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The top 100 players on the PGA Tour, ranked

How did the PGA Tour's best players spend their "winter breaks?" Relaxing? Working on their games? A little of both? These are the questions we'll be asking beginning at this week's Sentry Tournament of Champions, as the tour resumes the 2021-22 season in Maui. Ahead of that, our Golf Digest staff spent its winter break coming up with our second annual ranking of the top 100 players on tour. To gather our list, we looked through the prism of what we expect from players in 2022 while acknowledging their form and feats from the recent past. Below is our collective answer.

For clarification, this list is specific to those who play on the PGA Tour. This is why you won’t see players like Victor Perez or Min Woo Lee, both fine talents who spend most of their time on the the European Tour. Obviously a handful of players compete on multiple circuits; we judged these jump balls as best we could.

Here then are the top 100 players on the PGA Tour, from No. 100 to the top spot.

100. Andrew Landry

Age: 34 / owgr (as of jan. 3, 2022): 187 / ’22 fedex cup (entering sentry toc): 40.

Landry came out on the business end of the 2020-21 “super season,” missing the cut in half of his starts and turning in a lone top-25 finish. Four MCs in six fall starts doesn’t look much better. But top-10s in those two made cuts this past autumn (T-4 at Sanderson Farms, T-7 at Mayakoba) give hope that a turnaround is ‘round the corner. — Joel Beall

99. Taylor Pendrith

Age: 30 / owgr: 229 / ’22 fedex cup: 47.

Canadian rookie has one of the most impressive moves you’ll see anywhere—think Matthew Wolff meets Jim Furyk, with 190-mph ball speed. There’s a good chance he finishes top five in driving distance when the dust settles. —Dan Rapaport

98. Jason Day

Age: 34 / owgr: 126 / ’22 fedex cup: 196.

It seems like eons since the talented but injury-prone Aussie was one of the most dominant players in golf. Coming off his worst season since 2012, when he hadn’t yet fully rounded into the form that made him a force in 2015-16, Day appears at a crossroads at age 34. Just four top-10s dotted an unremarkable season that saw him fail to reach the second round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs for the first time. He has fallen out of the top 100 in the world, and most of his struggles appear to be with his usually reliable putting, where he dropped to 95th in strokes gained. His tee-to-green game (37th SG) still shines, so there is something to build on. Or rebuild on. —Dave Shedloski

MORE: How Jason Day is rediscovering his game with an assist from a 9-year-old

97. Denny McCarthy

Age: 28 / owgr: 180 / ’22 fedex cup: 30.

If one man could ever disprove the old adage, “You drive for show and you putt for dough,” it’s this guy. McCarthy has twice led the PGA Tour in strokes gained/putting, yet he’s still searching for his maiden victory. That being said, he’s made some decent dough with $4.3 million in earnings in four seasons, and he’s started this campaign by making more with four consecutive made cuts. —Alex Myers

96. Hudson Swafford

Age: 34 / owgr: 163 / ’22 fedex cup: 118.

It's extremely difficult to bring up Swafford without noting his eerie physical similarity to college teammate Harris English, and we'll be the latest to fail. To his credit, he takes it in stride, and plods steadily along in a career that reads as "journeyman" on the surface, but does include two tour wins, including his latest in September 2020 in the Dominican Republic. It's a fact of life that Swafford is going to miss cuts, but as he proved last season, he can miss a bunch (17) and still post a high FedEx Cup finishing position (36th). — Shane Ryan

Jared C. Tilton

95. Adam Schenk

Age: 29 / owgr: 156 / ’22 fedex cup: 37.

The man with the most unfortunate name in golf hit anything but a shank over the last eight months. Since the RBC Heritage, Schenk has finished T-18 or better five times, including three inside the top four. Should he keep it rolling into 2022, there are ample low-key, early-season events for the former Purdue Boilermaker to pick off a maiden win. —Christopher Powers

94. Adam Hadwin

Age: 34 / owgr: 150 / ’22 fedex cup: 126.

The streaky Canadian—he missed three straight cuts during three stretches in 2021—can put it all together at times. Hadwin had three top-eights last season but the short hitter rarely produces a charge on the weekend. He averaged 70.38 on both Saturday and Sunday—91st for both days on tour. —Tod Leonard

MORE: Complete top 25 of Golf Digest’s Newsmakers of 2021

93. Luke List

Age: 36 / owgr: 152 / ’22 fedex cup: 28.

List is the only player from the last decade to have led the tour in driving distance for the year and never won on tour. Most other to lead in distance, like Bubba, Bryson, DJ, and Rory, also have majors. List can hammer the ball, and his tee-to-green numbers will always be elite with that asset. But his putting has been historically poor—if you look at one of those Data Golf charts measuring five skills, the shape List delivers is more of the rare triangle than some form of pentagon. But hey, you just need one hot week with the putter and you can pull the Cameron Champ and pick off a win or two. —Brendan Porath

92. Henrik Norlander

Age: 34 / owgr: 162 / ’22 fedex cup: 49.

The Swede finished fourth at Sanderson Farms in the fall, spurred by a final-round 64. Though he turned pro in 2011 after helping lead Augusta State to back-to-back NCAA team titles, this is just Norlander’s fifth season on the PGA Tour, alternating between the Korn Ferry and Challenge Tours in between. His strength is his iron play: Norlander ranked 27th last season on tour in strokes gained/approach. — Stephen Hennessey

91. Robert Streb

Age: 34 / owgr: 120 / ’22 fedex cup: 45.

After winning the 2020 RSM Classic, Streb played 23 events the rest of the 2020-21 season and missed more cuts than he made (12 to 11) with just three top-20 finishes. The fall was better, though, with two top-10s, and having a card through 2023 means he doesn’t have to sweat things out this season. That has to be somewhat liberating after finishing outside the top 125 in 2018, 2019 and 2020. —Ryan Herrington

90. Troy Merritt

Age: 36 / owgr: 106 / ’22 fedex cup: 52.

When you hear discussions about how the tour is looking out for its rank-and-file members, Merritt is the player they’re talking about. He’s proven he can win (he’s done it twice), made more than $11 million and has played well enough to keep his card for nine straight seasons. Yet for as consistent a career as that is, he’s never gotten to the Tour Championship. Can 2022 be different? Perhaps … he finished the fall ranked 14th in SG/approach the green and 34th total, which rank as career bests if extended through an entire season. —R.H.

89. Aaron Rai

Age: 26 / owgr: 100 / ’22 fedex cup: 59.

Perhaps known best by American golf fans for his iron headcovers, Rai made a name for himself in the U.S. in 2021, nearly winning on the Korn Ferry Tour in his first start. It was a painful runner-up finish—needing just an up-and-down to secure victory he instead took four strokes, missing a playoff—but the KFT result in Boise secured his PGA Tour card for this season. The Englishman missed his first three cuts on the PGA Tour but finished the year with three consecutive top-20s. — S.H.

Steve Dykes

MORE: This pro’s reason for using iron headcovers will make you feel pretty bad about making fun of him

88. Brendan Steele

Age: 38 / owgr: 101 / ’22 fedex cup: 20.

The Sultan of the Safeway Open had a “down” 2021, if you consider it purely on FEC finish, which was 105th. But he still made almost $1.4 million, so he was making cuts and cashing checks, which he’s done all his career. Steele has the length to hang on the modern tour, and he’ll pick and choose his venues where he knows he can pop after several years on the circuit. —B.P.

87. Davis Riley

Age: 25 / owgr: 362 / ’22 fedex cup: 111.

Cruelly, the former Alabama star was third on the Korn Ferry points list in 2020, but didn’t get promoted when the season was extended due to the pandemic. Riley forged on with seven top-10s, including two wins, that got eventually got him onto the PGA Tour for 2021-22. The new season has been a rollercoaster—four missed cuts, countered by a T-7 in Bermuda. The flat stick in a hinderance: Riley is 131st in SG/putting. —T.L.

86. Chris Kirk

Age: 36 / owgr: 96 / ’22 fedex cup: 97.

Between 2011 and 2015, Kirk ripped off four wins and earned a spot on the 2015 U.S. Presidents Cup team. The six years that followed were tough both on and off the course for Kirk, who opened up about his battle with alcoholism in 2019. Since then he’s found his golf game again, winning a Korn Ferry Tour event in 2020 and collecting eight top-16 finishes on the PGA Tour in 2021. Perhaps 2022 is the year he ends what is now a six-plus-year victory drought. —C.P.

85. Lanto Griffin

Age: 33 / owgr: 111 / '22 fedex cup: 42.

We haven't fully checked the record books, but it seems likely that Griffin is the one-and-only PGA Tour winner to be named by his hippie parents after a spiritual master (in this case, "Lord Lanto, a Chohan of the Second Ray of Illumination"). It took him years to reach the PGA Tour, but a win at the 2019 Houston Open gave him serious traction, and after holding on to the top 100 last season, he's off to a big start with two top-10s in the fall. And fun fact: Thanks to those hippie parents, Griffin has never eaten red meat. —S.R.

MORE: Lanto Griffin—from broke to the PGA Tour in five months

84. Matt Kuchar

Age: 43 / owgr: 116 / ’22 fedex cup: 91.

One of the game’s top earners for more than a decade, Kuchar has cooled down with only one top-10 in each of the past two seasons. The nine-time tour winner was always able to get around a lack of distance, but that’s getting harder to do these days—especially with an eroding iron game. Kuchar ranked 108th and 98th in SG/approach the past two seasons, and is currently 184th. —A.M.

Alex Goodlett

MORE: Even Matt Kuchar is chasing speed with his swing

83. Bubba Watson

Age: 43 / owgr: 85 / ’22 fedex cup: nr.

Because he remains one of the longest hitters, and because he can create shots, and because he puts himself out there with genuine emotion, Watson still is a compelling and competitive presence on the PGA Tour. To return to legitimate threat, the lithe left-hander needs to shake off that middle-aged putting stroke, because being 149th in SG/putting (minus-.210) last season nullified an encouraging 36th position in SG/tee to green (plus-.751)—which explains his paltry 3.59 birdie average. And though he had just five top-10 finishes in 22 events, he only missed four cuts (plus one WD), and he qualified for the playoffs for the 15th time, one of just six players with perfect attendance in the FedEx Cup era. Watson and longtime caddie Ted Scott have split amicably, but maybe a new voice will get him to a 13th career win. —D.S.

MORE: In new book, Bubba opens up about the struggles he kept to himself

82. Adam Long

Age: 29 / owgr: 143 / ’22 fedex cup: 36.

Started this wrap-around season with four straight top-25 finishes to set himself up nicely in the FedEx Cup race. Don’t let the name fool you—he ranked only 88th in driving distance last season. —D.R.

81. Jhonattan Vegas

Age: 37 / owgr: 82 / ’22 fedex cup: 56.

Vegas enjoyed a career revival in 2020-21 thanks to three runner-up finishes, a performance he carried over into the fall (fifth in SG/off-the-tee, 17th in SG/tee-to-green). That this is a Presidents Cup year should provide extra incentive for Vegas. The International team has depth for the first time in, well, forever, yet most of those names are young and unproven. Vegas—who won his singles match at the 2017 Presidents Cup—will be 38 when the biennial match kicks off at Quail Hollow, and would give captain Trevor Immelman a steady, likeable veteran presence on the squad. —J.B.

Mike Ehrmann

80. Pat Perez

Age: 45 / owgr: 280 / ’22 fedex cup: 192.

Perez has historically used the fall to jumpstart his seasons, but this autumn was none too kind (five starts, three missed cuts, a WD and a T-44). Turning 46 in March, it’s fair to wonder how much gas Perez has left in the tank. Yet the man has been a model of consistency, missing the playoffs just once in its 15-year existence … and that once was due to an injury that sidelined him for seven months in 2016. The 2021 super season was another solid campaign for Perez, making the cut in 21 of 32 starts and finishing 53rd in strokes gained. He’ll need the West Coast Swing to right his wrongs, but it’s a safe bet to see Perez once again come playoff time. —J.B.

79. Emiliano Grillo

Age: 29 / owgr: 92 / ’22 fedex cup: 114.

Sometimes, the PGA Tour rookie of the year award is a harbinger of greatness. For Grillo, the 2016 winner, it hasn’t quite turned out that way, though he remains a terrific ball-striker who’s seen success in weaker-field events. —D.R.

78. Joel Dahmen

Age: 34 / owgr: 93 / ’22 fedex cup: 46.

A season with three top-10s doesn’t sound all that great, except that when one of them is your first PGA Tour win in your 12th year as a professional, it’s everything. So Dahmen, winner in the Dominican Republic, has that going for him, which is … well, you know … nice. One of the shorter drivers of the ball, Dahmen has to do other things well. Hitting fairways is one where he did fine (ranked 22nd). Getting to the greens and then operating on them, not so much, and on that last item, the 34-year-old Washington native gave up way too much ground at 164th SG/putting (minus-.344). —D.S.

Kevin C. Cox

MORE: How Joel Dahmen got his mind right before his first PGA Tour win

77. Lee Westwood

Age: 48 / owgr: 37 / ’22 fedex cup: nr.

Oh, what could have been in 2021 as Westwood played his way into the final pairing in back-to-back events (Bay Hill and the Players) before finishing runner-up in both. Sadly, reminiscent of his long list of close calls in majors throughout his career. Westy’s OWGR remains rather lofty based on those two finishes as well as winning the 2020 Race to Dubai title on the European Tour, but a T-21 as his best performance since March indicates he’s headed on a different trajectory now as he closes in on his 49th birthday in April. —A.M.

76. Cameron Young

Age: 24 / owgr: 135 / ’22 fedex cup: 26.

Search for Cameron Young on Wikipedia, and the first hit is a G-League NBA player; check the World Ranking, and Young is the fifth-most famous Cameron, after Smith, Tringale, Davis and Champ. And yet the Wake Forest grad is brimming with raw potential, and even more importantly, he's a winner: He earned his card on the strength of back-to-back wins on the Korn Ferry Tour last season, and though he ran hot-and-cold the rest of the season, he nearly won his second PGA Tour event at Sanderson Farms. The son of the head pro at Sleepy Hollow Country Club, Young is still untested, but he has a nose for trophies. —S.R.

MORE: 7 unsung heroes of the PGA Tour fall season

75. Sahith Theegala

Age: 24 / owgr: 382 / ’22 fedex cup: 85.

Theegala is not yet on the level of some of the other studs in his age group, but his appearance in this ranking is a prediction that he will be soon. He didn’t rewrite the Korn Ferry Tour history books in the 2020-21 season, but his consecutive top-six finishes in the final two KFT Finals events saw him earn his PGA Tour card for the 2021-22 season. There will be growing pains, no doubt, but we’re betting on the crazy-talented 24-year-old from Pepperdine to introduce himself to the casual golf fan in a big way in 2022. —C.P.

Sam Greenwood

74. Cameron Davis

Age: 26 / owgr: 78 / ’22 fedex cup: 151.

The Aussie has been trying to live up to the promise he showed in capturing the 2017 Australian Open, beating the likes of Jordan Spieth and Jason Day. Davis finally delivered on the Fourth of July by outlasting Troy Merritt in a five-hole playoff to win the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He also had a third in The American Express, but posted only one other top-10. Davis is a big hitter (19th in driving distance), but not strong with the irons (120th in GIR). —T.L.

73. Tom Hoge

Age: 32 / owgr: 110 / ’22 fedex cup: 27.

An established regular on tour, Hoge has moved beyond “No, what is it?” status. That’s the reply Tiger Woods gave in 2015 when he was asked if he would recognize Tom Hoge, who would be his playing partner the next day at the Wyndham (presumably Tiger thought the inquisitor was referring to a sandwich of some sort). Hoge will likely make some 30 starts and make around as many cuts as he misses, relying on hot stretches with his below-average putter that occasionally bump him into contention. —B.P.

72. Matt Wallace

Age: 31 / owgr: 80 / ’22 fedex cup: 48.

Wallace had five top-10 finishes across the PGA Tour and DP World Tour in 2021, including a T-4 at the Zozo Championship in the fall. He held a share of the 54-hole lead at the Valero Texas Open, falling short to Jordan Spieth despite Wallace putting on a ball-striking clinic, gaining 15.3 strokes to the field tee-to-green. — S.H.

71. Ian Poulter

Age: 45 / owgr: 57 / ’22 fedex cup: t-141.

The Brit turns 46 on Jan. 10 and with no Ryder Cup to aim for in 2022, the question is what kind of motivation does he have. To wit, he missed three cuts in four tour starts after Whistling Straits last fall. The most cuts he’s missed in any season on tour since 2005 is four. That said, he has posted 39 top-10s in 92 tour starts from 2017-21. —R.H.

70. Harold Varner III

Age: 31 / owgr: 95 / ’22 fedex cup: 64.

There might not be any player on tour who more of his peers are pulling for to get that first win than Varner, the North Carolina native is that well liked. But the journey to win No. 1 continues to have its rocky moments as Varner struggles to sustain momentum after posting solid first rounds. The good news? In 2021, he had a career-best 10 top-25s, along with his first top-three finish (T-2 at Harbour Town). And as a new dad to baby Liam, there’s some new incentive to succeed in 2022. —R.H.

MORE: The most absurdly funny screenshots from an absurdly funny year in golf

69. Charley Hoffman

Age: 45 / owgr: 76 / ’22 fedex cup: 92.

Entering his 17th year on tour, Hoffman has been a model of consistency—keeping his card every year since 2006. The San Diego native had five top-10s last season, including a runner-up at the Valero Texas Open (where he closed with rounds of 66-65-66) and a third-place finish at Colonial, adding to an impressive résumé in the Lone Star State: 14 career top-10 finishes and 30 top-25s. —S.H.

68. Alex Noren

Age: 39 / owgr: 71 / ’22 fedex cup: 126.

After getting hot in the playoffs and nearly making it to Atlanta, 2021 was a rebound season of sorts for Noren, who once ascended into the top 10 in the world and made a Ryder Cup team. Noren’s majors record is rather underwhelming after 30 career starts, and his tee-to-green deficiencies relative to the modern elite players will continue to make breakthroughs at many of those setups a challenge. — B.P.

67. Cameron Champ

Age: 26 / owgr: 83 / ’22 fedex cup: nr.

We don’t yet know what Champ’s season is going to look like because a wrist injury forced him to shut things down after just one start in October. He must be hugely disappointed, considering Champ—who was third on the tour in driving distance (317 yards)—won for the third straight year in July at the 3M Open. It’s the putter that holds Champ back from contending more; he was 188th in SG/putting in 2020-21. —T.L.

66. Keith Mitchell

Age: 29 / owgr: 89 / ’ 22 fedex cup: 31.

Mitchell owns one of the more impressive non-major wins in recent memory, defeating both Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler by one stroke at the 2019 Honda Classic. He hasn’t followed it with another trophy, but a trio of recent top-five finishes (Wells Fargo, 3M Open, CJ Cup) would lead one to believe that the former Georgia Bulldog isn’t likely to be just a one-win wonder. —C.P.

65. Keegan Bradley

Age: 35 / owgr: 86 / ’22 fedex cup: 84.

The peak of Bradley's career so far came in 2012, when he came into the Ryder Cup as a major champion and teamed with Phil Mickelson to electrify the Chicago crowds for the first two days. He's only 35, but the fall from those heights was definitive, and he's only managed a single win since. Still, he hasn't gone away, and on the strength of four top-10s last season, he put himself in position to make the Tour Championship and prove that even though that initial surge to stardom was part mirage, he's still a very good professional golfer. —S.R.

64. Garrick Higgo

Age: 22 / owgr: 61 / ’22 fedex cup: 160.

The talented South African has been piling up wins at an impressive rate, no matter what tour he plays on. After winning on the European Tour in back-to-back months, Higgo captured his first PGA Tour title at Congaree in June, just weeks after turning 22. He enters 2022 outside the top 50 in the OWGR, but it doesn’t appear like he’ll stay there for long. —A.M.

63. Branden Grace

Age: 33 / owgr: 70 / ’ 22 fedex cup: 105.

There is a reason that Grace’s best SG stat is around the greens: He doesn’t hit many of them, averaging just 64.47 percent last season (144th on tour). But when he does have a week like he did at the Puerto Rico Open, where he was T-3 in the field after finding 57 of 72 (79.2 percent), the South African veteran does OK. In fact, he won his second tour title there and first anywhere in five years. Hey, that was one more win than countryman Louis Oosthuizen, the hard-luck loser of 2021 majors. Grace posted three other top-seven finishes, including runner-up at the Wyndham. He tends to make the most of his opportunities. —D.S.

62. Kevin Streelman

Age: 43 / owgr: 77 / ’22 fedex cup: 128.

Not someone you’d stop to watch on the driving range, but he’s kept his tour card for 15 years and has made more than $23 million. Picked up his first major top-10 in 26 tries at the PGA Championship at Kiawah. —D.R.

MORE: Kevin Streelman was the other underdog at the 2021 PGA

61. Aaron Wise

Age: 25 / owgr: 64 / ’22 fedex cup: 22.

The rookie of the year in 2018 went sideways in his second and third years on tour but bounced back in a big way during 2020-21, racking up nine top-25 finishes on his way to reaching the second stage of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Wise carried that fine display to the fall with three top-15s in five starts thanks to a stout tee-to-green game. If he can tighten up his short game (no better than 132nd in SG/putting the past three seasons) the former NCAA champ could be on the precipice of a breakout campaign. —J.B.

60. Rickie Fowler

Age: 33 / owgr: 87 / ’22 fedex cup: 43.

The 2021 super season was a super nightmare for Fowler. He had just one top-10 against nine missed cuts in 24 starts, failed to qualify for the Masters and U.S. Open, and he did not make the postseason for the first time in his career. But Fowler did contend in the fall at the CJ Cup in Vegas, ultimately coming in T-3 (his first top-three finish since the 2019 Honda Classic) to show the obituaries are premature. To keep the momentum going into 2022, Fowler will need to shore up his short game. Historically one of the better putters on tour (even ranking first in SG/putting in 2017), Fowler fell to 126th in the category last season. —J.B.

Gregory Shamus

59. Brian Harman

Age: 26 / owgr: 59 / ’22 fedex cup: 189.

Somewhat limited due to his lack of length but Harman makes a boatload of cuts. Manages his game extremely well and ranked inside the top 30 in both SG/putting and around the green in 2020-21. —D.R.

58. Ryan Palmer

Age: 45 / owgr: 47 / ’ 22 fedex cup: 108.

In the long history of great Texas golfers, Palmer wouldn’t garner much attention, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been a very good player for a very long time. The four-time tour winner is sinewy strong, averaging 304.6 yards off the tee last season (38th) while ranking 49th in SG/off the tee. That will keep you relevant. He remains a decent putter (89th SG), also helpful. The only category where he lost strokes was around the greens. —D.S.

57. K.H. Lee

Age: 30 / owgr: 63 / ’22 fedex cup: 66.

We’ll be rooting for the former “husky boy” to achieve his stated goal of becoming the “sexiest golfer in the world” in 2022, unless he already claimed that title in your view. In 2021, Lee captured his first tour win, triggering another run of firsts in the coming year, where he’ll start inside the top 100 for the first time in his career, play his rookie Masters and, potentially, earn a Presidents Cup bid. The next step is making his first cut at a major championship, where his record is markedly inexperienced and thin (four starts, four missed cuts). —B.P.

56. Seamus Power

Age: 34 / owgr: 73 / ’22 fedex cup: 25.

It sounds unbelievable, but prior to Power’s win at the Barbasol in July, only four players from the Republic of Ireland had won a PGA Tour event. That was the cherry on top of an incredible summer for Power, whose World Ranking skyrocketed from the 400s to top 70 on the strength of that win and six other top-20 finishes. At the RSM Classic, the final event of the fall, he posted a T-4, giving warning that his meteoric rise in the summer was a beginning, not an end. —S.R.

55. Cameron Tringale

Age: 34 / owgr: 51 / ’22 fedex cup: 13.

Even if you’re a casual golf-watcher, chances are you’ve seen Tringale’s name at the top of the leader board upwards of a million times over the last handful of seasons (he has 15 top-25s since November 2020). That has yet to translate into a win on the PGA Tour, but chances are if he continues to put himself in position to win he’ll get there sooner or later. —C.P.

MORE: You won’t believe how many tour pros have made $10M without winning

54. Stewart Cink

Age: 48 / owgr: 52 / ’22 fedex cup: 199.

Yes, Phil Mickelson rightfully grabbed the headlines by being the oldest major winner, but Cink notching two wins in a seven-month span, at 48, was arguably just as impressive. Remember, he won the Safeway Open by going 65-65 on the weekend and opened his title week in the Heritage with back-to-back 63s. For anybody, that’s playing your behind off. The iron play was fabulous, ranking Cink at 34th in SG/approach. He’s going to have to drive it better to be factor this year; in four events, he’s 104th in distance and 176th in accuracy. —T.L.

Patrick Smith

53 . Harry Higgs

Age: 30 / owgr: 138 / ’22 fedex cup: 69.

A social-media darling, and for good reason, as Higgs brings character, humor and flavor to a tour with one too many mayo sandwiches. At 30, his career progression has been steady and stable, what we used to see as the norm in a prior era. He’s worked his way up with success, and wins, at each level, and 2021 came with a top-five finish in his first (and still only) major championship. —B.P.

52. Phil Mickelson

Age: 51 / owgr: 33 / ’22 fedex cup: 174.

What a glorious year for Lefty, who become the oldest major champion in golf history by outdueling major slayer Brooks Koepka at Kiawah Island. He also added four victories in six starts on the PGA Tour Champions in his first season, becoming just the second player to accomplish the feat, joining Jack Nicklaus. The question is whether the senior success and that major magic will translate into more consistency in regular PGA Tour starts, where he had just one other top-20 showing outside the PGA win in the 2020-21 season. — S.H.

MORE: 101 things that happened to Phil Mickelson in 2021

51. Russell Henley

Age: 32 / owgr: 55 / ’ 22 fedex cup: 38.

You think of Henley as older than 32 given the fact he’s already playing his 10th season. He’s been a consistent performer during that time, finishing inside the top 100 in the FedEx Cup ranking every year. Yet he’s only qualified for the Tour Championship twice (2014 and 2017) and hasn’t won since April 2017. So is Henley’s biological clock ticking? Perhaps. He’s learned to live with the fact he isn’t the longest player out there, but that means he needs to figure out a way to shore up his short game if he hopes to have more than a solid career. —R.H.

50. Sergio Garcia

Age: 41 / owgr: 45 / ’22 fedex cup: 73.

What’s left for Sergio, who has his major and his stellar Ryder Cup record and turns 42 on Jan. 9? In 2018 and 2020, he was outside the top 125 on the FedEx Cup points list, only to bounce back with solid seasons in 2019 and 2021. Interestingly, the Spaniard hasn’t shot a round over par on the PGA Tour since the first round of The Northern Trust in August. Ended the fall with a T-7 finish in Mexico, which certainly provides a positive vibe heading into the new year. —R.H.

49. Shane Lowry

Age: 34 / owgr: 44 / ’22 fedex cup: 203.

The 2019 Open champion had six worldwide top-10s in 2021, plus a T-12 in defending his title at The Open. The Irishman had several career-best finishes last year: at the PGA Championship (T-4), the Memorial (T-6), The Players (eighth) and the Masters (T-21). — S.H.

Warren Little

48 . Justin Rose

Age: 41 / owgr: 42 / ’22 fedex cup: 103.

It’s been a disappointing past two-plus seasons for this former World No. 1. In 33 starts, Rose racked up just five top-10s with a T-3 at the 2020 Charles Schwab Challenge being his best result. Still in tremendous physical shape (just check his Instagram feed), a final-round 65 at the RSM Classic in the last official round of 2021 to finish T-12 indicates he has more good golf left in him—even if it happens less frequently. —A.M.

47. Mito Pereira

Age: 26 / owgr: 98 / ’22 fedex cup: 21.

Still a mystery to most American fans, the Chilean could make a big splash in ’22 if his trajectory continues. The Texas Tech alum earned a battlefield promotion from the Korn Ferry Tour with three wins in 2021, including back-to-back victories in June. Since then, Pereira has three top-10s on the PGA Tour and finished just off the podium in the Olympics. The stellar iron player has already competed seven times for 2021-22 and has four top-30s and only one missed cut. —T.L.

46. Kevin Kisner

Age: 37 / owgr: 43 / ’22 fedex cup: 203.

“This ain’t no hobby” and “they give away a lot [of $$] for 20th,” two of Kisner’s famous quotes, seem to be opposing ideas, but they actually sum up his PGA Tour existence perfectly. Golf is not a hobby for Kisner (he’s among the 50 best in the world at it), but he knows his skills are limited to shorter, shot-maker’s golf courses. He pops at those spots, like Harbour Town, Sedgefield and Detroit Golf Club, then happily takes his T-23s in the events where distance matters greatly. He knows who he is and makes no apologies for it, making him a fan favorite. —C.P.

45. Maverick McNealy

Age: 26 / owgr: 68 / ’22 fedex cup: 12.

It's easy to fly under the radar when you're still looking for your first professional win, but McNealy was one of the more quietly impressive players on tour last year, rising from 166th in the World Ranking at the start of 2021 to 69th at the end. Second-place finishes at Pebble Beach and Napa are the highlights, and he became more consistent as the season went along, making seven straight cuts to reach the BMW Championship. At 26, it's clear that McNealy is beginning to enter his prime. —S.R.

44. Tommy Fleetwood

Age: 30 / owgr: 40 / ’22 fedex cup: 95.

Now in his 30s, Fleetwood doesn’t quite fit the “Young Gunz” category anymore, but he still has a lot of golf in front of him. That being said—and not to sound too much like Paul Azinger—it has to be disheartening that this five-time European Tour winner has yet to break through in the U.S. More alarming is the only time he came close last year ended with a Sunday 77 at Bay Hill. Already with a T-7 in Vegas and still one of the game’s best ball-strikers, we expect to see his name on more leader boards in 2022—even if it’s not all the way on top. —A.M.

43. Erik van Rooyen

Age: 31 / owgr: 66 / ’ 22 fedex cup: 138.

The South African enjoyed a rookie season that included a victory and a spot in the Tour Championship, thanks to consecutive top-five finishes in the Playoffs, so it stands to reason that expectations will be much higher in the coming year. He certainly has room for improvement, with a stat sheet that shows his best category was SG/putting (64th). Van Rooyen missed the cut in all three majors in which he competed and fell short of the weekend in 11 of 27 starts, so more consistency should be a stated goal in 2022. —D.S.

​​ 42. Lucas Herbert

Age: 26 / owgr: 41 / ’22 fedex cup: 9.

Secured his card through the Korn Ferry finals and promptly earned some job security by winning his third starts as a PGA Tour member in October at the Bermuda Championship. The Aussie has a great chance to make this year’s Presidents Cup team. —D.R.

41. Sebastian Munoz

Age: 28 / owgr: 60 / ’22 fedex cup: 19.

Munoz doesn’t do anything that particularly jumps out. In that same breath, the man possesses view weaknesses. See ball, hit ball, keep ball in play. It’s an equation that’s paid dividends: Thanks to a T-4 at the Zozo and a third at the RSM, Munoz begins 2022 inside the FedEx Cup top 20. Should he stay in the discussion for a trip to East Lake, it may be enough to snag a spot on the Presidents Cup team. To solidify his spot on the International squad, as well as make the jump into the next echelon of tour players, Munoz needs to keep the bigger numbers at bay: He ranked 131st in bogey avoidance last season. Improving his putting from inside 10 feet (111th in the category last year) will go ways towards that goal. —J.B.

Tom Pennington

40. Adam Scott

Age: 41 / owgr: 46 / ’22 fedex cup: 62.

Scott has advanced to the Tour Championship just twice in the last seven seasons. Part of that stems from his penchant for playing a light schedule (he’s only played more than 20 events once in his career), yet his performance in those limited appearances, while good, has trended the wrong direction with age. Nevertheless, Scott did post a T-5 at the CJ Cup in the fall, and a golfer’s 40s are no longer the purgatory they once were on tour. With the Presidents Cup on tap this year, don’t be surprised if we see a revival from the former Masters champ. —J.B.

39. Si Woo Kim

Age: 26 / owgr: 53 / ’22 fedex cup: 44.

Hard to believe he’s still three-plus years from 30. Hasn’t quite delivered on the top-10 potential he flashed in winning the 2018 Players at 21, but he’s got three wins and is coming off his most consistent season yet. —D.R.

MORE: The 31 biggest rules issues of 2021

38. Mackenzie Hughes

Age: 31 / owgr: 39 / ’ 22 fedex cup: 11.

A strong fall campaign, highlighted by a T-4 at the Zozo and second at the RSM, augers well for the Canadian veteran. Hughes did just enough during the 2020-21 campaign to make it to the BMW Championship despite losing more than half a stroke to the field in SG/total. Four top-10s, including T-6 at The Open, and adding a T-15 finish at the U.S. Open sure helped. His relative lack of power always will make things challenging, but the last few years Hughes has gotten the putting-for-dough thing nailed down (including 15th in SG, ninth in total putting last season). —D.S.

37. Matt Fitzpatrick

Age: 27 / owgr: 24 / ’22 fedex cup: 154.

The Brit has made a steady climb up the OWGR despite not winning yet on the PGA Tour. Already a seven-time champ in Europe, however, he clearly has what it takes to close out golf tournaments—especially those played in difficult scoring conditions. “I’d love to tick that off,” Fitzpatrick told Today’s Golfer in October. “But I’m not a rookie anymore. I’m 27. In my own mind, I know I’ve got to start competing in the big events so my name is up at the top of the leader board more often.” We couldn’t agree more, Matt. —A.M.

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36. Paul Casey

Age: 44 / owgr: 27 / ’22 fedex cup: 152.

The veteran Brit must have discovered the fountain of youth, and we're not saying that just because of his boyish face. Firmly in his mid-40s, he made 18 of 20 cuts on tour last season, posted seven top-10s, made yet another Ryder Cup, and is the oldest man inside the world top 30. His consistency is a marvel, and so is his approach game—in 2020-21, only Morikawa was better on SG/approach. —S.R.

35. Webb Simpson

Age: 36 / owgr: 28 / ’22 fedex cup: 54.

In comparison to 2018, 2019 and 2020, when Simpson enjoyed a career resurgence after going five-plus years without a win, 2021 was a down season for the former U.S. Open champ. And yet, he still had five finishes of T-9 or better in 21 starts, three of them coming at three of his favorite tour courses—Harbour Town (RBC Heritage), Sedgefield (Wyndham) and Sea Island (RSM Classic). You can pencil him in for top-10s at those stops again in 2022, and we should expect much more from this prolific winner who still has plenty of good golf left in him. —C.P.

34. Matthew Wolff

Age: 22 / owgr: 30 / ’22 fedex cup: 7.

He’s so young, but this still seems like a critical season for Wolff. Will he better handle the pressure that came with his early success and then sidelined him for a mental-health break in ’21? The early returns are positive, with Wolff finishing second, T-5 and T-11 among his first four starts of the 2021-22 season. The putter has been a huge strength (12th thus far in SG), and he’s fourth in SG overall. That’s impressive for a guy who was fourth in driving distance last year (315.9), though he needs to keep it more on the short stuff; Wolff was 189th in accuracy. —T.L.

MORE: Matthew Wolff details depths of his mental health struggles

33. Corey Conners

Age: 29 / owgr: 38 / ’22 fedex cup: 87.

Your favorite flusher’s favorite flusher became the trendy description of Conners in 2021, a breakout year for him with multiple appearances on major championship leader boards and a trip to Atlanta for the Tour Championship. If we’re judging just based on tee to green, he could have been argued as a top-10 player in the world. What happens around and on the green makes it a bit more adventurous, but he’s too skilled in all-too-important areas of the game to not expect a bucket of more top 10s and a likely Presidents Cup spot representing Canada in 2022. —B.P.

32. Carlos Ortiz

Age: 30 / owgr: 54 / ’22 fedex cup: 16.

Ortiz edged a crowded leader board to earn his first PGA Tour title at the 2020 Houston Open, becoming the first winner from Mexico since 1978 (Victor Regalado). He contended for a third straight year at Mayakoba in his home country but finished four strokes behind winner Viktor Hovland. — S.H.

31. Tyrrell Hatton

Age: 30 / owgr: 22 / ’22 fedex cup: 125.

The Englishman would likely place higher on this list if European Tour results weighed heavier: He won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and finished runner-up at the Alfred Dunhill Links in 2021. But Hatton had just one individual top-10 on the PGA Tour last year, a runner-up at Congaree. — S.H.

30. Billy Horschel

Age: 35 / owgr: 23 / ’22 fedex cup: 167.

Has some ground to make up in the FedEx Cup standings after playing just one PGA Tour event in the fall (T-33 at Mayakoba) while moonlighting on the European Tour. Still, he’s finished outside the top 50 only one since 2012 so there’s not much reasons to sweat it. A victory in the BMW Championship at Wentworth in September after a win at the WGC-Dell Match Play in March suggests Horschel has the game to win big events. But that record in majors—one top-15 finish and just two top-20s in 31 starts as a pro—is something that he would like to remedy. —R.H.

29. Talor Gooch

Age: 30 / owgr: 32 / ’ 22 fedex cup: 1.

There was no hotter player on the tour this fall than the former Oklahoma State golfer. He carded five top-11 finishes in six starts including an “at last” breakout win at the RSM Classic to jump top the FedEx Cup ranking entering 2022. And this all happened despite ranking 149th in SG/off the tee (-.124). That’s been typical of Gooch in his four years on tour; he has never ranked better than 107th and always finished with a negative number. If he could shore up his driving, he has an iron game that will get him to the Tour Championship for the first time in his career. —R.H.

Cliff Hawkins

MORE: Talor Gooch finishes excellent fall with breakthrough win

28. Marc Leishman

Age: 38 / owgr: 36 / ’22 fedex cup: 18.

Leishman bats it around as well as anyone on tour, and while he may have been inconsistent week-to-week last year, the year-over-year results speak for themselves. He’s got five wins in the last five years and finished inside the top 30 of the OWGR in five of the last six. He’s a reliable, professional golfer with a couple top five finishes already in the fall portion of the season. —B.P.

27. Louis Oosthuizen

Age: 39 / owgr: 11 / ’22 fedex cup: 117.

The South African is coming off a tremendous campaign, but there’s the nagging feeling that he missed out on something truly special. Oosthuizen tied for second in the PGA Championship and then held the Sunday back-nine lead in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines before succumbing to Jon Rahm’s charge. He also had a T-3 in The Open. Oosthuizen is the consummate “putt for dough” player—ranking No. 1 in SG/putting in ’21 while being 101st off the tee. —T.L.

MORE: Louis Oothuizen is not wondering ‘what if’ about major misses

26. Max Homa

Age: 31 / owgr: 35 / ’22 fedex cup: 6.

Homa, once a Korn Ferry Tour grinder who struggled his first few seasons on the PGA Tour, has come into his own in his late 20s and early 30s. He’s now a certified winner, with three victories between 2019 and 2021, two of them in big-time events (Wells Fargo at Quail Hollow, Genesis at Riviera). No longer just the funny golfer on Twitter, Homa now lets his clubs do the talking, though he’s still pretty hilarious when he logs on to the bird app. —C.P.

25. Joaquin Niemann

Age: 23 / owgr: 31 / ’22 fedex cup: 55.

Plainly put, it's time for Niemann to win again. In the last calendar year, he's had six top-10s on tour, another in the Olympics, and came agonizingly close to winning his second career title at both the Sentry TOC and the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He lost in a playoff each time, but his World Ranking steadily improved throughout the year. Before a rocky finish to the fall, he had missed exactly one cut in 13 months, and even though he's still very, very young, he's ready to move from the upper echelons of the tour to the upper, upper echelons. —S.R.

24. Kevin Na

Age: 38 / owgr: 29 / ’22 fedex cup: 199.

Incredibly, this guy already has two decades of being a pro in the books. More amazing, though, is the fact he’s coming off the best season of his career. After winning just once in his first decade on tour, Na enters this year on a four-season winning streak. And after entering his name into the Ryder Cup conversation, perhaps he’ll finally get to wear the red, white and blue at this year’s Presidents Cup. —A.M.

23. Patrick Reed

Age: 31 / owgr: 25 / ’22 fedex cup: 29.

After winning his ninth tour title in January at the Farmers Insurance Open and occupying the top 10 in the World Ranking for the first half of 2021, Reed was hardly a factor the rest of the season. The falloff, and an untimely illness that landed him in the hospital, cost the so-called “Captain America” a spot on the record-setting U.S. Ryder Cup team. The guy’s short game and putting (seventh in SG/around the green, fourth in SG/putting) still prove to be lethal, but it’s right to wonder how long the former Masters winner can stay among the top Americans while his greens in regulation figures continue to deteriorate. —D.S.

MORE: Patrick Reed confronts his image and his critics

​​ 22. Will Zalatoris

Age: 25 / owgr: 34 / ’22 fedex cup: 67.

Fell one shot short of becoming the first since 1979 to win his first Masters appearance and holds the rare distinction of winning rookie of the year despite not being a full member of the PGA Tour. Now in his first FedEx Cup-eligible season, he’ll be keen to back up his breakout season with a first tour victory. —D.R.

21. Sungjae Im

Age: 23 / owgr: 26 / ’22 fedex cup: 3.

It’s frankly amazing that Im has logged more than 100 starts on tour … and he doesn’t turn 24 until March. A strong start in the fall (highlighted by a win at the Shriners followed by a T-9 at the CJ Cup) has Im poised for another stellar season. Despite his youth there’s little to nitpick with his game; the next step for Im would be for a bit more consistency at the big events—following a runner-up at the 2020 Masters, he failed to crack the top 15 at the majors or Players in 2021—but, again, he’s just 23. He seems odd to earmark Im as a potential breakout candidate given his success, yet with the Presidents Cup on tap along with some major venues that fit his game (cough, cough Southern Hills), the fledgling star is not far from gaining full-blown leading-man status in the sport. —J.B.

MORE: Sungjae Im (aka the Birdie Machine) was the perfect fit to win in Las Vegas

20. Abraham Ancer

Age: 30 / owgr: 17 / ’22 fedex cup: 63.

He has a lone win to his name. Don’t let that fool you; this cat can ball. Ancer is coming off a career year, finishing the regular season sixth in the FedEx Cup and ranking 12th in scoring and 15th in strokes gained. The output is especially impressive considering Ancer is one of the shortest hitters on tour (157th in distance), although he more than compensates by hitting more fairways than a John Deere (fifth in accuracy). It is fair to wonder if the lack of pop has held him back at majors, with just one top-10 finish in 11 starts; conversely, it could also just be a matter of reps, and his second-shot prowess (23rd in approach), ability to rack up red figures (20th in birdies) while keeping the big numbers off the card (fifth in bogey avoidance) should make him a formidable figure at one of golf’s big four … and soon. —J.B.

19. Cameron Smith

Age: 28 / owgr: 21 / ’22 fedex cup: 33.

The Aussie flashes one of best short games on tour, even if he’s still prone to a foul ball off the tee, like the one that sealed a playoff loss to Tony Finau at The Northern Trust. Cruised into the Tour Championship on the strength of perhaps his best year as a professional. —D.R.

Stacy Revere

18. Harris English

Age: 32 / owgr: 12 / ’22 fedex cup: nr.

Dismissing his dismal fall performance (two missed cuts and a WD), English enjoyed his best year in 2021 with a pair of wins and a fourth-place finish in the FedEx Cup regular-season standings. He rose to a career-best 10th in the World Ranking. At 32, he’s in the prime of his career, and the Georgia native has shown he knows how to score—and win—despite stats that don’t necessarily impress. He’ll go as far as his putter (12th SG/putting) takes him. —D.S.

17. Daniel Berger

Age: 28 / owgr: 19 / ’22 fedex cup: nr.

The man who won the first event of the COVID restart in 2020 added another victory at Pebble Beach in 2021 to make that four in his PGA Tour career. Berger also had a pair of top-10s in majors and played (well) in his first Ryder Cup after being one of Steve Stricker’s captain’s picks. Interesting didn’t make a start in the fall season. It’s unlikely he’ll ever reach the level or status of fellow Class of 2011 stars Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, but being the third wheel among that group isn’t too shabby. —A.M.

16. Jason Kokrak

Age: 36 / owgr: 20 / ’22 fedex cup: 8.

A victory at the Houston Open in the fall gave the big-hitting, 6-foot-4 Ohio native his third title in a 13-month span, adding to wins at Colonial (2021) and Shadow Creek (2020)—after going winless in his first 232 starts on the PGA Tour. The biggest difference-maker for the 36-year-old? His putting. Kokrak ranked sixth last season in strokes gained/putting. Compare that to his ranks in the previous five seasons: 151st; 103rd; 110th; 175th; 154th. — S.H.

15. Hideki Matsuyama

Age: 29 / owgr: 18 / ’22 fedex cup: 4.

As the game of golf gets increasingly global, there are fewer barriers to break, but Matsuyama shattered two huge ones when he became the first Asian-born golfer to win the Masters, and the first Japanese man to win a major. The rest of his season was decidedly average, which is understandable, but with a fall win at home at the Zozo Championship, he's riding into 2022 with major momentum. We could be looking at another career year. —S.R.

Atsushi Tomura

14. Jordan Spieth

Age: 28 / owgr: 14 / ’22 fedex cup: 141.

The former World No. 1 finally ended his post 2017 Open Championship “slump” in April, winning the Valero Texas Open just one week before the Masters. A T-7 at Augusta, plus a solo second later in the summer at The Open, served as definitive proof he was all the way back. A fourth major title will effectively silence any doubters left, and the 2022 majors schedule, which includes two of his favorite haunts (Augusta, St. Andrews), sets up quite nicely for him to check off that box. —C.P.

13. Tony Finau

Age: 32 / owgr: 15 / ’22 fedex cup: 169.

Finau shook off the King Kong-sized gorilla on his back when he gutted out a playoff win in August’s Northern Trust to win for the first time in 142 starts. He had eight runners-up in that span, and at least we don’t have to hear the laments that he can’t close. A slow starter, Finau ranked 116th in first-round scoring average (70.92) in ’21, but he was a Friday monster, averaging 68.60 (second). —T.L.

12. Brooks Koepka

Age: 31 / owgr: 16 / ’22 fedex cup: 172.

He remains golf’s best big-game hunter on the men’s side, with three more finishes T6 or better at the majors in 2021. An MC at the first, The Masters, came largely due to a knee injury he probably should not have been playing on yet. Given he admitted early last year that there were dark times rehabbing and his knee may never be 100 percent, injuries will continue to be a concern in 2022. But set aside the season-long numbers or holistic rankings, he’s the best at performing when it matters most and we’d need to see a year of total flops for that title to change. —B.P.

MORE: Brooks Koepka doesn’t hold back in our poolside interview

11. Scottie Scheffler

Age: 25 / owgr: 13 / ’22 fedex cup: 14.

An impressive Sunday singles victory over Jon Rahm at the Ryder Cup built Scheffler more equity as he tries to grab what feels inevitable—a first win on the PGA Tour. But the longer it takes, the trickier it will be fending off questions of why it hasn’t happened yet. Let’s just remember, the guy is only 25 and he’s already had 17 top-10 finishes in just 57 starts. He had two top-five finishes in the fall despite not ranking in the top 50 in any major strokes-gained category. When his game gets in gear at some point this spring, it’s hard not to think the inevitable comes to pass. —R.H.

10. Sam Burns

Age: 25 / owgr: 10 / ’22 fedex cup: 2.

The former college POY at LSU in 2017 had a breakout year in 2021, winning his first two career titles and holding the lead after the most rounds of any player on tour. After starting the year 154th in the World Ranking, he finished 11th, the biggest jump of any player in the top 50. Burns leads the tour at the winter break in SG/tee-to-green after being ninth in SG/putting in 2020-21, showcasing the versatility within his game. Just missed making the U.S. Ryder Cup team, but we have to think he’s a likely candidate for Davis Love III’s Presidents Cup squad. —R.H.

9. Dustin Johnson

Age: 37 / owgr: 3 / ’22 fedex cup: 194.

Spring 2021 was not kind to the 2020 Masters champ—DJ had just one top-10 finish from February through June. But the 24-time PGA Tour winner had top-10s in four of his final six starts of the season and then punctuated his 2021 with a flawless 5-0 performance at the Ryder Cup. If DJ wins this season (which we’d expect to happen), he’d have a victory in his first 15 seasons on tour. Only Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer boast a higher total (17). —S.H.

8. Bryson DeChambeau

Age: 28 / owgr: 5 / ’22 fedex cup: nr.

PIP metrics and trophies aside, he is arguably the tour’s top superstar (non-Tiger category) thanks to a swarm of curiosity and tumult that extends to a larger audience outside the golf corner of the world. He once again led the tour in driving distance and drama in 2021. His all-gas, no-brake focus on the tee ball has yielded resounding results in its first couple years. He led the tour in SG/off-the-tee again in 2021, and the difference between his average and second place was the same as second all the way to 18th. Given the offseason social-media videos replete with speed training, expect the same in 2022. —B.P.

MORE: Bryson vs Brooks feud dominated golf chatter but was it good for the game?

7. Xander Schauffele

Age: 28 / owgr: 5 / ’22 fedex cup: 112.

The Olympic gold medal and a stellar first appearance in the Ryder Cup certainly defined a memorable season for Schauffle, but there’s more work to be done. Namely, to get that first major win to salve the sting of six top-fives in the Big Four. For the second straight appearance, Schauffele contended deep into Masters Sunday, but was beaten by a hotter player. In trying to win for the first time since early 2019, he had seconds in the CJ Cup, Farmers and Phoenix, and he contended (T-7) in his home major, the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, despite a short-lived switch to an arm-lock putting grip. Few players on tour can match Schauffele’s consistent all-around attack. In 2020-21, he was 41st in SG/off-tee, 14th in approach and 16th in putting. —T.L.

6. Viktor Hovland

Age: 24 / owgr: 7 / ’22 fedex cup: 5.

With three wins—plus an OWGR-counting victory at the Hero World Challenge—before age 25, the young Norwegian has seemingly already delivered on all the promise he displayed in winning the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach. The one area that continues to hold him back, though, is chipping, which he once claimed he “sucked” at. Should he continue to make slight improvements around the greens, his ceiling is second only to Collin Morikawa among the tour’s rising stars. Oddsmakers tend to agree, as Hovland is +550 to win a major in 2022 on the DraftKings Sportsbook. —C.P.

5. Rory McIlroy

Age: 32 / owgr: 9 / ’22 fedex cup: 9.

Since 2014, the dominant strain of discourse around McIlroy has been when or if he'll win another major, and it will continue to be so forever, if necessary. The story is the same—his putting just isn't good enough, and to win majors as a below-average putter, you need to be an approach genius like Collin Morikawa, which Rory is not. Still, he's now won twice on tour in the last year, including his October win at the CJ Cup, his putting is improving, and maybe—maybe—he's ready to take the leap again. —S.R.

4. Justin Thomas

Age: 28 / owgr: 8 / ’22 fedex cup: 32.

It was a strange 2021 for the American star, who found himself mired in controversy and in the first prolonged slump of his career. After losing his Ralph Lauren deal in January and winning the Players Championship in March, Thomas didn’t record another top 10 until the FedEx Cup Playoffs. But two top fives in those three events followed by another two at the Mayakoba and Hero indicate he’s got his game in better shape. And as we saw with his five-win campaign in 2016-2017, few are capable of going on bigger heaters. —A.M.

3. Patrick Cantlay

Age: 29 / owgr: 4 / ’22 fedex cup: nr.

After seeing his career derailed by a back injury for more than two years, Cantlay finally has assumed what many thought should be his rightful place among the elite of his age group by winning four times in the 2020-21 season, capturing the FedEx Cup and winning Player of the Year honors. He showed no real weaknesses in his game, ranking no worse than 30th in the key SG metrics and finishing third in SG/total. The only things left for the laconic California native is to add his name to the column of major winners and to rise to World No. 1, and who thinks he won’t eventually achieve those goals? —D.S.

2. Collin Morikawa

Age: 24 / owgr: 2 / ’22 fedex cup: 15.

In the past year, he’s taken “The Leap” from great young player to perhaps the finest player on Earth. His record through 60 professional starts—six wins, two majors, 24 top 10s—has drawn some (unfair) Tiger comparisons; so has his habit of closing out tournaments with relentless, bogey-free rounds. Among a historically great group of 30 and younger Americans, he currently stands alone at the top. —D.R.

1. Jon Rahm

Age: 27 / owgr: 1 / ’22 fedex cup: nr.

The numbers are staggering. Fifteen top-10s versus one missed cut in 22 starts last season. Second in SG/off-the-tee, eighth in approach and first in SG/overall. First in birdie average AND bogey avoidance. Yet those numbers fail to illustrate the most impressive figure of all: the “1” that replaced “0” in Rahm’s major total, shedding the label of backdoor finisher by closing out the 2021 U.S. Open with vigor. Though Rahm technically had just one win to his name—if “just” can describe his breakthrough at Torrey Pines—he tied for the lowest score over four days at East Lake during the Tour Championship and held a six-stroke lead through 54 holes at the Memorial before a positive COVID-19 test knocked him out of the event, in the process solidifying his claim as the sport’s top dog. —J.B.

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Official World Golf Rankings Advanced Statistics

Who is the top ranked golfer in the world.

The current #1 player in the world is Scottie Scheffler . He's been the top ranked player for the past 57 weeks, starting on May 22. Overall he's held the #1 position for 91 weeks. Scottie Scheffler first achieved the number 1 ranking on March 28, 2022.

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Who has gained the most rating points in the last month.

Bryson DeChambeau has gained 2.45 points since May 20, which is the most of anybody in the world rankings. His rank has increased from 35th to 10th in the world rankings.

Who has lost the most rating points in the last month?

Jon Rahm has lost 0.57 points since May 20, which is the steepest drop of anybody in the world rankings. His ranking has dropped from 7th to 9th in the world rankings.

Who is the highest ranked player who hasn't been #1?

The highest ranked player who hasn't reached the top spot in the world rankings is currently Xander Schauffele , who is ranked 3rd in the world.

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Pga tour career wins list: players with most victories in tour history.

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Twenty-six players have at least 25 career wins on the PGA Tour.

Sam Snead and Tiger Woods lead the list with 82 official Tour titles. Here’s a look at all the players with at least 25 victories.

Most Majors Won: Wins in Men's Professional Golf Events

The Last 5 Champions from Every Major in the World of Golf

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The World’s Highest-Paid Golfers 2024

Jon rahm is no. 1 with a record $218 million in earnings—more than double the next highest player—despite not winning a tournament this year. and five other liv golfers join him atop the leaderboard., by justin birnbaum , forbes staff.

In 2022, when Scottie Scheffler wrapped up his final round at the BMW Championship in Wilmington, Delaware, he accomplished something no player on the PGA Tour had ever done before. The world’s No. 1 golfer posted a record-breaking $14 million in regular season earnings . A year earlier, Jon Rahm topped the PGA Tour’s official money list with a little more than half that amount, $7.7 million.

Scheffler followed that campaign with another extraordinary season, obliterating his own record and earning more than $21 million last year. And as impressive as that may have been, the 27-year-old has already surpassed his mark again, having won more than $24 million with roughly a third of the 2024 golf season remaining. Scheffler has been dominant on the course again, winning the Masters for the second time and four other tournaments. But he’s also been the beneficiary of rising financial tides in the sport.

The PGA Tour will award $402.4 million in prize money in just the 2024 regular season alone, with roughly another $340 million on the table when factoring the four Majors, a slate of yet-to-be scheduled fall events and bonus pools from the FedEx Cup, the Comcast Business Tour Top 10 and the Player Impact Program. That amounts to more than $740 million disbursed to players this year, about 9% more than the $680 million from the 2022-23 season. (In 2024, the PGA Tour returned to a calendar year format as opposed to the multi-year schedule it had used since 2013.)

A lucrative media rights package spread across CBS, NBC, ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery, which reportedly pays the PGA Tour nearly $900 million per year, has played a role in the sport’s financial growth. Despite the progress the PGA Tour has made, it’s a player from LIV Golf, Jon Rahm, who is the highest-paid golfer for 2024.

The breakaway tour, backed by the $925 billion (assets) Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, has permanently altered the economics of golf with its unusual format and astronomical paydays . By the time LIV completes its third season in 2024, it will have awarded nearly $1.1 billion in prize money, on top of committing at least $1 billion in guarantees to entice the defections of star golfers to the upstart league.

“It’s simple economics,” says Tim Derdenger, an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business. “Competition is good for the players.”

Combined, the world’s 10 highest-paid golfers earned an estimated $678 million over the past 12 months before taxes and agents’ fees, a 10% decrease from $752 million in 2023. That’s mainly because LIV has slowed its outsized spending spree in the past year, with Rahm being the only big-name defection. The 29-year-old Spaniard joined the Saudi-backed tour for a reported $350 million guarantee, half of which Forbes estimates he received up front. With total earnings of $218 million, he’s the third LIV golfer to rank No. 1 on our list in the last three years even though he has yet to win an event on his new tour.

Rory McIlroy, a stalwart PGA Tour player, is a distant second this year with $83 million in total earnings, despite collecting victories at the Genesis Open, the Zurich Classic and the Wells Fargo Championship over the past 12 months. The 35-year-old McIlroy remains the most successful pitchman not named Tiger Woods in the sport, partnering with Nike, Optum, and Workday, among others. Woods, who pulled in an estimated $67 million and left Nike in January after 27 years to launch a joint apparel venture with TaylorMade called Sun Day Red, ranked No. 3, just ahead of the fourth-place Scheffler at $61 million.

The long-term impact of golf’s fractured landscape, however, remains unclear. While the warring tours have increased player earnings over the past few years, dividing the best golfers in the world has left fans and longtime sponsors of the sport with a less-compelling product. A solution appeared to be on the horizon last June when the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund agreed to join forces to form a new for-profit, commercial entity called PGA Tour Enterprises. The move, which ended a slew of bitter legal battles between the tours, has also drawn antitrust concerns from Congress and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Negotiations have stalled and, in the meantime, the PGA Tour found another investor in a consortium of American billionaires. Strategic Sports Group, which is backed Boston Red Sox co-owners John Henry and Tom Werner, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck, as well as other investors, imbued the nascent enterprise with $3 billion in January. In the months since, PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan has outlined a $1.5 billion equity program earmarked for players on tour, and Woods joined the PGA Tour Enterprises’ 13-member board of directors.

While the recent resignation of Jimmy Dunne, a PGA Tour policy member and one of the architects behind the initial deal with the PIF, has done little to inspire hope that a revised agreement is coming any time soon, the PGA Tour issued a vague statement citing progress from a recent meeting in New York on June 7. “Definitely things are heading in the right direction,” McIlroy told reporters at the Memorial Tournament over the weekend . “A lot of progress was made. I can't really say much more than that, but it was really positive.”

THE WORLD’S 10 HIGHEST-PAID GOLFERS 2024

No. 1 • $218 million

On-course: $198 million | off-course: $20 million | age: 29 | tour: liv.

Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

Much like many of his LIV compatriots, Rahm’s move to the upstart league cost him a slew of sponsors. In July, he signed a multi-year extension with digital supply chain firm Blue Yonder, having previously worn their logo on his chest. However, the partnership is no longer active and he now wears the logo of his LIV team, Legion XIII, in that spot. Rahm will not compete in the U.S. Open this weekend due to a foot injury.

No. 2 • $83 million

Rory mcilroy, on-course: $38 million | off-course: $45 million | age: 35 | tour: pga.

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One of the PGA Tour’s most outspoken supporters since the arrival of LIV Golf, McIlroy recently lamented how the division have played out. “In hindsight, I wish I hadn’t have gotten as deeply involved in it,” he told reporters last month . The ongoing tour drama hasn’t stopped his momentum off the course, though. McIlroy cofounded TMRW Sports with Tiger Woods and sports executive Mike McCarley, which plans to launch a stadium-based, virtual golf league in 2025, while his Symphony Ventures has invested in companies like Puttery, Hyperice and Whoop.

No. 3 • $67 million

Tiger woods, on-course: $12 million | off-course: $55 million | age: 48 | tour: pga.

Woods may no longer be the Major-winning machine he once was, but he still found a way to break another record this year. In April, he made the cut at the Masters for the 24th consecutive time, passing Gary Player and Fred Couples. Unfortunately, his pursuit of a sixth green jacket came up far short. Woods finished 60th at Augusta.

No. 4 • $61 million

Scottie scheffler, on-course: $41 million | off-course: $20 million | age: 27 | tour: pga.

Keyur Khamar/PGA TOUR/Getty Images

Scheffler currently has a vice grip on the World Golf Ranking’s No. 1 spot. His only blemish in 2024 was a traffic-related incident while on the way to the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club that resulted in the alleged assault of a Louisville police officer and Scheffler’s subsequent arrest . The charges were dropped two weeks later, though he told reporters he’s still struggling with the incident . “It’s not something that I love reliving, just because it was fairly traumatic for me being arrested going into the golf course.”

No. 5 • $47 million

Cameron smith, on-course: $43 million | off-course: $4 million | age: 30 | tour: liv.

Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

Smith may have received a reported $100 million guarantee to join LIV Golf, but his time with the upstart tour has been far more lucrative on the course than a decade spent competing in PGA Tour events and Majors. In three seasons, the 2022 British Open Champion has won just shy of $40 million in prize money with LIV , according to Spotrac, roughly $5 million more than his career total on the PGA Tour .

No. 6 • $44 million

Bryson dechambeau, on-course: $43 million | off-course: $1 million | age: 30 | tour: liv.

Warren Little/Getty Images

DeChambeau may not have the endorsement portfolio he once had, a list that once included Cobra Puma Golf, Bridgestone and Rocket Mortgage, among others. But his lighter sponsorship load has opened other opportunities, such as growing his YouTube presence. DeChambeau’s channel now has more than 670,000 subscribers and over 76 million views, with a nine-hole match between DeChambeau and Mickelson scoring 2.6 million views alone.

No. 7 • $43 million

Brooks koepka, on-course: $35 million | off-course: $8 million | age: 34 | tour: liv.

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Koepka celebrated his 34th birthday last month by winning the fourth LIV Golf event of his career at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore, which made him the career leader in titles on the nascent tour. He also remains the only golfer to win a Major under the LIV banner, with a victory at the 2023 PGA Championship. Off the course, Koepka has partnerships with Nike, Srixon and NetJets.

No. 8 • $40 million

Viktor hovland, on-course: $33 million | off-course: $7 million | age: 26 | tour: pga.

Hovland is still chasing his first Major title and he’s come achingly close, finishing second to Koepka at the PGA Championship last year. In the meantime, he has plenty to celebrate. Hovland secured the FedEx Cup crown in 2023, which came with an $18 million bonus.

No. 9 • $38 million

Phil mickelson, on-course: $36 million | off-course: $2 million | age: 53 | tour: liv.

Mike Stobe/Getty Images

Mickelson has earned more than $1 billion in his golf career, becoming the second player, after Woods, to surpass that mark. However, his ability to spend has become equally infamous. The 53-year-old allegedly bet more than $1 billion over the past three decades, with losses reaching as much as $100 million, according to a book written by renowned professional gambler Billy Walters . Off the course, Mickelson has become significantly less active since joining LIV, but he did cofound coffee company For Wellness in 2020.

No. 10 • $37 million

Dustin johnson, on-course: $32 million | off-course: $5 million | age: 39 | tour: liv.

Jon Ferrwy/LIV Golf/Getty Images

Johnson gave a simple explanation for why he joined LIV Golf. “Play less golf, play for more money—it just made sense,” he told Forbes in 2022 . The two-time Major winner hasn’t quite earned the roughly $75 million he did in his PGA Tour career yet, but with $56 million in LIV prize money, according to Spotrac, and a reported guarantee of $125 million, he’s not exactly hurting for cash. The 39-year-old also recently joined a slew of legendary athletes, including Derek Jeter, Serena Williams and Michael Strahan, as an investor in Cincoro Tequila.

METHODOLOGY

This year’s list of the world’s highest-paid golfers tracks earnings over the last 12 months, dating to the 2023 U.S. Open. The on-course earnings figures include prize money and bonuses, as well as upfront payments golfers received for signing with LIV Golf. Based on conversations with a dozen industry sources, Forbes estimates top-tier LIV players received half of their guarantees upfront while lower-tier players received smaller sums in bulk. Forbes estimates any remaining signing money is being paid in equal annual installments across four-year contracts. Bonuses from the PGA Tour’s Player Impact Program are included in on-course income, while payments for joining the TGL were not included since the league pushed its start back to 2025.

The off-course earnings figures are an estimate of sponsorship deals, appearance fees and memorabilia and licensing income over the last 12 months, plus cash returns from any businesses in which the athlete has a significant interest. Forbes does not include investment income such as interest payments or dividends but does account for payouts from equity stakes athletes have sold. Forbes does not deduct for taxes or agents’ fees.

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PGA Tour creates sponsor exemption for Tiger Woods, cites 'exceptional lifetime achievement'

Tiger Woods expresses his frustration about his poor performance at Pinehurst and casts doubt on his future participation at the U.S. Open. (0:32)

• Senior college football writer
• Author of seven books on college football
• Graduate of the University of Georgia

The PGA Tour has created a special sponsor exemption for 15-time major champion Tiger Woods -- and Woods alone -- based on his "exceptional lifetime achievement," the tour told its members in a memo Tuesday night.

The sponsor exemption would be available for Woods to compete in the eight signature events, which feature limited fields, increased prize money and FedEx Cup points.

Woods, an 82-time winner on the PGA Tour, wouldn't otherwise qualify for the signature events with $20 million purses because he isn't playing enough competitive golf after returning to the tour from serious injuries suffered in a car wreck in February 2021.

The PGA Tour policy board approved the special sponsor exemption during a joint meeting with the PGA Tour Enterprises board of directors on Tuesday in Hartford, Connecticut.

In the memo, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN, the tour told its members, "An additional sponsor exemption will be created to recognize Tiger Woods in his own category as a player who has reached an exceptional lifetime achievement threshold of 80+ career wins."

This season, the eight signature events were The Sentry, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational, RBC Heritage, Wells Fargo Championship, Memorial Tournament and the Travelers Championship.

In the memo, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said the policy board was considering implementing a 36-hole cut in each of the signature events -- only the Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Memorial currently do. The board took no action and will continue discussing the topic.

The tour said it would also develop an alternate list that would ensure that each of the signature events had a field of 72 players. The Travelers Championship has only 71 players after Rory McIroy withdrew Monday .

Woods, 48, has competed in only nine official PGA Tour events the past three seasons since returning to action at the 2022 Masters. The only non-major event he has competed in is the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club outside Los Angeles, which he hosts and benefits his foundation.

Woods withdrew from the second round of the Genesis Invitational in February because of illness. He finished 60th at the Masters and missed the cut at the PGA Championship and last week's U.S. Open .

Woods said he planned to compete in next month's Open Championship, scheduled for July 18-21 at Royal Troon Golf Course in Scotland.

When Woods was asked at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 on Friday if playing in more events might help him perform better in the majors, he didn't seem ready to play additional tournaments.

"I've only got one more tournament this season," Woods said. "Even if I win the British Open, I don't think I'll be in the [FedEx Cup] playoffs. Just one more event and then I'll come back whenever I come back."

In the memo, Monahan also gave members an update on the tour's negotiations with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which is considering a sizable investment in PGA Tour Enterprises. The PIF has funded the rival LIV Golf League the past three years.

Woods and other members of a transaction subcommittee met with PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan and others in New York on June 7.

"As we've said in the past -- we can't negotiate in public -- but we are making progress," Monahan told the policy board, according to the memo. "Two weeks ago, members of our PGA Tour Enterprises transaction subcommittee met in New York with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the Governor of the PIF, as well as members of his team. During that meeting, we reached consensus on several items, but both parties recognize that there is still work to do to reach a final agreement.

"Our talks are ongoing, with the goal of developing a shared vision for the future of professional golf that is pro-competitive and provides players with the best global opportunities."

Neal Shipley on exclusive list of golfers to win low amateur honors at Masters, U.S. Open

Neal Shipley is in rare company.

The 23-year-old former Ohio State golfer won low amateur honors in the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2. One of three amateurs to make the cut, Shipley was paired with fellow amateur Luke Clanton in the final round, and Shipley topped Clanton by two shots Sunday to finish at 6 over for the week.

Shipley is just the ninth player in history to win low amateur honors at the Masters and U.S. Open in the same year. He’s the first to do so since Viktor Hovland in 2019.

But he’s not the only former Ohio State golfer to accomplish the feat. The other guy is pretty well known. His name is Jack Nicklaus.

“It’s been wild,” Shipley said. “It’s been something that maybe three, four years ago I didn’t think was possible, and to accomplish all this has just been phenomenal. Just the stuff of dreams really as an amateur to do everything I’ve done. I think I’ve checked all the boxes now.”

Shipley shot 2-over 72 in the final round while famously using Arby’s curly fries clubhead covers . He got into the field thanks to his runner-up finish in the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills outside of Denver.

He shot 70-73-71-72 in his first U.S. Open start, and he has indicated he’ll likely make his pro debut in Canada this week at a PGA Tour Americas event. The Beachlands Victoria Open has a purse of $225,000.

Here’s a look at the nine golfers who have finished as low amateur at the Masters and U.S. Open in the same year.

Billy Joe Patton

Patton was the first to do so in 1954.

Harvie Ward

Ward became the second to do it in 1955, a year later.

Ken Venturi

Venturi was the third to accomplish the feat in 1956, three straight years of it happening.

Jack Nicklaus

Nicklaus’ greatness was predicted early, as he was the fourth to accomplish the feat in 1960.

Sam Randolph

Randolph accomplished the feat in 1986.

Phil Mickelson

Mickelson is no surprise. He won a Tour event the same year, 1991, in which he swept low amateur honors.

Matt Kuchar

Another player who has had a successful career, Kuchar became the seventh to do it in 1998.

Viktor Hovland

Twenty-one years later, Hovland became the eighth. And it again predicted success to come for the 2023 FedEx Cup champion.

Neal Shipley

Shipley joined the exclusive club in 2024.

DeChambeau Survives Challenging Sunday at Pinehurst to Claim 2nd U.S. Open Title

By David Shefter, USGA

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Bryson DeChambeau let out all of his emotions after claiming his second U.S. Open title with a one-stroke win at Pinehurst No. 2. (USGA/Jeff Haynes)

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Once again, an up-and-down par on the 72nd hole decided a U.S. Open Championship for a former Southern Methodist University golfer at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club’s Course No. 2.

It might not have been an 18-footer by the late Payne Stewart on an uncharacteristically misty 1999 day in the North Carolina Sandhills, but the remarkable sand save by Bryson DeChambeau to win the 124th edition by one stroke in what was the 1,000th USGA championship was every bit as dramatic.

DeChambeau, who carried a three-stroke advantage into Sunday’s final round on a glorious sunny Father’s Day afternoon, survived a wild back nine that saw him lose the lead to four-time major champion Rory McIlroy before executing a perfect bunker shot from 54 yards on the par-4 18th hole to 4 feet. It came some 15 minutes after McIlroy, seeking his first major title in 10 years, lipped out a 4-foot par putt for his third bogey over his final four holes, dropping him one shot behind DeChambeau.

After DeChambeau, whose short game was impeccable the entire week, holed the putt with McIlroy watching from the scoring area, the packed grandstands around the 18th green erupted in one of the loudest roars of the week. It capped off a 1-over-par 71 for a 72-hole total of 6-under 274.

“I'm so happy I got that shot up-and-down on 18,” DeChambeau told the assembled media. “Oh, man, I didn’t want to finish second again. PGA really stung. Xander [Schauffele] played magnificent.

“I wanted to get this one done, especially at such a special place that means so much to me, SMU, my [late] dad (Jon who died in 2022 from diabetes), what Payne meant to him, 1000th USGA championship. Stack them on top. That bunker shot was the shot of my life. I’ll forever be thankful that I’ve got longer wedges so I can hit it farther, get it up there next to the hole.”

The 30-year-old Grapevine, Texas, resident by way of Clovis, Calif., joins a select group of 23 golfers who have won multiple U.S. Open titles, a list that includes Ben Hogan, Bob Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and fellow Mustang Stewart. Like Nicklaus and Woods, he also owns U.S. Amateur and NCAA individual crowns to go along with his National Open victories.

From the time the final pairings teed off shortly after 2 p.m. EDT, Pinehurst No. 2 sounded like a rock concert with deafening roars cheering on the combatants, who also included Patrick Cantlay, Matthieu Pavon and Tony Finau. Finau’s final-round 67 matched the day’s lowest round and earned him a career-best tie for third with Cantlay at 4-under 276. Cantlay, an eight-time PGA Tour winner still seeking a first major title, fired a 70, while Pavon, the 2024 Farmers Insurance Open champion who had never been in a final-round final pairing in a major, posted a 71 for solo fifth at 277.

Bryson DeChambeau became the 23rd player to win multiple U.S. Open titles, joining some of game's legendary figures. (USGA/Jeff Haynes)

Hideki Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters champion, finished sixth (278) after a final-round 70. Russell Henley and world No. 2 Schauffele tied for seventh at 1-under 279 after shooting 67 and 68, respectively.

Even though the final round began with three players trailing DeChambeau by three strokes, it ultimately came down to a two-man race between McIlroy and DeChambeau, two of the game’s biggest stars.

Unfortunately for the affable Northern Irishman, who carded a second consecutive 69, Pinehurst’s last four holes were the difference between him getting major No. 5 and suffering another Grand Slam heartache. Over the weekend, he played Holes 15-18 in 5 over par, missing two par putts inside 5 feet on Sunday at 16 and 18. Otherwise, he had been 50 for 50 on putts of 5 feet or less for the week. In Saturday’s third round, he bogeyed the two closing par 3s, Nos. 15 and 17, failing to get up and down from greenside bunkers.

McIlroy started off Sunday blistering hot, converting a 21-footer for birdie on the par-4 opening hole. In a five-hole stretch from No. 9, he made three birdies from 15 feet or more, including a 27-footer on the par-5 10th, and got up and down for birdie on the 316-yard 13th hole, holing a 5-footer to reach 8 under par for the championship. That came as DeChambeau bogeyed No. 12 to fall back to 6 under par.

The stars seemed aligned for McIlroy to end his 10 years of major misery. A year ago, he came up a stroke short of Wyndham Clark at The Los Angeles Country Club. At the 150th Open Championship on the Old Course at St. Andrews, he fired a pedestrian 2-under 70 on Sunday as Cameron Smith shot 64 and hoisted the Claret Jug.

Going back to his 2014 triumph in the PGA Championship – a span now covering 37 major championships – McIlroy owns 21 top-10 finishes in majors. Besides his 2023 U.S. Open runner-up, he finished second or tied for second in the 2018 Open Championship and 2022 Masters. He finished no worse than solo eighth in all four majors in 2022.

“At the end of the day we are all human,” said Pavon of McIlroy, who declined media requests. “Rory has been chasing another major [for] many years. He is one of the best players in the world, a true champion. The more you want it, the tougher it gets, and the highest expectation you have for yourself, the tougher it gets. Maybe this is a little bit of pressure that got him today for sure, but Rory is just a massive champion. I’m sure he will fight back and really soon.”

This U.S. Open triumph completes a two-year transformation for DeChambeau. In 2022, he surprised many by departing the PGA Tour for the upstart Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit. He also bulked up through weight training and diet in an effort to gain more distance, but the transition turned DeChambeau into something of a polarizing figure.

In the past year, he slimmed down and and began endearing himself more to fans. In April, he contended at the Masters, only to finish in a share of sixth, nine strokes behind winner and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. A month later, he was simply outdueled by Schauffele, despite shooting 20 under par at Valhalla Golf Club in the PGA Championship.

“I don’t know what to think; it hasn’t fully sunk in yet,” said DeChambeau of his second U.S. Open title. “I just want everybody to enjoy it, as well. As much as it is heartbreaking for some people, it was heartbreak for me at the PGA. I really wanted this one. 

Two missed par putts inside of 5 feet late on Sunday ultimately denied Rory McIlroy a chance to end his 10-year major-less drought. (USGA/Kathryn Riley)

“When I turned the corner and saw I was a couple back, I said, ‘Nope, I'm not going to let that happen.’ I have to focus on figuring out how to make this happen. I was a little lucky. Rory didn’t make a couple putts that he could have coming in. I had an amazing up-and-down on the last. I don't know what else to say. It’s a dream come true.”

From the moment he arrived on property at Pinehurst, DeChambeau interacted with many of the thousands of golf fans who flocked to see the world’s best golfers compete on Donald Ross’ masterpiece. He welcomed the roars and high-fived with spectators as he walked between holes.

Always one of the game’s longest hitters – he led the field in average driving distance at 337.9 yards, just ahead of McIlroy – DeChambeau showcased a dexterity around Ross’ inverted-saucer greens. Even when he had to replace his driver head prior to Sunday’s round, DeChambeau maintained his confidence in his biggest weapon, although he hit only 5 of 14 fairways and 11 of 18 greens.

His up-and-down for par on the par-4 eighth hole was a perfect illustration of that touch. A poor drive led to an approach that sailed over the green. Faced with a 96-foot recovery shot, DeChambeau’s pitch stopped 11 feet from the flagstick, and he let out a yell after converting the par putt.

“What’s most impressive about Bryson is not that he hits the ball far,” said Pavon, who got a front-row seat on Sunday to DeChambeau’s wizardry. “Everybody knows it. I was amazed by the quality of the short game on 18. It’s a master class. Short game on 8, up-and-down on 8, was really, really clutch. He’s a hell of a player. He has no weakness, and he’s a truly great champion.”

DeChambeau had a couple of hiccups on the second nine. A bogey on 12 followed another poor drive and he three-putted 15, missing from 5½ feet. But he also nearly converted birdie putts from 23 and 18 feet, respectively, on Nos. 16 and 17, which could have vaulted him ahead of McIlroy going to the 72nd hole.

A wild hook left on the 449-yard closing hole left him an awkward lie in the native area, but he managed to put his second into a front bunker to set up his magnificent third to 4 feet.

The crowd went crazy and DeChambeau celebrated with caddie Greg Bodine and the rest of his team just off the 18th green before receiving the U.S. Open Trophy from USGA President Fred Perpall.

It was a stark contrast to his 2020 triumph at Winged Foot during the COVID-19 pandemic where no fans were allowed on the property. His post-championship celebration took place via Cisco Web Ex. The roars were internal. This week, DeChambeau truly relished the crowds.

“It's direct conversations with people who truly engage with what I’m doing,” said DeChambeau of his interaction with fans. “Those fans really helped push me out there today. You know me; I don’t play boring golf.”

What the Champion Receives

• The Jack Nicklaus Medal
• Custody of the U.S. Open Trophy for one year
• Exemptions into the next 10 U.S. Open Championships
• Invitation to the next five Masters Tournaments, and exemptions into the next five PGA Championships and Open Championships, conducted by The R&A
• First-place check for $4.3 million
• Name engraved on the 2024 USGA Champions’ plaque that will reside in the Hall of Champions at the USGA Museum in Liberty Corner, N.J.

A closing birdie on No. 18 gave Tony Finau a share of third place with Patrick Cantlay, his best-ever finish in a U.S. Open. (USGA/Jeff Haynes)

• Davis Thompson , a member of the victorious 2021 USA Walker Cup Team, was the only qualifier to earn an exemption into the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. The Georgian carded a 68 on Sunday to finish in a tie for ninth at even-par 280. The top 10 and ties are exempt into the following year’s U.S. Open.
• Neal Shipley , the runner-up in the 2023 U.S. Amateur who just completed his eligibility at Ohio State University, became the first player in five years to earn low-amateur honors in the U.S. Open and Masters Tournament in the same year. He edged Florida State University All-American Luke Clanton by two strokes, posting a 72-hole total of 6-over 286.
• This was the sixth consecutive U.S. Open that Rory McIlroy entered the final round among the top 7, which is the longest such streak since four-time champion Ben Hogan achieved the feat in eight consecutive starts from 1941-53. The U.S. Open was not contested from 1942-45 due to World War II and Hogan missed the 1949 championship as he recovered from his near-fatal auto accident.
• Seonghyeon Kim posted a 15-stroke improvement on Sunday with a 2-under-par 68. On Saturday, the Korean shot an 83. His bid for the fifth bogey-free round of the championship ended with a 5 on the par-4 closing hole. On Friday, Sam Bairstow saw a 17-stroke improvement after shooting a 67 following an opening-round 84.
• Sam Burns produced a bogey-free round on Sunday, the fifth of the championship. The Louisiana native’s 67 moved him into a share of ninth.
• The USGA moved up the tees on the par-4 13th to 316 yards, making it drivable. Daniel Berger knocked it to 12 feet and converted the eagle putt. On Saturday, Corey Conners eagled No. 3, which had been similarly moved up.
• World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler had just one birdie-less round in his professional career entering this week’s U.S. Open. He now has three after departing Pinehurst on Sunday with his second of the championship. His 4-over 74 on Friday didn’t include a birdie and neither did his 72 in the final round. The only other time this happened since he turned pro was the final round of the 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club.
• Defending champion Wyndham Clark finished at 12-over 292 after posting a final-round 77.

“I was knocked pretty hard down in 2022 for numerous reasons, numerous scenarios, numerous things. I had some great friends and great people around me tell me, ‘Keep going, keep pushing.’ I dug myself out of a pretty deep hole. Golf swing wasn’t doing well. Ball striking was terrible. I had [fellow LIV golfers] Paul Casey, Anirban Lahiri and Charles Howell continuing to push me in the right direction. That was actually a massive help to help get me in the right mind frame from such a low point in my life” – Bryson DeChambeau on his transformation

“I’ve realized that there’s a lot more to life than just golf. Treating others, yourself first and foremost, respecting yourself, is super important to being able to treat others with respect, as well. I’m not perfect. I’m human. Those low moments have helped establish a new mind frame of who I am, what’s expected, what I can do and what I want to do in my life.” – DeChambeau, on his transformation, continued

“I think it’s super nice having an entire country pushing you, trying to give all the energy they can, just positivity for him. It’s great. They were really respectful for me. Even cheering for Bryson, I never had a bad moment with the crowd. I know that was an experience that I will never forget.” – Matthieu Pavon on the pro-American crowd

“It was an awesome day being last off with Bryson, the major champion. That was just a super nice experience. I enjoyed every moment on the golf course. To drop some birdies on my back nine to finish fifth was really nice.” – Pavon

“I enjoyed playing this golf course. I thought it was an extremely fair setup. Obviously extremely difficult, but it’s right there in front of you. You know where you’re supposed to hit it. You know if you hit it in certain spots, it’s going to go off the green and it’s going to go into a collection area. I like that aspect of the golf course.” – Sam Burns after shooting a bogey-free 67 to finish tied for ninth, his best result in 17 major-championship starts

David Shefter is a senior staff writer for the USGA. Email him at [email protected] .

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Jun 16, 2024

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Tour and Saudis agree on some items with work still to go to finalize any deal

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan pauses while speaking about the death of PGA player Grayson Murray during the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Tiger Woods watches his tee shot on the fifth hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament Thursday, June 13, 2024, in Pinehurst, N.C. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

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The PGA Tour and the Saudi backers of LIV Golf reached consensus on several items during its meeting its recent meeting in New York. Commissioner Jay Monahan cautioned players Tuesday night “there is still work to do” before any agreement.

Monahan sent players a memo after the PGA Tour policy board and the commercial PGA Tour Enterprises board held a joint meeting during the Travelers Championship in Connecticut.

He did not share specifics, only saying the goal was to develop “a shared vision for the future of professional golf” that gives players the best global opportunities.

The meeting with Yasir Al-Rumayyan , governor of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, and PGA Tour Enterprises board members including Tiger Woods, Adam Scott and Rory McIlroy, was May 11.

Monahan also announced a few tweaks for the PGA Tour schedule in 2025, while saying the revamped model that caters to the top performers from the previous year are still creating roughly the same level of turnover.

One big change involves Woods. The board approved an additional sponsor exemption in the $20 million signature events specifically for Woods “as a player who has reached an exceptional lifetime achievement” of 80-plus wins in his career.

Woods has played only four times this year — three majors and taking one of the four sponsor exemptions for his Genesis Invitational at Riviera, where he had to withdraw with the flu.

The player-hosted signature events — Riviera, Bay Hill and Memorial — are the only small fields with a cut. Monahan said the tour board and Player Advisory Council will study whether all the signature should have a cut. The board took no action.

The board did approve a minimum 72 players for the signature events, creating an alternate list based on the current FedEx Cup standings for the players not already eligible. Players complained this year when fields dipped below 70. In the Arnold Palmer Invitational this year, the 69-man field meant one player — Nick Dunlap — had to start the tournament as a single.

The Travelers Championship this week only has 71 players after McIlroy withdrew.

The top 50 in the FedEx Cup are exempt for all the $20 million events. More players competed in other events, particularly early in the season, which limited starts for players who had conditional status, such as those finishing Nos. 126-150.

The board said it would not reshuffle the ranking of conditional players next year until they have had a chance to play three or four times.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

2024 Priority Ranking

1. Winners of PGA Championship or U.S. Open

• Wyndham Clark
• Matt Fitzpatrick
• Raymond Floyd
• Al Geiberger
• Collin Morikawa
• Bobby Nichols
• Jack Nicklaus
• Gary Player
• Xander Schauffele
• Justin Thomas
• Lee Trevino
• Gary Woodland

Winners prior to prior to 1970 and in the last five seasons and current season

2. Winner of THE PLAYERS Championship

• Rory McIlroy
• Scottie Scheffler
• Webb Simpson

In the last five seasons and current season

3. Winners of the Masters Tournament

• Hideki Matsuyama
• Tiger Woods

In the last five seasons and the current season

4. Winners of The Open Championship

• Brian Harman
• Shane Lowry
• Francesco Molinari

6. Winners of World Golf Championships events

• Billy Horschel

In the last three seasons and the current season

6a. Winners of the Memorial Tournament

• Viktor Hovland

Winners of the Memorial Tournament in the last 3 years

6a. Winners of the Arnold Palmer Invitational

• Kurt Kitayama

Winners of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard in the last 3 years

6a. Winner - The Genesis Invitational

Winner of The Genesis Invitational in the last three years

7. Winner of the FedExCup in each of the last five seasons:

• Justin Rose
• Patrick Cantlay

9. Winners of PGA TOUR co-sponsored or approved tournaments

• Ludvig Åberg
• Daniel Berger
• Akshay Bhatia
• Keegan Bradley
• Cameron Champ
• Stewart Cink
• Corey Conners
• Nick Dunlap
• Nico Echavarria
• Austin Eckroat
• Harris English
• Rickie Fowler
• Brice Garnett
• Lucas Glover
• Chris Gotterup
• Emiliano Grillo
• Russell Henley
• Mackenzie Hughes
• Stephan Jaeger
• Kevin Kisner
• Robert MacIntyre
• Peter Malnati
• Taylor Moore
• Trey Mullinax
• Grayson Murray
• Vincent Norrman
• Matthieu Pavon
• Taylor Pendrith
• J.T. Poston
• Seamus Power
• Chez Reavie
• Davis Riley
• Jordan Spieth
• Sepp Straka
• Adam Svensson
• Nick Taylor
• Sahith Theegala
• Brendon Todd
• Erik van Rooyen
• Camilo Villegas
• Matt Wallace
• Will Zalatoris

Winners of PGA TOUR co-sponsored or approved tournaments, whose victories are considered official, within the last two seasons, or during the current season; winners receive an additional season of exemption for each additional win, up to five seasons:

10. Winners of PGA TOUR co-sponsored or approved tournaments as an amateur:

No players exempt in this category

11. Career Money Exemption

• Charley Hoffman
• Zach Johnson
• Davis Love III
• Vijay Singh

A. Players among the Top 50 in career earning as of the end of the preceding season may elect to use a one-time exemption for the next season B. Players among the Top 25 in career earning as of the end of the preceding season may elect to use a one-time exemption for the next season

12. Sponsor exemptions

13. Commissioners Foreign Exemption

14. The current PGA Club Professional Champion

• Braden Shattuck

Eligible for up to 6 open events (3 must be opposite a PGA TOUR event, World Golf Championships event, and The Open Championship), in addition to any sponsor selections. The exemption does not apply to limited-field open events.

15. PGA Section Champion or Player of the Year

16. Open Qualifiers

17. Past champions of the particular event

18. Life Members

19. Top 30 Prior Year FedEx Cup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List

• Tommy Fleetwood
• Adam Schenk
• Tyrrell Hatton
• Cameron Young
• Scott Stallings

20. Top 70 Prior Year FedEx Cup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List

• Denny McCarthy
• Adam Hadwin
• Byeong Hun An
• Andrew Putnam
• Patrick Rodgers
• Taylor Montgomery
• Alex Smalley
• Thomas Detry
• Beau Hossler
• Hayden Buckley
• Ben Griffin
• Keith Mitchell
• Sam Stevens
• Matt Kuchar
• Mark Hubbard
• Matt NeSmith

20b. Top 125 on Prior Year's FedExCup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List

• Davis Thompson
• Joel Dahmen
• Tyler Duncan
• Michael Kim
• Garrick Higgo
• Robby Shelton
• Callum Tarren
• David Lingmerth
• Nate Lashley
• Greyson Sigg
• Will Gordon
• David Lipsky
• Justin Lower
• Carson Young
• Tyson Alexander
• Danny Willett
• Kevin Streelman
• Chesson Hadley
• Christiaan Bezuidenhout
• Aaron Baddeley
• Joseph Bramlett
• Martin Laird
• Matti Schmid
• Andrew Novak
• Troy Merritt

21. Top 125 Nonmember

• Min Woo Lee
• Nicolai Højgaard

Players who earned points greater than or equal to top 125 on the 2022-2023 PGA TOUR FedExCup Fall Playoffs & Eligibility Points List as non-members:

22. Major Medical Extension:

• Maverick McNealy
• Lanto Griffin
• Brandt Snedeker
• Jhonattan Vegas
• Michael Thompson
• J.B. Holmes
• Tyler McCumber
• Vince Whaley

If granted by the Commissioner, if not otherwise eligible, and if needed to fill the field, Special Medical Extension.

23. Top player earning his PGA TOUR card through the DP World Tour

• Adrian Meronk

The leading player (not otherwise exempt) on the season ending's DP World Tour Race to Dubai Rankings.

23. Three Time Winner on the Korn Ferry Tour

23. Leading Points Winner from the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour

Leading Points Winner from the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List

24. Leading points winner from Korn Ferry Tour & Korn Ferry Tour Finals medical

24. PGA TOUR University #1 – Prior Season

24. PGA TOUR University Accelerated – Prior Season

25. Top 10 and ties from previous event

26. DP World Tour / Korn Ferry Tour / Q-School Category - Reordered

• Sami Valimaki
• Chandler Phillips
• Erik Barnes
• Victor Perez
• Jimmy Stanger
• David Skinns
• Alejandro Tosti
• Ben Silverman
• Ryo Hisatsune
• Max Greyserman
• Joe Highsmith
• Hayden Springer
• Mac Meissner
• Alexander Björk
• Jacob Bridgeman
• Rafael Campos
• Parker Coody
• Tom Whitney
• Bronson Burgoon
• Adrien Dumont de Chassart
• Jorge Campillo
• Thorbjørn Olesen
• Norman Xiong
• Kevin Dougherty
• Trace Crowe
• Wilson Furr
• Harrison Endycott
• Roger Sloan
• Pierceson Coody
• Ryan McCormick
• Paul Barjon
• Raul Pereda
• Patrick Fishburn
• Josh Teater
• Scott Gutschewski
• Nicholas Lindheim
• Blaine Hale, Jr.
• Tim Wilkinson
• Anders Albertson
• Brandon Matthews
• Philip Knowles
• Vince Covello

Note: Periodic reordering shall take place on the Mondays of the Masters and after then Wyndham Championship

27. Next highest-ranked players, to a floor or the 10th player, in the final Race to Dubai standings who do not already hold PGA TOUR status

28. Players 2-30 on the Prior Season's Korn Ferry Tour Points List

29. Top 5 and Ties from PGA TOUR Q-School earning their PGA TOUR Card

28. 300 Career Cuts

29. Top Finishers from the Korn Ferry Tour medical:

30. No. 1 player in the final PGA TOUR University Ranking

• Michael Thorbjornsen

The No. 1 player in the final PGA TOUR University Ranking will become a PGA TOUR member and be eligible for all open, full-field events following the conclusion of the NCAA Championship in approximately June of each year. The Ranking includes seniors who meet eligibility criteria. Similar to PGA TOUR University eligibility already in place on the Korn Ferry Tour, this eligibility category will first become available in June of 2023.

30. PGA TOUR University Accelerated (current season)

30. Players winning three Korn Ferry Tour events in the current season

31. Minor medical extension:

32. Reorder category (34-39)

• Martin Trainer
• Wesley Bryan
• Patton Kizzire
• Henrik Norlander
• Kelly Kraft
• Austin Cook
• Kevin Chappell
• Sean O'Hair
• Ryan Palmer
• Scott Piercy
• Richy Werenski
• Nick Watney
• Austin Smotherman
• Zecheng Dou
• Cody Gribble
• Russell Knox
• José María Olazábal
• Tommy Gainey
• Harry Higgs
• William McGirt
• Padraig Harrington
• Luke Donald
• Jimmy Walker
• Paul Haley II
• David Hearn
• Robert Streb
• Kyle Stanley
• Sangmoon Bae
• Ryan Armour
• Brian Stuard
• Chris Stroud

Note: • All conditional categories (126-150, Beyond 150, Past Champions, Veteran Members, and STMs) will undergo reshuffling collectively, as opposed to reshuffling within their specific categories approximately every fourth full-field event (i.e. after the West Coast (WM Phoenix), after the Florida Swing (Valspar Championship), and following the Zurich Classic, RBC Canadian Open, Barracuda Championship, and every fourth event through the Fall schedule TBD).

32a. 126-150 On Prior Season's FedExCup Points List

• Kramer Hickok
• Matthias Schwab

33. Non-Exempt Major Medical Extension.

35. Past Champions and Veteran Members - beyond 150 on the previous season's FedExCup Points List.

• Satoshi Kodaira
• Dylan Frittelli
• Jason Dufner
• Fabián Gómez
• Jonathan Byrd
• Jonas Blixt
• Andrew Landry
• Ricky Barnes
• Geoff Ogilvy
• Rory Sabbatini
• Ted Potter, Jr.
• Scott Brown
• D.J. Trahan
• Greg Chalmers
• D.A. Points
• Jerry Kelly
• Derek Ernst
• Derek Lamely
• Robert Garrigus
• Fred Couples
• Kevin Stadler
• George McNeill
• Arjun Atwal
• Bo Van Pelt
• Mark Wilson
• Jeff Overton
• Richard Johnson
• Boo Weekley

If not otherwise eligible and as needed to fill the field, Past Champion members, Team Tournament Winners, and Veteran members beyond 150th place on the previous season's FedExCup points list in order of their combined official PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour (through Korn Ferry Tour Championship) money in the previous season

36. Past Champion Members.

• Mark O'Meara
• Corey Pavin
• Kenny Perry
• Mark Calcavecchia
• Steve Stricker
• Justin Leonard
• David Frost
• Stuart Appleby
• Steve Jones
• Retief Goosen
• John Huston
• Joey Sindelar
• Hunter Mahan
• Jeff Sluman
• Rocco Mediate
• Scott Verplank
• Carl Pettersson
• Billy Mayfair
• Jesper Parnevik
• Dan Forsman
• Robert Allenby
• Chad Campbell
• Stephen Ames
• Steve Flesch
• Woody Austin
• Heath Slocum
• Billy Andrade
• Duffy Waldorf
• Carlos Franco
• Notah Begay III
• Chris DiMarco
• Vaughn Taylor
• Jeff Maggert
• John Rollins
• Rod Pampling
• Kirk Triplett
• Scott McCarron
• Johnson Wagner
• Bernhard Langer
• Cameron Beckman
• Robert Gamez
• Darren Clarke
• Olin Browne
• Gene Sauers
• Gary Hallberg
• John Senden
• Tom Pernice Jr.
• Paul Goydos
• Frank Lickliter II
• Jonathan Kaye
• Daniel Chopra
• Paul Stankowski
• Len Mattiace
• Steven Bowditch
• Todd Hamilton
• José Coceres
• Keith Clearwater
• Gabriel Hjertstedt
• Kevin Sutherland
• Tim Petrovic
• Chris Riley
• Harrison Frazar
• Andres Romero
• Ryuji Imada
• John Merrick
• Mark Hensby
• Neal Lancaster
• Dicky Pride
• Russ Cochran
• Chris Smith
• Grant Waite
• Brandel Chamblee
• Charlie Beljan
• Willie Wood
• Parker McLachlin
• Spike McRoy
• Mike Heinen

37. Special Temporary Members

38. Team Tournament Winners

39. Veteran Members

• David Duval
• Brian Davis
• Brett Quigley
• Shaun Micheel
• Brandt Jobe
• Skip Kendall
• Michael Allen
• Jay Williamson
• Craig Barlow
• Marco Dawson
• Omar Uresti
• Mike Springer

If not otherwise eligible and if needed to fill the field, Veteran members (players who have made a minimum of 150 cuts during their career), in order of their standing on the PGA TOUR Career Money List.

Tour and Saudis agree on some items with work still to go to finalize any deal

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan pauses while speaking about the death of PGA player Grayson Murray during the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, Saturday, May 25, 2024. Credit: AP/LM Otero

The PGA Tour and the Saudi backers of LIV Golf reached consensus on several items during its meeting its recent meeting in New York. Commissioner Jay Monahan cautioned players Tuesday night “there is still work to do” before any agreement.

Monahan sent players a memo after the PGA Tour policy board and the commercial PGA Tour Enterprises board held a joint meeting during the Travelers Championship in Connecticut.

He did not share specifics, only saying the goal was to develop “a shared vision for the future of professional golf” that gives players the best global opportunities.

The meeting with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, and PGA Tour Enterprises board members including Tiger Woods, Adam Scott and Rory McIlroy, was May 11.

Monahan also announced a few tweaks for the PGA Tour schedule in 2025, while saying the revamped model that caters to the top performers from the previous year are still creating roughly the same level of turnover.

One big change involves Woods. The board approved an additional sponsor exemption in the $20 million signature events specifically for Woods “as a player who has reached an exceptional lifetime achievement” of 80-plus wins in his career.

Woods has played only four times this year — three majors and taking one of the four sponsor exemptions for his Genesis Invitational at Riviera, where he had to withdraw with the flu.

Tiger Woods watches his tee shot on the fifth hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament Thursday, June 13, 2024, in Pinehurst, N.C. Credit: AP/George Walker IV

The player-hosted signature events — Riviera, Bay Hill and Memorial — are the only small fields with a cut. Monahan said the tour board and Player Advisory Council will study whether all the signature should have a cut. The board took no action.

The board did approve a minimum 72 players for the signature events, creating an alternate list based on the current FedEx Cup standings for the players not already eligible. Players complained this year when fields dipped below 70. In the Arnold Palmer Invitational this year, the 69-man field meant one player — Nick Dunlap — had to start the tournament as a single.

The Travelers Championship this week only has 71 players after McIlroy withdrew.

The top 50 in the FedEx Cup are exempt for all the $20 million events. More players competed in other events, particularly early in the season, which limited starts for players who had conditional status, such as those finishing Nos. 126-150.

The board said it would not reshuffle the ranking of conditional players next year until they have had a chance to play three or four times.

More golf news

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You won’t believe how many golfers have earned $10 million on the PGA Tour without winning an event

L ooking at the PGA Tour’s career money list to determine the relative success of a player’s career is mostly a futile endeavor. Sure, Tiger Woods at No. 1 with $120-plus million makes sense, but Jack Nicklaus with $5,734,031—which ranks him a mere 357th all time—does not.

The clearest evidence at how skewed prize money has become in the modern era is this simple statistic: There are 17 golfers who have earned $10 million of more in their PGA Tour careers without ever winning a tour event. To put that in perspective, Ben Crenshaw (19 wins, two majors) earned a little more than $3 million in his career. Lee Trevino (29 wins, six majors) about $6.5 million. Johnny Miller (25 wins, two majors) around $7 million.

Still, banking $10 million without winning means you’ve had some longevity and some skill. You’re not getting to that level by missing cuts and finishing T-48 every week. Here’s a tip of the cap to these 16 men who’ve made a killing by being slightly above crushingly mediocre.

How he got to $10 million: Wi finished in the top 25 in more than 20 percent of his PGA Tour starts (58 out of 262), including five runner-up finishes.

Close calls: Wi lost by one to David Toms at the 2011 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial after holding a one-shot lead through 54 holes, but it’s the 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am that hurt. Wi had a three-shot lead after three rounds but finished two behind Phil Mickelson, shooting 72 in the final round to Lefty’s 64. Sorry, Charlie.

MORE: Golf’s 10 most misunderstood rules

Getty Images

How he got to $10 million: Hearn started the 2021-22 season on a minor medical extension, his last start coming in the 3M Open in July. His T-58 finish earned him $14,718, which just inched him over the $10 million mark to join the list. For five straight years, 2012-16, the Canadian banked more than $1M.

Close calls: Hearn has twice lost in a playoff when trying to get his first PGA Tour win: at the 2013 John Deere Classic, where Jordan Spieth shot a closing 65 and then took home his maiden victory; and at the 2015 Greenbrier Classic, where Danny Lee was the victor in a four-way showdown with Hearn, Robert Streb and Kevin Kisner.

MORE: Best pro golfers at every age, by World Ranking

Sam Greenwood

How he got to $10 million: Varner became the 11th player to join this group with his T-48 finish at the PGA Championship at Southern Hills in May 2022, which tipped him over the $10 million mark. But it was some standout play at the Players Championship (T-6), RBC Heritage (T-3) and Zurich Classic (T-4 with Bubba Watson) that helped him climb the money list that year.

Close calls: Before jumping to LIV Golf in August, and subsequently being suspended by the PGA Tour, Varner had frequently put his name on leader boards in the early rounds only to play inconsistently on the weekends. Twice he was out front entering the final round, most recently at Harbour Town in April 2022, but he wound up tied for third, one of two career third-place finishes. Hilton Head Island, coinidentally, was the scene for his best finish on tour, a T-2 in 2021.

Lintao Zhang

How he got to $10 million: Hossler needed 174 PGA Tour starts as a pro before becoming the 17th (and most recent) player to pass the eight-figure mark sans a victory. It happened after recording his 15th career top-10 at the 2024 Farmers Insurance Open with a T-6 performance.

Close calls: Hossler has three runner-up finishes to his credit, two back in 2018 in his first full year on tour. The most recent was in 2023 at the Zozo Championship, where he held the 36-hole lead only to see Collin Morikawa pass him on the weekend. He also held the 54-hole the lead with teammate Wyndham Clark at the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, only to finish T-3, one of two career third-place finishes.

Scott Halleran

How he got to $10 million: Ten top-10 finishes in 2006 landed him 20th in earnings that year. Quigley finished with five career runners-up, including three in 2009.

Close calls: Shot 67 to come up one shot short of Michael Bradley at the 2009 Puerto Rico Open and fell by the same margin to Retief Goosen at the Transitions Championship a week later. In 2004, he was tied for the 54-hole lead at the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee but lost by two to Carlos Franco. Quigley never really kicked one away as he shot no worse than 69 in his five runner-up finishes. Meanwhile, in February, four months after turning 50, Quigley won on the PGA Tour Champions.

Todd Warshaw

How he got to $10 million: Made close to 50 percent of his career earnings in 2013 and 2014 when he had all three of his runner-up finishes and had 14 top-10s finishes.

Close calls: A final-round 65 at The Barclays at Liberty National fell just shy of catching Adam Scott. The Canadian also had back-to-back T-2s in 2014 at the Farmers Insurance Open and Waste Management Phoenix Open, finishing a shot back of Scott Stallings in the former and the same margin to Kevin Stadler in the former. Three single-shot runners-up? Ouch.

How he got to $10 million: From 2010 through 2015, de Jonge topped $1 million in each season, passing $2 million twice. He also played a lot, averaging a remarkable 31 starts from 2010 through 2016.

Close calls: Lost a playoff to Robert Streb at the 2015 McGladrey and lost by one to Ryan Moore at the 2012 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open despite shooting 23 under par for the week. Shared the 36-hole lead at the 2010 Viking Classic but finished 73-72.

Jonathan Ernst

How he got to $10 million: Although he had a runner-up in 2007, Overton’s career was made with his 2010 season in which he had three runner-up finishes and a pair of thirds, leading to nearly $3.5 million in earnings.

Close calls: Overton is probably kicking himself for a final-round 70 in the 2007 Wyndham Championship as only one other player in the top 20 shot in the 70s. He came up two short of Brandt Snedeker. In 2010, a final-round 71 left him two in arrears to Jason Day.

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How he got to $10 million: In a 15-year career Baird teed it up 379 times on the PGA Tour, making 243 cuts with 31 top-10s and six second-place finishes, including one in his last season of 2014 before injury ended his career.

Close calls: The cat in the funky hat with the funkier putting stroke had six runner-up finishes, but none as dramatic as the 2011 Frys.com Open where he went six extra holes in a playoff with Bryce Molder before Molder ended it with a short birdie putt. Still, Baird—who at the time owned the distinction of being the player with the most money with no wins—kept things in perspective, telling CNN, “I would rather be the guy who has won the most money without a victory than the guy who has won the least money! A stat is only as bad as you want it to be.”

MORE: 10 dos and don'ts when your playing partner is having a career round

Darren Carroll

How he got to $10 million: From 2006 through 2015, Davis averaged 30 starts, including an impressive 34 in 2008. He earned five seconds, all coming from 2007 through 2010. Never made $2 million in any single season.

Close calls: Davis only had one of his runner-up finishes be somewhat close, but it was a memorable one at the 2010 Verizon Heritage. After dropping an 18-foot putt for birdie on the final hole of regulation to tie Jim Furyk, the two returned to Harbour Town’s famed 18th hole for the playoff. Davis went left of the green with his second shot and settled among the reeds. On his backswing, Davis hit one of the reeds—a violation of the rules at the time—and called in an official for a ruling and readily agreed it was a two-shot penalty for moving a loose impediment in a hazard. Davis was lauded for his class—but owns the dubious distinction of being the player with the most earnings without a PGA Tour win because of it.

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Icon Sportswire

How he got to $10 million: The former college All-American at Stanford, where he matched Tiger Woods' career victory mark of 11 individual titles, has frequently made early round appearances on leader boards since playing his way on to the PGA Tour in 2014. While it hasn't produced a win yet, he has had 50 top-25 finishes through the end of the 2022 fall season that slowly added to him topping the eight-figure earnings mark. He officially broke the $10 million mark with a T-27 finish at the 2022 World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba.

Close calls: Rodgers tied for second with Webb Simpson at the 2015 Wells Fargo Championship, losing to Rory McIlroy, and was the solo runner-up at the 2017 John Deere Classic, a stroke back of Bryson DeChambeau. But his real near-missed came in 2018 when he lost on the second playoff hole to Charles Howell III at the RSM Classic and in 2023 at the Barracuda Championship, when he missed a 10-foot birdie try for a win on the last hole, then bogeyed the first playoff hole to fall to Akshay Bhatia .

How he got to $10 million: The Wake Forest grad has been nothing but impressive since his first full year on tour, finishing runner-up five times during the 2021-22 season, including at the 150th Open at St. Andrews, to earn rookie-of-the-year honors. He continued to find himself in contention in 2022-23, finishing second at the WGC-Dell Match Play in March. Then at the Masters in April, a T-7 finish earned him $580,500 to put him over the $10 million mark just 38 starts into his career.

Close calls: At the Valspar Championship in March 2024, Young grabbed his seventh career runner-up finish, the most of anyone who hasn't also won on tour since 1983. His solo second at the Old Course in 2022 came with a 72nd hole eagle for a closing 65, so there was a little luck there. At the 2023 Match Play, Young blew through most of his competition, making nine straight 3s on the front nine in one match, and beating Rory McIlroy in 19 holes during the semifinals. But the week caught up to him in a frustrating loss to Sam Burns in the final match, 6 and 5.

Andrew Redington

How he got to $10 million: In his 137th PGA Tour start, the 2022 CJ Cup, Noren became the 14th member of the $10 million/no-win club, finishing T-37 at Congaree Golf Club. Mind you, it’s not like the Swede has never tasted victory as a professional. He’s a 10-time winner on the DP World Tour who played on the victorious European Ryder Cup team in 2018.

Close calls: Twice Noren has led going into the final round of a tournament only to be caught at the end. In November 2023 at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, Noren shot a closing 67, but was chased down by Camilo Villegas and a final-round 65 to lose by two. And at the 2018 Farmers Insurance Open, he shot a closing 73 at Torrey Pines South and found his way into a three-man playoff with Jason Day and Ryan Palmer. After Palmer was bounced on the first extra hole, Day and Noren went four more before darkness forced them to return on Monday to settle things. That’s when the Aussie made a birdie, and Noren a bogey, on the sixth extra hole to take the title. Noren also finished runner-up at the 2022 Barracuda Championship, losing by one point to Chez Reavie.

Dylan Buell

How he got to $10 million: Since earning his PGA Tour card ahead of the 2017-18 season, McCarthy has consistently been ranked among the best putters on tour. It's allowed him to make the FedEx Cup playoffs each of the last four seasons, earning more than $1 million in the last three, despite recording just one top-three finish. Then, with the designated events boosting prize money payouts in the 2022-23 season, he had been able to collect six six-figure checks before cashing in more than $2 million—and blowing through the $10 million career money milestone—with a runner-up finish at the 2023 Memorial.

Close calls: At Muirfield Village, McCarthy held the lead most of the final round and had a one-shot advantage standing on the 72nd hole. But then he missed the fairway off the tee and couldn't convert on a 22-footer for par, carding his first bogey of the day to fall into a playoff with Viktor Hovland. Back to No. 18 for the playoff, McCarthy proceeded to miss the fairway way and record another bogeyed to let the victory slip away. That became the first of his playoff disappointments. Ten months later, McCarthy put together a monster final-round at the 2024 Valero Texas Open, birdieing his final seven holes for a 63 that got him into a playoff with Akshay Bhatia. But a water ball on the first playoff hole cost him a chance at victory.

Steve Dykes

How he got to $10 million: Tringale was the all-time money leader without a PGA Tour win from May 2021 until June 2023. In his 12 years on the PGA Tour, he averaged 25.9 starts a season, making 338 career starts before deciding to join LIV Golf in August 2022 and give up the chance to finally grab career win No. 1. He had a career-best earnings campaign in his final season on tour, 2021-22, bringing in $3.05 million, the third time he topped $2 million in earnings in a single season.

Close calls: A final-round 65 wasn’t enough to reach Justin Rose at the 2015 Zurich Classic of New Orleans but the killer was the 2016 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open where Smylie Kaufman’s final-round 61 nipped Tringale (and five others) by a stroke. Had two top-three finishes in 2020-21 and four top-10s. Came into the final round of 2021 Sanderson Farms Championship and the 2021 Zozo Championshp one stroke off the lead, only to shoot a closing one-under 71 and closing one-under 69 to finish T-11 and T-2, respectively.

How he got to $10 million: An, the youngest U.S. Amateur winner in history after taking the title at Southern Hills as a 17-year-old in 2009, joined this ignominious club at the first PGA Tour stop of the 2022-23 season. Back on tour after losing his card in 2021, An posted a T-4 finish at the Fortinet Championship in Napa, Calif., that pushed him past the $10 million mark.

Close calls: An recorded his fifth career runner-up finish when he lost in a three-man playoff to Grayson Murray at the Sony Open in Hawaii the second week of 2024. That was the second time he had been part of the rough end of a three-man playoff, falling to Bryson DeChambeau at the 2019 Memorial. In 2019, he also shared the lead entering the final round of the RBC Canadian Open, but a closing 69 wasn't good enough to hold off Dustin Johnson. And in 2022-23, he played 29 times in the regular season and added another runner-up at the Wyndham Championship. An does have a notable win on the DP World Tour, having claimed the title in the Old World circuit's flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship, in 2015.

David Davies - PA Images

How he got to $10 million: A seven-time winner on the DP World Tour after claiming the 2024 Dubai Invitational, Fleetwood has had success since also joining the PGA Tour in 2017. In 127 starts through the 2024 Sentry, the Englishman has had 33 top-10 finishes, yielding an impressive 25.9 percent rate. Two of his five runner-up finishes have been in majors. He’s also only missed 21 cuts.

Close calls: Made a crazy charge with a Sunday 63 at the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hill but Brooks Koepka beat him by one shot with a closing 68. More infamously, Fleetwood took a one-shot lead into the final round of the 2020 Honda Classic but struggled down the stretch leading to NBC analyst Paul Azinger to caustically note: “There’s a lot of pressure you know, you’re trying to prove to everybody you’ve got what it takes and these guys know you can win all you want on that European Tour, the international game and all that, but you have to win on the PGA Tour.” Fleetwood would shoot a one-over 71 to finish third, two back of Sungjae Im. Even more recently was the 2023 RBC Canadian Open, Fleetwood had a putt to win in regulation and two putts to win in a playoff, only to miss them all and fall in the fourth extra hole. That playoff loss to Nick Taylor resulted in Fleetwood taking over as the all-time leading money winner without a tour title.