Only three males occupied the highest spot in the Official World Golf Rankings in 2022. Switching between a couple of stars, Rory McIlroy is the participant at present holding the place as he regained the title for the ninth time in his profession with a victory at The CJ Cup in South Carolina in October. Having relinquished it earlier than, and with the OWGR taking over a comparatively new form, will the Northern Irishman find a way to maintain on to the pole place for the whole thing of 2023, or will another person usurp him?
This prior yr started with Jon Rahm atop the golf world. Beginning his 2022 in spectacular style, Rahm completed runner-up on the Tournament of Champions and added one other podium end a couple of weeks later on the Farmers Insurance Open. Tacking on a top-10 end result on the WM Phoenix Open, it was that very occasion which kickstarted Scottie Scheffler’s march to the highest.
Beating Patrick Cantlay in a playoff in Phoenix, Scheffler went on to expertise a historic run in the spring that included a victory two weeks later on the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Making his method via the WGC Match Play, the Texan formally claimed the world No. 1 together with his victory in his collegiate yard of Austin, Texas.
Adding some respiration room between him and the remainder of skilled golf, Scheffler notched his first profession main championship at The Masters. Four wins in a six-week stretch cemented him because the best participant in the world. His standing would maintain regular with runner-up finishes on the U.S. Open and the Charles Schwab Challenge however started to present cracks in the latter levels of the summer season. Unable to convert his 54-hole lead on the Tour Championship into the FedEx Cup crown, Scheffler slowly noticed an object develop bigger in his rearview mirror. That object? Rory McIlroy.
His win at East Lake accompanied one other on the Canadian Open in addition to 4 top-10 finishes on the main championships. With his victory this previous fall in South Carolina, McIlroy accomplished his trek to the highest however almost gave it up through the winter months. Had Scheffler gained the Hero World Challenge, the place he in the end completed second, he would have momentarily regained what he had misplaced.
With such fluidity in the rankings, 2023 has the potential to see quite a few gamers make significant runs in the direction of world No. 1. Previous holders like Scheffler and Rahm pose important threats to McIlroy, as do Cantlay and Xander Schauffele. Will these closest to McIlroy chase him down or will an outsider related to Scheffler in 2022 make his mark?
Best potential paths to world No. 1
1. Patrick Cantlay (Current rank: 4)
He reached as excessive as world No. 3 a number of instances all through 2022 however was by no means in a position to crack inside the highest two. Cantlay is persistently among the many best gamers in the world, and it could be a change to the PGA Tour schedule which in the end propels him to new heights. Looking on the OWGR web site, there is just one participant inside the highest 50 (non-LIV division) who has lower than 40 official occasions contributing to their ranking, and that participant is Cantlay.
With all the highest gamers possible to play in 13 elevated occasions, 4 main championships and a handful of different tournaments, Cantlay’s typical schedule of roughly 20 tournaments a season might grow to be the brand new norm. If so, it can solely assist him as his recreation stays as sturdy as ever. Posting +2.08 strokes gained per around the final two years, some variance went towards him in 2022 as he misplaced in playoffs on the WM Phoenix Open and RBC Heritage and picked up runner-up finishes on the Rocket Mortgage Classic and Shriners Children’s Open. Cantlay is nice sufficient to submit a four-win season, and it would not shock me if does simply that in 2023.
2. Jon Rahm (5)
Beginning this previous yr as world No. 1, Rahm did all the suitable issues early on, and it appeared as if a repeat of his 2021 was on the horizon. Plans had been halted when he relinquished his No. 1 ranking on the WGC Match Play, and issues went from unhealthy to worse when he dropped out of the highest 5 in the world for the primary time in three years.
Rahm bounced again with three wins in his final 14 worldwide begins of 2022, and whereas he’s technically trending in the flawed route from a strokes-gained perspective (+2.41 SG per spherical in 2019, +2.40 in 2020, +2.37 in 2021 and +2.20 in 2022), this yr presents a primary bounce again spot. The Spaniard continues to be the best driver of the golf ball in the world, and over his final 5 measured tournaments he averaged +1.45 strokes gained placing per spherical. Unsustainable? Yes. But additionally doubtlessly an indication of issues to come.
3. Scottie Scheffler (2)
Well, he is the closest to McIlroy to start 2023 and almost leapfrogged him had it not been for Viktor Hovland on the Hero World Challenge. Regardless, Scheffler’s downturn in high quality after his red-hot spring was primarily a results of his quick recreation. With his putter letting him down extra instances than not, the 26-year-old was nonetheless in a position to contend frequently, thus displaying simply how robust the remainder of his recreation stays.
In his 16 begins since slipping on the inexperienced jacket at Augusta National, Scheffler has completed on the rostrum six instances together with runner-up finishes on the Charles Schwab Challenge, U.S. Open, Tour Championship and Hero World Challenge. During this stretch, Scheffler averaged -0.35 strokes gained placing per spherical, and whereas golf is hardly easy, a return to type on the greens in early 2023 might imply a return to world No. 1.
4. Xander Schauffele (6)
The method in which Schauffele’s friends gush about him and his recreation ought to maintain weight and in 2022, he lastly showcased what they have been preaching about for years. After squandering a 54-hole lead on the WM Phoenix Open for the second consecutive yr, Schauffele hit a lull with the low level coming in the type of a uncommon missed lower at The Masters.
Since the hiccup at Augusta National, Schauffele has rattled off three wins, 4 prime fives and 5 extra top-20 finishes in his final 13 tournaments. This is the consistency we should always count on to see from the 29-year-old — the consistency which allowed him to submit better than +2.10 strokes gained per spherical in 13 of his 22 begins in 2022. With consistency comes competition, and if the monkey is really off his again, the chance to attain world No. 1 will come for Schauffele.
5. Justin Thomas (8)
Ask your self this: Is there a participant who, when on, can get it fairly like JT? The reply is not any. The 15-time winner on the PGA Tour hasn’t racked up wins in bunches the final two seasons, however count on that to change in 2023. His final two victories are the 2021 Players Championship and the 2022 PGA Championship, and whereas spectacular, even Thomas understands that given his caliber, two wins a season needs to be the naked minimal.
Thomas’ three best strokes gained season had been 2020 (+2.27 SG per spherical; 3 wins), 2018 (+2.27 SG per spherical; 3 wins) and 2017 (+2.22 SG per spherical; 5 wins). In 2022, Thomas eeked his method nearer to the +2.20 vary and posted +2.02 strokes gained per spherical thanks in half to a stable placing marketing campaign. His usually robust iron play lagged ever so barely, and may it return to historic ranges, Thomas might reign atop the world for the third time in his profession.
6. Tony Finau (12)
You know who the Twelfth-ranked participant in the world was on the finish of 2021? Scottie Scheffler. It is actually throughout the realm of prospects that Finau might match such a breakout, particularly with the style in which he culminated his 2022. Winning 3 times in his final seven begins, Finau’s high quality shined via after a tough begin to his season that included zero top-10 finishes in his first 10 occasions.
He is the eldest identify on this checklist on the age of 33, however age is only a quantity; allow us to not neglect that Phil Mickelson did not win his first main championship till the age of 34. His rolling strokes gained averages present the potential for him to roll to the world No. 1. Over the final 12 months, he ranks tenth in complete strokes gained, fourth the final six months and fourth once more during the last three months with solely McIlroy, Cantlay and Rahm forward of him.
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