World Golf Rankings: Breaking down the top 15 after the final major of 2024

Hideki Matsuyama dropped one spot in this week’s world golf rankings to No. 15. Matsuyama shot 12-over par and tied for 66^th. He did not get off to a good start with a birdie-free 4-over 75 and only made one birdie in his first 36 holes. Matsuyama shot all four rounds over par in a tough week. He is currently eighth in the FedEx Cup standings with the Olympics coming up before the FedEx Cup playoffs.

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

Brian Harman also dropped one spot to No. 14 in the world golf rankings. Harman was one shot better than Matsuyama at 11-over par. Like Matsuyama, Harman shot over par in all four rounds. He was one or two strokes away from being under par in the first three rounds as well. Harman is 21^st in the FedEx Cup standings as he now prepares for the playoffs, which begins with the FedEx St. Jude Championship Aug. 15-18.

Also read: A look at every Open Championship winner: Where Brian Harman and Xander Schauffele stand as the past two Claret Jug holders

Tommy Fleetwood is another player that dropped a spot in the world golf rankings. Fleetwood, who was a favorable pick heading into the Open, struggled. He shot 76-75 to miss the cut by three strokes. He made six bogeys each in the first two rounds. In addition, he only made one birdie in his first 18 holes on Thursday. Fleetwood dropped three spots to 28^th in the FedEx Cup standings as he will most likely tee it up at the FedEx St. Jude Championships in the first leg of the playoffs. He now has to maintain his top-30 status if he wants to compete in the Tour Championship.

Related: Who did the experts pick to win the Open Championship and raise the Claret Jug?

Russell Henley is up to his highest world golf rankings spot at No. 12. Henley moves up eight spots after he shot 7-under par over his final two rounds to finish in fifth place. Henley was one of three golfers, along with Im, to shoot the second-best round on Saturday with a 5-under 66. He moves up eight spots to No. 13 in the FedEx Cup standings fueled by his six top 10s. Of those six top 10 finishes, Henley has four top fives yhis season. Henley also moved up five spots to No. 7 in the Team USA Presidents Cup standings. The top six after the BMW Championship get an automatic entry before Captain Jim Furyk chooses six others.

Also read: Open Championship: Biggest winners and losers from Round 3

Sahith Theegala remained at the No. 11 spot in this week’s world golf rankings. The lack of experience playing links golf got to Theegala, who missed the cut. He shot 8-over over a nine-hole span and was 7-over through the first 12 holes of the tournament. Theegala has missed the past two cuts at the Open before a T34 in his Open Championship debut in 2022 at St. Andrews. Theegala remained in the No. 7 in the FedEx Cup standings and is No. 6 in the Team USA Presidents Cup standings.

Related: The biggest winners and losers from the second round of the 2024 Open Championship

Jon Rahm also remains in the 10^th position of the world golf rankings. Rahm made a strong finish to end the Open tied for seventh at 1-under par. Rahm was at 3-over through 21 holes. This was before finishing the second round 2-under par over his final 10 holes, including back-to-back birdies on 14 and 15. Despite a 1-over 72 on Saturday, Rahm jumped out to a 4-under 32 on the front nine on Sunday. That helped him shoot 3-under 68 in the final round for a top 10 major finish.

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

Also joining Theegala in having a lack of experience on links golf courses was Bryson DeChambeau. DeChambeau, who ranks No. 9 in the world golf rankings, started 6-over through the first nine holes. He was 7-over through 15 before an eagle on the par-5 16^th. From there, he only had one birdie or better hole the rest of the way leading to missing the cut. He went 76-75 with just two birdie or better holes through 36 holes for the reigning U.S. Open Champion.

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 shot 5-over par and finished tied for 25^th at the Open Championship. Playing alongside Schauffele for the first three rounds, Cantlay was 1-under at the halfway mark. That kept him in contention before a 4-over 75 in the third round that hurt his chances. Cantlay’s winless drought continues as he remains No. 11 in the FedEx Cup standings. However, he moved up one spot to No. 5 in the Team USA Presidents Cup standings.  

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

Viktor Hovland also remained in the No. 7 spot in the world golf rankings. Hovland was also part of the group of stars to miss the cut. He only made one birdie in 36 holes, which came on the third hole. After that, he shot 11-over par through 33 holes to miss the cut. The down year for the reigning FedEx Cup champion continues. He now gets set for the Olympics before the FedEx Cup playoffs begin.

Also read: 10 underperforming PGA Tour players in 2024

Collin Morikawa sits at No. 6 in the world golf rankings this week. Morikawa tied for 16^th at 2-over par. The 2021 Open Champion was not great but was not bad either, going 73-70-72-71. He had a good back nine on Friday, shooting 3-under over his final eight holes. However, despite being 2-under through nine on Saturday, he finished 3-over on the back nine. Then on Sunday, he made 16 pars with a bogey on 14 and a birdie on 16 to not getting a chance to be in contention.

Also read: How Collin Morikawa earned an exemption to play in the Open Championship

Wyndham Clark struggled at Royal Troon but remained in the No. 5 spot of this week’s world golf rankings. Clark was also part of the stars that missed the weekend, shooting 16-over par across 36 holes. A double bogey on 11 and a triple on 12 on Thursday did not help going into Friday. Despite a birdie to open his second round on the second hole, he shot 10-over the rest of the way. That included a triple bogey on the 12^th and a double bogey on the 13^th. Clark will be preparing for the Olympics in France before the FedEx Cup Playoffs.   

Also read: Who will be competing alongside Wyndham Clark at the Olympics in France?

Ludvig Aberg also remained in his position of the world golf rankings. Aberg, who was making his Open Championship debut, struggled as he also missed the cut. After an opening birdie in the first round, he shot 6-over over his next 16 holes before a birdie on the last. Then on Friday he made five bogeys and a double bogey in five consecutive holes to end his front nine. That was followed by a better back nine, making two birdies before a bogey on the 18^th. Aberg will definitely learn from this first Open Championship as he now preps for the Olympics and the FedEx Cup playoffs.   

Also read: PGA Tour: 10 best courses on the 2024 schedule

The only other movement in this week’s world golf rankings comes here with Rory McIlroy dropping one spot to No. 3. McIlroy was also part of the contingent of stars to miss the cut at the Open. McIlroy went 7-over 78 in his opening round, which included a back nine 5-over 40. Then in the second round, he shot 6-over on four consecutive holes on the front nine. That was lowlighted by a triple bogey at the par-5 fourth. However, he bounced back with a hole-out birdie from a pot bunker on the par-3 14^th. His second birdie on the back nine came two holes later on the par-5 16^th. McIlroy will hope to turn things around in France for the Olympics before the FedEx Cup playoffs get underway.

Also read: Who were the 10 biggest players to watch at the Open Championship?

Xander Schauffele moved back to No. 2 in the world golf rankings as he won his second major in three major starts. In a week where the back nine was difficult, Schauffele made the only birdie on the par-4 11th in the final round. However, he had to hit his shot from the fescue from 173 yards out and was able to get it to two feet. That was part of stretch where he made four birdies in a six-hole stretch, including back-to-back on 13 and 14. He is the first player since Jordan Spieth in 2015 to win his first two career majors in the same calendar year. Schauffele now prepares to defend Olympic Gold Medal before the playoffs.

Also read: 10 best Open Championship performances of all-time

Scottie Scheffler remains in the top spot of the world golf rankings. Scheffler had the makings to win his first Claret Jug but stumbled with the putter all week long. That is what kept him from shooting any of the four rounds in the 60s. His irons helped him have one of the best shots of the tournament. At the long, par-3 17^th and after Si Woo Kim made a hole-in-one earlier in the third round, Scheffler was able to get his ball to within three feet. Scheffler also joins Schauffele, Morikawa and Clark as Team USA representatives for the Olympics in two weeks before the FedEx Cup playoffs begin.

Also read: Who has the major wins of all time and who are the current stars looking up to?