World Golf Rankings: Breaking down this week’s top 15 heading into the third major of 2024

Keegan Bradley drops one spot to No. 15 this week. Keegan Bradley, who won the 2011 PGA Championship and is just one of four golfers to win a major championship in his debut, struggled a bit on a tough Muirfield Village course at the Memorial, like most of the field. Despite shooting 5-under through 36 holes, the struggles came on the weekednd, going 78-80 and finishing tied for 43^rd as he now prepares for his 12^th U.S. Open and looking for his best finish since his T7 two years ago.

Also read: 2024 U.S. Open FAQ: Who, When and Much More

Moving up one spot from last week is Hideki Matsuyama. To put in perspective of how difficult the Memorial Tournament was, of the 52 players who made the cut, only 11 golfers played all four rounds under par. One of those players was Matsuyama, who shot the third-best round in Sunday’s final round at 2-under par to get to 1-under par for the tournament. He now prepares for his 11^th U.S. Open where he is looking for his second major win and first U.S. Open title.

Tommy Fleetwood drops one spot to No. 13 this week. Fleetwood, who did not play the Memorial Tournament to increase his preparation time for the U.S. Open, is making his eighth start and looking for his second straight and fourth U.S. Open top 10 after last year’s fifth-place finish in Los Angeles. Fleetwood also finished fourth in 2017 and second in 2018.

Brian Harman also moved down one spot this week to No. 12. Harman, who had 77s to bookend his start at the Memorial, is looking to use that difficulty as motivation for the U.S. Open as he is one major tournament away from competing as the defending champion at next month’s Open Championship at Royal Troon.

Related: Top takeaways from the 2023 Open Championship, including Brian Harman hoisting the Claret Jug

Sahith Theegala makes the biggest jump inside the top 15, rising two spots to No. 11, which is his career-best spot in the world golf rankings. In addition to there being 11 players shooting under par at the Memorial, Theegala was one of 14 players to shoot even par or better through 72 holes at Muirfield Village. Theegala, who was in contention at last month’s PGA Championship, is looking to ride that momentum into the U.S. Open, in hopes of his second top 10 at a major.  

The No. 10 spot in this week’s world golf rankings belongs to Max Homa, who has remained in that spot from a week ago. After placing third at the Masters two months ago, Homa is looking turn his T35 from the PGA Championship into a better finish at the U.S. Open. The 33-year-old’s best finish at a U.S. Open is T47 in 2022 in his only made cut in four starts. His two other top 10s this season have come at Signature Events in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Wells Fargo Championship.

Patrick Cantlay remained at the No. 9 spot this week. Cantlay is coming off his first missed cut of the season at the Memorial. The challenge at Muirfield Village is a solid pre-test before the U.S. Open to save par, take advantage of the scorable hole and avoid mistakes. In Cantlay’s 12 made cuts this season, he has two top 10s as well as four other top-25 finishes entering the U.S. Open.

Jon Rahm drops to No. 8 in the world golf rankings and that might be the least of his worries. During LIV Golf’s event in Houston this past weekend, he withdrew due to injury in the second round. On the par-3 seventh on Friday, immediately after taking his tee shot, Rahm started grimacing. The injury is in his foot, which is a huge factor in having to walk 72 holes on top of having the pressure at a U.S. Open where he has had dismal major performances with a T45 at the Masters and a missed cut at the PGA Championship this year.

Collin Morikawa rises one spot to No. 7 this week. Morikawa has been playing solid golf as he finished one stroke behind and was the runner-up at the Memorial. At Muirfield Village, Morikawa had two separate rounds of 4-under 68 on Thursday and Saturday but a 2-over 74 Friday pushed him back a couple steps before fighting for a 1-under 71 and a 44-foot birdie putt on the 72^nd hole to force a playoff on Sunday. His six top 10s this season, highlighted by his T3 at the Masters as well as three straight top 10s have him in the right spot to win the third leg of the career Grand Slam.  

Also read: Who has the most major titles of all time and who has the career Grand Slam?

Ludvig Aberg, as well as the rest of the spots in the top six, remain unchanged. Aberg finished T5 at 2-under par this past week as he makes his U.S. Open debut at Pinehurst No. 2. Despite missing the cut at the PGA Championship last month, he was the runner-up at the Masters and like Morikawa, has that momentum heading into the third major of the season.

Viktor Hovland found something at the PGA Championship and has been looking to continue that heading into the U.S. Open. Hovland finished T15 this past week at Muirfield Village, coming off a third-place finish at the PGA Championship last month. The reigning FedEx Cup Champion is looking to have the positive memories that last summer brought, now looking to win his first major title.

Wyndham Clark missed the cut at the Memorial by one stroke. However, he now goes to a tournament (but a different course) where he has success, as the reigning U.S. Open Champion. Thus far, it has been a season of highs and lows for Clark, from winning at Pebble Beach to having a three-tournament stretch of T47 and a couple of missed cuts. He looks to turn that around and play like his T3 performance at the RBC Heritage, his most recent start before the struggles.

Where: Wyndham Clark on the list of U.S. Open Champions dating back to the inaugural event in 1895

Rory McIlroy enters the U.S. Open still looking for that first major title in 10 years. McIlroy, who has four consecutive top 10s at the U.S. Open, came one stroke close to hoisting his second U.S. Open Trophy but lost to Clark last year in Los Angeles. The 2011 U.S. Open Champion is looking to have a solid week, hoping for his third win of the season and fourth worldwide.

Xander Schauffele is the reigning major champion following his victory at the PGA Championship last month. Schauffle is trying to become the first player to go back-to-back at major championships since 2018 when Brooks Koepka won the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open. The U.S. Open resume is strong for Schauffele, who has made the top 15 in each of his first seven starts and is the first player to accomplish that feat since Nicklaus had 12 straight top 15s from 1971-82.

Related: Winners and losers from the 2024 PGA Championship, including Xander Schauffele hoisting his first major trophy

Even when it looked like Scottie Scheffler’s arrest during the PGA Championship was going to be the end of a historic start to the 2024 PGA Tour season, Scheffler put those thoughts to bed with a victory at the Memorial Tournament this past week at a difficult Muirfield Village course. With the win, Scheffler has five victories in 2024 and joins Tiger Woods in 2001 to win the Masters, the Players Championship, and the Memorial all in the same year. Furthermore, Scheffler is the first player to win at least five events in a season before the U.S. Open since Arnold Palmer in 1962.