All of the best players competed in the second men’s professional golf major championship of the season last week, impacting the world golf rankings.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler won the PGA Championship for his third major victory. He joined Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players since World War II to record three major victories and 15 PGA Tour wins before turning 29 years old.
Let’s examine Scheffler and the rest of the top 10 in this week’s world golf rankings.
1. Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler took a commanding lead on the back nine, leading to his five-shot win. Since 1985, he joined Woods as the only PGA Tour players to win consecutive starts by five or more strokes. (Woods accomplished that feat twice in 2000 and 2007.) This comes after Scheffler dominated the field at The CJ Cup Byron Nelson a few weeks ago in his home state of Texas. The five-stroke victory also tied the largest margin at a PGA Championship since 2012 when Rory McIlroy won by the same margin.
Related: PGA Championship 2025: Winners and losers as Scottie Scheffler hoists the Wanamaker Trophy
2. Rory McIlroy
Fresh off achieving the career grand slam last month at the Masters, McIlroy remains at No. 2 this week. Despite struggles and a weather delay that pushed his Saturday start time back, McIlroy rebounded to finish tied for 47th at 3-over par. His three wins earlier in the season secure his position as second in the world golf rankings.
Also read: PGA Grand slam winners: Rory McIlroy joins exclusive club with 2025 Masters win
3. Xander Schauffele
Like McIlroy, Xander Schauffele struggled early before finishing strong. The reigning champion shot 3-under 68 Sunday for a T-28 finish at 1-under par for the tournament after making the cut on the number at one-over par. Schauffele now has 64 consecutive made cuts, a streak dating back to the 2022 Masters, marking the longest active streak. He also has 12 straight top-20 finishes at major championships, also dating back to the 2022 Masters.
4. Collin Morikawa
The 2020 PGA Championship winner had a difficult week, despite maintaining his No. 4 ranking. Although he made the cut, Collin Morikawa was unable to contend, playing from behind like Schauffele and McIlroy. He finished at 4-over par but had a memorable social media moment. During the awards presentation, as Scheffler raised the Wanamaker Trophy, the top came off — just as it did for Morikawa five years ago. Morikawa reposted Golf on CBS’ X post about the trophy mishap saying, “Yes. Yes it does.”
5. Justin Thomas
Despite his strong play this season, Justin Thomas hit a setback at the PGA Championship. He missed the cut after the second round by two strokes, shooting 4-over through the first six holes on Thursday. This forced him to play catch-up the rest of the way. The blemish aside, Thomas has built considerable momentum recently, finishing as runner-up at the Truist Championship before winning the RBC Heritage in a playoff.
Related: List of PGA Championship winners: Every champion from 1916 to present
6. Ludvig Aberg
Like Thomas, Ludvig Aberg also missed the cut by two strokes at 3-over par. His second round proved costly for the Swede. Aberg shot 40 on the back nine to begin his day, including a bogey and two double bogeys on the final three holes. He then shot even par on the front nine. Coming off his top-10 finish at the Masters, Aberg has struggled with a T54 and T60 in his two starts leading up to the PGA Championship.
7. Hideki Matsuyama
Hideki Matsuyama surprisingly struggled this past week, despite maintaining his No. 7 ranking. For the first time in the last 19 major championships, he failed to make the weekend cut. Matsuyama couldn’t create scoring opportunities on Friday, opening with a birdie but then shooting 3-over the rest of the way with 14 pars, including eight on his second nine holes.
8. Russell Henley
Russell Henley remains at No. 8 this week even after missing the cut. The Arnold Palmer Invitational winner from February has now missed two cuts since that victory, including this past week. Several top-ranked players struggled with the pressure of the major championship, and Henley was no exception.
9. Sepp Straka
Sepp Straka holds steady at No. 9 in this week’s rankings. He entered the PGA Championship with momentum after winning the Truist Championship the previous week — his second victory this season — placing him at No. 3 in the FedEx Cup standings. Like Thomas, this week was merely a bump in the road as he missed the cut by one stroke.
10. Bryson DeChambeau
Bryson DeChambeau made the biggest move in this week’s rankings, climbing five spots to return to the top 10 following his runner-up finish. This marks his fifth top-six finish at a major championship in the last six majors. DeChambeau joins Scheffler as the only players to finish inside the top five at both the Masters and the PGA Championship this year.
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