World Golf Rankings: Breaking down the top 15 as the PGA Tour season ends

Russell Henley dropped one spot but gained enough to reach the 4-point mark. It just shows how good players are, especially after the Tour Championship. Henley is coming off a T4 finish over the weekend. He chipped in for eagle on the par-5 18^th to have a 9-under 62 for the best round of the week. He is hoping to now hear his name as a captain’s pick in what would be his first Presidents Cup appearance.

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

Jon Rahm also dropped one spot in the World Golf Rankings to No. 14. He is in the midst of a little break before the LIV Golf season concludes with back-to-back events later this month. Rahm has had a great rookie LIV Golf season with top-10 finishes in every start, including a victory six weeks ago in the U.K.

Also read: Where Jon Rahm stands on the list of Masters champions

Keegan Bradley drops a couple of spots to No. 13. Bradley is coming off a struggling start at East Lake, shooting just 2-under par on the course. With the starting strokes format, he began at 6-under par. Bradley, who won the BMW Championship two weeks ago, is in the same position as Henley, hoping to hear their name for Team USA at the Presidents Cup.  

Related: Presidents Cup 2024: Predicting who will be the remaining competitors, including Rusell Henley and Keegan Bradley

Sahith Theegala had a great Tour Championship, finishing in third place. Theegala, who began at 3-under par with the starting stroke format, shot 21-under par. As a result, Theegala shot the second-best 72-hole score. However, he gave himself a two-stroke penalty for grounding his club in the bunker. If Theegala did not assess the penalty, he would have recorded the best 72-score hole of the week. Furthermore, that would also give him a win in the World Golf Rankings because the ranking committee does not factor in the starting strokes format. Theegala now prepares for the Presidents Cup in a couple of weeks.   

Also read: The 10 biggest winners and losers from the Tour Championship

Tommy Fleetwood, who began the Tour Championship at 1-under par, shot 9-under par across 72 holes to finish in 20^th place. That is good enough to raise one spot to No. 11 in this week’s World Golf Rankings. Fleetwood had two 4-under 67 rounds on Friday and Sunday to finish his PGA Tour season. Both of his 4-under rounds came in bogey-free fashion to fuel his FedEx Cup run.

Related: Tour Championship 2024: The 10 biggest winners and losers from Round 3

Bryson DeChambeau remained in his position on the World Golf Rankings at No. 10. Like Rahm, DeChambeau is preparing for the next LIV Golf event in Chicago for the final individual event from 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 sits at No. 9 in the World Golf Rankings. He was one shot better than Fleetwood on the leaderboard at 11-under par. Cantlay began the week at 4-under par. He had bookending rounds of 2-under 69 and 4-under 67 to fuel his FedEx Cup run. Cantlay now preps for the Presidents Cup in a few weeks.

Related: Tour Championship 2024: The 10 biggest winners and losers from Round 2

Viktor Hovland sits at No. 8 in this week’s World Golf Rankings. Hovland was not in the Tour Championship before the FedEx Cup Playoffs began. But a runner-up finish at the FedEx St. Jude Championship did all the work. Fast forward two weeks later. Hovland, who started the tournament at 2-under par, shot 13-under par on the course to finish tied for 12^th. He will hope to carry the momentum he had this week into 2025.

Also read: 2024 Tour Championship: The 10 biggest winners and losers from Round 1

Hideki Matsuyama, who started the Tour Championship at 7-under par, finished at 16-under par to finish tied for ninth and one stroke better than Hovland. That was good enough to remain at No. 7 in the World Golf Rankings. Matsuyama was stalled on the leaderboard early with two 1-under 70 rounds the first two days. He then got better with a 3-under 68 in the third round and finished with a 4-under 67. Matsuyama will make sure his back is fully healthy for the International Team before the Presidents Cup kicks off.

Also read: FedEx Cup FAQ: How it Works

Wyndham Clark dropped one spot to No. 6 in the World Golf Rankings this week. Clark is coming off an eighth-place finish at the Tour Championship at 17-under par. He shot all four rounds in the 60s, including having 4-under 67 rounds over the first two days. It is the second straight year Clark has finished inside the top 10 at the PGA Tour season finale. He now prepares for the Presidents Cup.

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

Ludvig Aberg also dropped one spot in the World Golf Rankings to No. 5. Aberg finished in 16^th place at 12-under par. He shot 3-under 68 in the second and third rounds to cap off his strong 2024 season. He will now head into the offseason needing arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, according to Todd Lewis from the Golf Channel. Aberg is expected to hit golf balls in 3-4 weeks following the procedure and might play a couple of events this fall.     

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

Collin Morikawa shot the best 72-hole score of the week at the Tour Championship to raise two spots in the World Golf Rankings. Morikawa shot 22-under 262 and finished at 26-under par with the starting strokes. He played well all week, highlighted by his 8-under 63 in the second round. Morikawa was able to get the deficit down to two strokes Sunday before settling as the runner-up.

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

Rory McIlroy remains at No. 3 in the World Golf Rankings this week. The three-time FedEx Cup Champion tied for ninth at 16-under par with Matsuyama and Shane Lowry. McIlroy shot all four rounds in the 60s, including a final round, bogey-free 5-under 66. McIlroy, who turns 36 next May, is looking to not play as much in 2025, to “build in a few extra breaks.” He has five more events on his schedule, which would make 27 events this year.

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

Xander Schauffele sits at No. 2 this week in the World Golf Rankings. The consistency for Schauffele continued at East Lake, even with the course change. He made birdie from off the green on the 72^nd hole to finish in a tie for fourth with Henley and Adam Scott. It is Schauffele’s sixth straight top 5 finish at the Tour Championship. In Schauffele’s eight trips to East Lake, he has finished no worse than seventh in 2017-18. In addition, according to Justin Ray of The Athletic, Schauffle has the lowest bogey percentage (9.5%) in a single PGA Tour season this year. This will become official if he does not play in any fall PGA Tour events.

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 off one of the best PGA Tour seasons ever. Scheffler is the only player to win The Players Championship, the Masters, and the Tour Championship in the same year. The seven PGA Tour wins are the most since Tiger Woods won seven times in 2007. He also takes home $62.2 million this year in earnings.

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