It’s abundantly clear that Scottie Scheffler is the perfect male golfer on this planet.
After that? You can also make an argument for a number of gamers however nobody stands out above the remaining.
Scheffler is the dominant prime canine amongst energetic gamers for all the things besides complete profession accomplishments. He simply received the Masters, was the primary to repeat as a Gamers champion and has been main Knowledge Golf’s Strokes Gained complete metric over the previous two and a half years.
We’re witnessing greatness with Scheffler, a participant who has a path to changing into the perfect since Tiger.
For those who had been to rank gamers since 2010, Scheffler wouldn’t be on the prime but—he wants extra main victories to get there—however he’s left little question about his No. 1 spot over the previous few years, together with 2024.
Who would you place behind Scheffler for the perfect participant? Not when it comes to total résumé however a mixture of present kind, main championship pedigree and complete ability/consistency.
I’ve a tough time choosing somebody. Listed here are the candidates:
Brooks Koepka
Professionals: Koepka has 5 majors—forward of all energetic gamers 40 or youthful—and has completed prime two within the majors 9 occasions since 2017. No different golfer has completed within the prime two greater than 4 occasions in that very same span.
Relating to peaking for the majors, Koepka has that canine in him. And say what you’ll about LIV’s exhibition format however Koepka has received 4 occasions on the circuit. The latest got here final week in Singapore, two weeks earlier than his PGA Championship title protection.
Cons: The stats paint a grim image of Koepka’s inconsistency. After the Masters, he momentarily fell to No. 70 within the Knowledge Golf rankings (he has since climbed again to No. 50). Relative to his friends, Koepka will not be particular in any explicit bodily ability. By the numbers, his kind is roughly on par with the injury-riddled 2022 season when he ejected from all 4 majors. In his final two majors, he didn’t end within the prime 40.
Koepka, now 34, has a feast-or-famine mentality. It’s tough to say he’s the No. 2 participant in all of golf when he has routinely completed exterior the highest 20 in LIV occasions with 54-man fields. And going again a few years, he was doing the identical factor in PGA Tour occasions.
Xander Schauffele
Professionals: So if Koepka is No. 50 within the Knowledge Golf rankings, who’s No. 2? It’s Schauffele, a human ATM with the very best ground amongst any golfer not named Scottie Scheffler. Schauffele is definitely gaining greater than two strokes per spherical towards the sector, resulting in seven top-10 finishes this season.
precisely what you’re getting with Schauffele. The final time he missed a lower was the 2022 Masters. He’s virtually a certain guess to hit the primary web page of the leaderboard in golf’s largest occasions. He has 12 top-10 finishes in majors over simply 27 appearances.
Cons: Schauffele is constant however he doesn’t win sufficient. He’s the antithesis of Koepka in that manner. His final victory got here within the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open, practically two years in the past.
For no matter motive, Schauffele doesn’t move the attention check when he’s in rivalry to win a serious or an enormous match. The Gamers Championship was an incredible instance—a few psychological errors down the stretch value him.
It’s laborious to make a convincing case that somebody who doesn’t constantly win tournaments must be thought of the second-best golfer within the recreation.
Rory McIlroy
Professionals: If it’s not the No. 2 golfer in Knowledge Golf, how in regards to the No. 2 participant within the Official World Golf Rating? Rory McIlroy is No. 2 within the OWGR and No. 4 in Knowledge Golf, making him an excellent candidate on paper. He simply received the Zurich Basic alongside teammate Shane Lowry and he additionally had a person triumph on the Dubai Desert Basic this yr. Just like Schauffele, McIlroy’s ground is absurdly excessive.
In contrast to Schauffele, McIlroy has an undeniably sturdy main file. Whereas his 4 victories got here from 2011-2014, he has 30 profession top-10 finishes—and 7 of them have come since 2022.
Cons: McIlroy has been simply OK (by his lofty requirements) in 2024, ending exterior the highest 20 in six of his eight solo Tour begins.
However the largest issue for me is that he doesn’t rise to the event in huge occasions. It’s been a decade since he received a serious and it does really feel like “his period” has handed to a sure diploma. He’s solely 35 and may have a extra possibilities to win one nevertheless it received’t be getting any simpler.
Jon Rahm
Professionals: The perfect reply to this query might be Rahm, regardless of his standing at No. 5 in each Knowledge Golf and the OWGR. Rahm has two main wins up to now 4 years and 12 top-10 finishes since 2018 so he checks off the current main success field. And regardless of a disappointing T45 on the Masters, Rahm is 7-for-7 in prime 10s on LIV since becoming a member of in December of final yr so present kind shouldn’t be a difficulty.
For those who return to 2023, Rahm received 4 occasions early within the yr and was aggressive in three of the 4 majors. It’s important to determine he might be concerned in no less than two of the following three majors, barring some psychological shift since his transfer to LIV.
Cons: I’m involved on the psychological facet. Rahm appeared uncharacteristically cagey on the Masters and I’m not ruling out that he could possibly be trending within the flawed path. He’s essentially the most intense competitor of anybody who has gone to LIV so taking part in exhibition golf full-time might impact him.
It’s nitpicking however Rahm additionally appears to toggle forwards and backwards between runs the place he’s both a world-beater or is ejecting from tournaments. He was exterior the highest 30 six occasions final yr on Tour. And in 2022, he solely had one Tour victory—towards a nasty area within the Mexico Open.
Wyndham Clark
Professionals: Wyndham Clark is No. 3 within the OWGR? I didn’t get that memo.
In case you are on the lookout for present kind, Clark has adopted up a breakout 2023 with a robust 2024. He received the AT&T Pebble Seaside Professional-Am and got here near successful the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Gamers Championship. A current top-five consequence on the RBC Heritage was a pleasant rebound from lacking the lower on the Masters.
It’s additionally key to notice Clark’s victory within the U.S. Open final yr. He has proven he can peak for the perfect tournaments.
Cons: It’s robust to substantiate whether or not Clark is simply on a heater or he’s certainly a world-class participant with endurance. His U.S. Open victory is his solely top-30 end in a serious and it’s been an all-or-nothing mentality this season—exterior of the 4 outcomes I discussed, he has no prime 25s in six begins.
He’s within the dialog nevertheless it’s laborious to place him forward of somebody like Rahm.
Ludvig Åberg
Professionals: We want a greater phrase than “meteoric rise” for Ludvig Åberg, who’s out of the blue No. 3 in Knowledge Golf.
If this query is barely about present kind proper now, how might you not go together with Åberg? He was runner-up on the Masters—his first main begin—and has 5 prime 10s in 2024. He additionally simply appears the half. Åberg is an unbelievable driver of the ball and his solely actual weak point is across the greens (No. 112 this season).
It is a future world No. 1 if Scheffler exhibits any indicators of being human.
Cons: The one actual con—aside from the aforementioned chipping struggles—is that we simply don’t have a lot knowledge on Åberg. We assume he can win huge tournaments however he solely has one Tour title.
He did flinch within the last spherical of the Masters as a poor second shot on No. 11 value him any probability of catching Scheffler, who in all probability wasn’t going to be caught anyway. That second apart, he appears able to win a serious.
My Ultimate Rankings
Given standards of present kind plus current main file plus total consistency, I’d have my participant rankings appear to be this:
- Scottie Scheffler
- Jon Rahm
- Ludvig Åberg
- Brooks Koepka
- Wyndham Clark
- Rory McIlroy
- Xander Schauffele
That is an unscientific record, nevertheless it’s form of a belief index heading into the PGA Championship.
I’m banking on Rahm getting again into rivalry throughout the main season. He’s too good.
On the similar time, I’m bullish on Åberg to proceed his torrid tempo. I belief him barely greater than Koepka, simply based mostly on pure expertise stage and consistency. And, regardless of his LIV victory, I’m nonetheless a tinge involved after Koepka had a tricky Masters. His main file does lots of heavy lifting right here and justifiably so.
I feel Clark might simply bag one other main and I’ve extra confidence in him to take action than McIlroy or Schauffele. Though, sarcastically, I feel a McIlroy or Schauffele top-10 end is a safer guess than Clark doing so.
Do you agree or disagree? Are there different gamers who must be thought of?
Let me know beneath within the feedback.
The submit Who Is Golf’s Second-Finest Participant? It’s Open For Debate appeared first on MyGolfSpy.
