Ranking the top 25 players on PGA Tour ahead of final major

Three down. One to go.

The Open Championship, the final major of the men’s professional golf season, is two weeks away, July 17-20 at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Portrush, Northern Ireland.

This week’s John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois, and the Genesis Scottish Open in North Berwick, Scotland, are up first, and many of the world’s best golfers are making the trip overseas a week early to get a taste of links golf.

Can world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler win the third leg of the career grand slam? Can reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy exorcise his demons from six years ago, when he missed the cut at The Open at Royal Portrush? Can defending Open Championship winner Xander Schauffele find his form?

With the FedEx Cup playoffs looming and the Ryder Cup right around the corner, there aren’t many chances left for golfers to impress U.S. captain Keegan Bradley and European captain Luke Donald.

Here are the latest PGA Tour Power Rankings.

1. Scottie Scheffler

Scheffler took a couple of weeks off before heading across the pond for the Genesis Scottish Open and The Open. Remarkably, Scheffler hasn’t finished outside the top 25 in 14 starts on tour this season — he was in the top eight in each of his past nine, including victories at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, PGA Championship and the Memorial Tournament. He tied for third at 10 under in his last start at the Renaissance Club in 2023, five strokes behind McIlroy.

2. Rory McIlroy

Maybe a few weeks in the United Kingdom will help McIlroy climb out of his post-Masters funk. He planned to spend some time with his family at this new home in London before playing an important two-week stretch of golf. He captured the 2023 Genesis Scottish Open with a thrilling one-stroke victory over Robert MacIntyre. McIlroy tied for fourth last season, four strokes behind MacIntyre.

The 36-year-old is playing some of the best golf of his career with eight top-10 finishes in 14 starts on tour. He collected his fifth PGA Tour victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March and nearly won again at the Travelers Championship. Henley was solo fifth at last year’s Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland, his best finish in that major.

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The surprising U.S. Open winner followed up that performance with a tie for 14th at the Travelers Championship. He was a two-time runner-up earlier this season at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches and the Players Championship, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him finish first again. Spaun is up to third in the U.S. Ryder Cup team points standings, behind only Scheffler and Schauffele, and he seems to be a near-lock to make the squad.

Straka, who was born in Austria, has already won twice on the PGA Tour this season, at the American Express and Truist Championship. Surprisingly, he missed the cut in each of the first three majors, but has otherwise played spectacular golf. He’s sixth in the European Ryder Cup team standings, but would seem to be one of Donald’s six captain’s choices even if he falls below the cut line. A good finish in The Open would salvage the major season for Straka, who tied for second at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in England in 2023.

JT’s performance in the first three majors — tying for 36th at the Masters and missing the cut at the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open — sullies what has been a nice turnaround season. He ended a nearly three-year drought without a victory by taking the RBC Heritage in a playoff, and he was runner-up in the American Express, Valspar Championship and Truist Championship. There won’t be any second-guessing if he makes the U.S. Ryder Cup team.

7. Keegan Bradley

“Captain America” previously said he would play in the upcoming Ryder Cup only if he automatically qualified for the U.S. squad. He’s ninth in points after winning the Travelers Championshipwhich came after a tie for eighth at the PGA Championship and for seventh at the Memorial. Now ranked seventh in the Official World Golf Ranking, Bradley is clearly playing like one of the top 12 American golfers. Depending on what happens over the next seven weeks, Bradley might not have a choice but to pick himself.

Griffin’s heater has turned into a red-hot summer. Now ranked 17th in the world, Griffin teamed up with Andrew Novak to capture the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event and then won his first stroke-play title on tour at the Charles Schwab Challenge. He had two top-10 finishes in majors, tying for eighth at the PGA Championship and 10th at the U.S. Open. Griffin also was runner-up at the Memorial against a loaded field. He’s eighth in Ryder Cup points and might have to collapse down the stretch to be left off the roster.

The past couple of months were a little rough for the two-time major champion, but he turned things around with a tie for eighth at the Rocket Classic. Although Morikawa hasn’t won since the Zozo Championship in October 2023, he was a two-time runner-up this season and has 10 top-25s in 14 starts. He’s in the market for a caddie for the second time this season after parting ways with Joe Greiner before the Rocket Classic. He didn’t say who would carry his bag for The Open.

10. Xander Schauffele

The reigning Open Championship winner gets a mulligan for a so-so summer after missing about two months with a rib injury. He performed pretty well in the majors — tied for eighth at the Masters, 28th at the PGA Championship and 12th at the U.S. Open. He has one top-10 finish in 11 starts on tour and six top-25s. Schauffele seems close to finding his form, and he’s still second in Ryder Cup points after winning two majors in 2024.

Another heart-breaking miss at the Travelers Championship left the English golfer still searching for his first PGA Tour victory. He has played like one of the best in the world this year with five top-10s and 11 top-25s in 14 starts on tour. He’s second in the European Ryder Cup points standings, behind only McIlroy. He’s third in strokes gained: total (1.414) and ninth in approach (.622).

English has played very well this season, especially in the tour’s biggest events. He picked up his fifth PGA Tour victory at the Farmers Insurance Open and tied for second in the PGA Championship. He also had top-25 finishes in the Genesis Invitational, Truist Championship, Memorial Tournament and Travelers Championship. He’s 10th in Ryder Cup points, and his putting prowess figures to get him in the mix to make the U.S. team.

Hovland’s swing continues to be a work in progress, but he won the Valspar Championship earlier this season and was solo third at the U.S. Open. He withdrew from the final round of the Travelers Championship because of a neck injury, one day after carding a 7-under 63. Hovland is in the field for the Scottish Open.

The 29-year-old former Stanford star might need a good finish in the FedEx Cup season to secure his first spot on a Ryder Cup team. After capturing his first PGA Tour win at the RSM Classic in November, he was runner-up at the Genesis Invitational and had top-five finishes at the Valero Texas Open, RBC Heritage and the Memorial. He finished outside the top 30 in each of the first three majors.

It has been a surprisingly inconsistent FedEx Cup season for the Swedish golfer. After winning for the second time on tour at the Genesis Invitational and finishing seventh at the Masters, Åberg hasn’t had a top-10 finish in his past seven starts. While Åberg has been efficient off the tee, he ranks 147th on tour in strokes gained: around the green (-.255) and 125th in putting (-.141).

The Irish golfer probably needed a break after missing the cut at the U.S. Open and tying for 45th at the Travelers Championship. His iron play has been spectacular this season; he’s ranked second in strokes gained: approach (.932). His work on the greens? Yeah, not so much, as he’s 122nd in strokes gained: putting (-.138). He’s heading back to his happy place, including Royal Portrush Golf Club, where he hoisted a Claret Jug in 2019.

17. Andrew Novak

After a sizzling stretch that saw Novak tie for third at the Texas Open, fall to Thomas in a playoff in the RBC Heritage and win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with Griffin, he cooled off a bit the past couple of months. He tied for 17th at the Truist Championship and for 11th at the Charles Schwab Challenge, so the game’s still there.

Conners was playing very well until a wrist injury forced him to withdraw before the final round of the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club outside Pittsburgh. He hasn’t appeared in a PGA Tour event since then. Before that, Conners had five top-10s and 10 top-25s in 16 starts on tour.

Harman, the 2023 Open Championship winner, could use another hot stretch to crack the top six of the U.S. Ryder Cup points standings — or to at least make Bradley’s captain’s choices more difficult. He’s currently 12th after winning the Valero Texas Open and tying for third at the RBC Heritage. Harman was solo eighth at the Travelers Championship, a sign his form might be back.

20. Robert MacIntyre

MacIntyre has been heating up again — he was solo second in the U.S. Open and tied for 17th at the Travelers Championship. Now, the Scottish golfer gets to return home for the Scottish Open, where he’s the defending champion and runner-up in 2023. He tied for sixth in the 2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush as a 22-year-old.

Burns’ late struggles in difficult conditions on the back nine of the final round of the U.S. Open overshadowed his spectacular performance at Oakmont. His game had been trending in the right direction for weeks. He lost to Ryan Fox in a playoff at the RBC Canadian Open and tied for seventh at the U.S. Open. He has four top-10s and 10 top-25s in 18 starts on tour.

It’s hard to imagine that Cantlay won’t be on the U.S. Ryder Cup team, but he has to do something — anything — to strengthen his argument for inclusion. Cantlay’s tie for fourth at the Truist Championship was his only top-10 since mid-February. His ball-striking statistics suggest he should be better; he’s 10th in approach (.598), eighth tee to green (1.028) and 12th total (1.122).

23. Ryan Fox

After taking his first PGA Tour victory in a playoff at the OneFlight Myrtle Beach Classic, Fox didn’t have to wait long for his second. He won another playoff at the RBC Canadian Open to finish first twice in four starts. He has climbed to 29th in the Official World Golf Ranking.

When the former Masters champion took the season-opening Sentry in Hawai’i in January, it seemed like he was ready to take off again. Surprisingly, it is his only top-10 finish in 17 starts on tour this season. He tied for 21st at Augusta National, missed the cut in the PGA Championship and tied for 42nd in the U.S. Open. Matsuyama’s problems have been with his driver — he ranks 128th in strokes gained: off the tee (-.166) and 127th in driving accuracy (56.2% of fairways hit).

Berger looked like a serious contender for the Ryder Cup team, but he needs to turn around his form after a sluggish stretch in which he missed two cuts and tied for 46th in the U.S. Open and for 42nd in the Travelers Championship. He’s 18th in the Ryder Cup points standings.

Just missed the cut: Sungjae in, Nick Taylor, Jason Day, Thomas Detry, Aldrich Potgieter, Cameron Young, Michael Kim, Jacob Bridgeman