovland is representing Team Norway along with Kris Ventura. After that, it is a one-week break before the FedEx Cup playoffs get underway. He is currently 55^th in the standings and needs to get inside the top 30 if he wants any chance of defending his FedEx Cup title.  

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Collin Morikawa sits at No. 6 in the world golf rankings this week. After a T16 at the Open, Morikawa is gearing up for his Olympic run. In Tokyo a few years ago, he finished just short of a bronze medal. He is looking to medal this time around as he was one of two golfers to finish inside the top 20 at all four major championships.  

Also read: 10 winners and losers from the 4 major championships in 2024

Wyndham Clark remains at No. 5 in the world golf rankings. Clark was also part the group of stars that struggled at the Open and has to turn the page with the Olympics. He is looking to get back on track and play like he did before the Open with back-to-back top 10s. Or even the way he played in March with back-to-back runner-up finishes at Bay Hill and the Players Championship.

Also read: Who is competing alongside Wyndham Clark on Team USA at the Olympics in France?

Ludvig Aberg remains at No. 4 this week in the world golf rankings. He is preparing for his first Olympics this week in France. Despite coming off a missed cut at the Open, Aberg is hoping to turn things around this week at Le Golf National. Although there are no FedEx Cup points given out this week, Aberg is currently sixth in the FedEx Cup standings as he will have a one-week break after the Olympics to get through jet lag and prep for the final stretch run.

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Rory McIlroy also remains in the No. 3 position in the world golf rankings. McIlroy is preparing the Olympics, representing Team Ireland, along with Shane Lowry. Although the two are playing individually, McIlroy and Lowry won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event. McIlroy was also part of the 2018 Ryder Cup squad that won at Le Golf National.

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Xander Schauffele sits at No. 2 this week in the world golf rankings. Schaffele, who is the reigning gold medalist, is looking be atop the podium once again. He is coming off his second major championship win at the Open. It was also Schauffele’s second major championship in his last three major starts. He is looking to add a gold medal to bolster his chances of being in the conversation for PGA Tour Player of the Year.

Also read: A look at every Open Championship winner: Where Xander Schauffele stands as the Claret Jug holder

Scottie Scheffler remains in the top spot of the world golf rankings. As Schauffele is lurking behind Scheffler in the world golf rankings, Scheffler is hoping Schauffele cannot catch him for the PGA Tour Player of the Year award. Scheffler has six wins to his name this year and is looking to add a gold medal to his 2024 resume. That also includes a green jacket and a Players Championship trophy.   

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