A three-horse race that sprinted out the gates on the PGA Tour this spring has slowly dwindled to just two as the homestretch awaits. World No. 1 Jon Rahm has surged through the initial portion of the playing schedule, claiming four victories as well as his second major championship at the 2023 Masters.
The Spaniard appears primed to put grass between himself and the rest of the golf world, but Scottie Scheffler is still visible in the rearview mirror. The Texan has claimed two titles of his own this season, both of which came at designated events with one in the form of a beatdown at the 2023 Players Championship.
While Rahm and Scheffler will duke it out down the stretch for win and place honors, the two still do not know who will be the third to join them on the podium by season's end. Rory McIlroy has shown glimpses of elite-level play, Max Homa and Tony Finau are the only other two to claim multiple victories on the PGA Tour this season while Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele continue to flash form.
The Power 18 provides insight as to how golfers are currently performing with benefit given to their play over recent events. It is a wider lens than simply what happened at the last tournament to be played but more narrow than the Official World Golf Rankings, which take into account how more than 2,000 golfers perform across an entire season.
The Power 18
| 1 | |
| It's been quite an odd two months for Rahm. He jumped out to an early lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational only to regress down the stretch, withdrew from the Players Championship with a stomach bug and looked horrible at the WGC Match Play. All of this was forgiven with his triumph at the Masters where he boat-raced the field and overcame a two-stroke deficit in the final round. Since then, he led the field in strokes gained approach at the RBC Heritage and nearly claimed his fifth title of the season before the fifth month of the year at the Mexico Open. The Spaniard fell short to Finau, but he continues to put himself in position to win, and the relative concerns with the big stick appear to be in the past. Previous Rank: 1 | |
| 2 | |
| Through five tournaments since the beginning of March, Scheffler is averaging a world-best +2.91 strokes gained per round, has finished no worse than T11 and claimed a big one at the Players Championship. He followed up his play at TPC Sawgrass with a near miss at the WGC Match Play where he fell to Sam Burns in extra holes in the semifinals. Unable to defend his title in Austin, Texas, the world No. 2 put together another admirable defense at Augusta National two weeks later where he led the field in approach and ranked second to only Rahm in strokes gained tee to green. Unfortunately for Scheffler, he ranked 50th in strokes gained putting and ultimately finished T10. Previous: 2 | |
| 3 | |
| Let's ruffle some feathers. Since the beginning of March, Koepka ranks third in total strokes gained behind just Scheffler and another Texan we will touch on later. A win at LIV Golf Orlando catapulted him into the Masters where he entered the final day with a four-stroke lead before relinquishing it to Rahm over the course of 29 holes. Still, it proved Koepka may be back to his former self, and a third-place result at LIV Golf Singapore confirmed his form is still apparent. He will play at LIV Golf Tulsa the week before the PGA Championship where he has dominated throughout his career. In 10 starts, he has two victories, a runner-up and two additional top fives. Previous: Not ranked | |
| 4 | |
| There is a very real argument to be made that Cantlay is the third-best player on the PGA Tour at the moment. Since the middle of February, the world No. 4 has rattled off seven straight top-20 finishes with four of those resulting in top-four efforts — three of which came at designated events such as the Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational and RBC Heritage. He was a member of the penultimate group in the final round of the Masters, and has recently employed Tiger Woods' former caddie, Joe LaCava. The putter has yet to heat up in 2023, but if it does, don't be surprised if he goes on a Rahm/Scheffler-type run as he is second to only Scheffler in strokes gained tee to green since the beginning of March. Previous: 8 | |
| 5 | |
| The golden boy is shining. Spieth ranks second in total strokes gained since the beginning of March and has had numerous opportunities to enter the winner's circle. The three-time major champion endured back-nine mistakes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Valspar Championship before finishing T4 at the Masters and falling in a playoff at the RBC Heritage. The iron play is dialed, but more importantly, his putter has become a weapon once again. A thorn in his side the past two years with short misses being commonplace, Spieth's putter has been reminiscent of that in 2015 the last couple months. The next five weeks will be a busy time for the 29-year-old between two designated events, two Texas events and a tournament called the PGA Championship which he needs to round out the career grand slam. Previous: NR | |
| 6 | |
| Winning breeds confidence, no matter the field, and few may possess more self belief than Finau. The 33-year-old has claimed five titles in his last 41 starts (12.2%) since breaking a winless drought that spanned over five years. He got the better of Rahm down in Mexico and flipped the result from a season ago when he finished runner-up to his good friend. Finau ranks first on the PGA Tour over the last three and six months in strokes gained approach, which should allow him to contend in major championships once again. While he does have a top-five finish in each major championship, Finau hasn't been much of a factor on the big stage since the 2020 PGA Championship. Previous: 6 | |
| 7 | |
| The Xan Man continues to put up quality results without truly contending. Over his last five tournaments, Schaffuele has five top-20 finishes with three top-five efforts coming at the WGC Match Play, RBC Heritage and the Zurich Classic. He ranks behind only Finau and Scheffler in strokes gained approach on the PGA Tour since the beginning of March, but Schauffele's off-the-tee numbers are dragging him down. He ranks 101st in the world in this category over the same time period, and if able to rediscover some form off the tee, Schauffele should find himself with more legitimate chances to win. Previous: 7 | |
| 8 | |
| The best ability is availability, and McIlroy has been seen sparingly over the last couple months. He has been an early exit from the two biggest tournaments of the season — the Players Championship and the Masters — and has played only four rounds of stroke play in his last 50 days. When he does find his game, McIlroy squeezes the most out of it as shown by his third-place result at the WGC Match Play and T2 finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. After a mountain of expectations came avalanching down on him at Augusta National, McIlroy may relish flying under the radar heading into the Wells Fargo Championship — a tournament he has won three times. Previous: 3 | |
| 9 | |
| A winter and early spring riddled with injury concerns was put to bed with a victory at the RBC Heritage. Emerging from a final group with Spieth and Cantlay, Fitzpatrick captured his second career victory on the PGA Tour in emphatic fashion. This was on the heels of a T10 result at the Masters which continued a sneaky strong stretch in major championships. Fitzpatrick has not only his U.S. Open triumph but four other top-21 finishes in his last five major championship appearances. He was a member of the final pair in Southern Hills in 2022, and it wouldn't surprise anyone if he is again at Oak Hill Country Club for the PGA Championship. Previous: NR | |
| 10 | |
| The Norwegian is close ... very close. Over the last two months, Hovland has shown up when it matters the most. He squandered an opportunity late at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, finished T3 at the Players Championship and utilized a sizzling second-nine in the third round of the Masters to find a spot in the penultimate group on Sunday. He ultimately finished T7 at Augusta National, but it did mark his second straight major championship in contention as he was paired with McIlroy the final day at St. Andrews. He ranks behind only Scheffler in strokes gained ball striking but outside the top 90 in both strokes gained around the green and strokes gained putting. Previous: 14 | |
| 11 | |
| The reigning PGA Tour Rookie of the Year has regained his footing after a slow start to 2023. A T10 result at the Arnold Palmer Invitational was followed by a run to the finals at the WGC Match Play. Young may have fell to Burns in the championship match, but for my money was the best player that week at Austin Country Club. The partnership with new caddie Paul Tesori continued to pay dividends in the form of a T7 finish at the Masters. He ranks fourth on the PGA Tour in total strokes gained since March 1. Previous: NR | |
| 12 | |
| Burns has found his stride ever since his driver was ruled non-conforming at the Genesis Invitational. Attempting to win three straight Valspar Championships, Burns finished T6 before claiming the WGC Match Play in his next outing. He was in the mix for a bit at the Masters and has notched top-15 results in his two starts since. He has gained strokes off the tee in seven straight events and ranks sixth in strokes gained putting on the PGA Tour over that same span. Previous: NR | |
| 13 | |
| The South Korean is probably too good to only be a two-time winner on the PGA Tour. Im isn't necessarily underachieving, but he is having difficulty playing himself into contention despite a number of quality results to show for it. He has rattled off six straight top-21 finishes, highlighted by top-10 finishes at the Players Championship and the RBC Heritage. During this stretch, he ranks eighth in total strokes gained. Previous: 13 | |
| 14 | |
| The 26-year-old is becoming increasingly more difficult to figure out. Morikawa grabbed the first-round lead at the Players Championship only to back up the next three days and finish T13. He claimed another top-10 finish in a major championship — his seventh in just 13 major starts — at the Masters thanks to a surprisingly good putting performance. Those are few and far between for Morikawa (he ranks 94th in strokes gained putting in his last six events), who has been buoyed by his world-class iron play. Previous: 5 | |
| 15 | |
| There are a number of similarities between Thomas and Morikawa at the moment, disappointment being one of them. The 15-time winner on the PGA Tour has not contended in the final round of a tournament since the 2022 Canadian Open … in June. That's almost a full calendar year. His iron play has dipped below historical levels and his putting has fallen into the abyss. A missed cut at the Masters and T60 finish at the Players Championship lowlight a mundane couple of months. Previous: 11 | |
| 16 | |
| Some would say I am chumming the waters with this one. Gooch has won back-to-back events on the LIV Golf tour with his victories in Adelaide and Singapore. He rattled off rounds of 62-62 at The Grange and got the better of Koepka and Sergio Garcia the following week. The Oklahoma State product returns to his home state for LIV Golf Tulsa and is in need of a massive effort at the PGA Championship. If he is to qualify for the U.S. Open (sore subject), the world No. 60 will need to garner enough Official World Golf Ranking points to either maintain his position or climb inside the top 60. Previous: NR | |
| 17 | |
| There was a point at the Masters where Day was Koepka's closest pursuer. Disaster struck when the Australian's approach on the par-5 15th found the water, and with it Day's chance to claim his second major championship sunk. He hasn't been seen since but returns to Quail Hollow — the site of his last victory in 2018 — in stellar form. He ranks 14th in the world in total strokes gained over the last two months and has finishes of T10 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and T5 at the WGC Match Play. Previous: 10 | |
| 18 | |
| I wanted this spot for Rickie Fowler, but Homa's two wins and strong Florida Swing are too much to overlook. The six-time winner led the field in strokes gained approach at the Arnold Palmer Invitational before finishing T6 at the Players Championship and T9 at the WGC Match Play. He has admitted to fighting his swing and the metrics back it up as he has lost strokes off the tee in four straight and on approach in two straight. Combine this with lackluster performances on the greens, and it easy to see why his last three starts read: T43-MC-MC. Still, Homa is as resilient as they come and perhaps Quail Hollow — the site of his first win in 2019 — will bring the best out of him heading into a long summer. Previous: 4 | |
