The Power 18 golf rankings: Jon Rahm jumps Rory McIlroy as unexpected names battle for No. 5 spot
Rahm's consistency amid McIlroy's up-and-down game since the Masters led to an interesting shift among the top three
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8 min read
Who is the fifth best player in the world right now? Halfway through the calendar year, and most of the way through the PGA Tour season, no response to that question will garner 100% agreement.
The top four are clear: world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Masters champion Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm. The order of their ranking may be up for some debate after Scheffler, but they have proven to be the four best golfers in the world through the first six months of 2025.
Scheffler hasn't finished outside the top 10 since The Players Championship with two wins and another major under his belt. McIlroy has been muddled ever since slipping on the green jacket, but he is beginning to find pep in his step. DeChambeau factored in the first two major championships. Rahm has been steadily improving with his consistency beginning to be elevated by his upside.
Who's next? Is it the former loan officer who has been playing out of his mind and nearly took down Scheffler at the Memorial? What about the current U.S. Ryder Cup captain? Captains aren't supposed to be top-five players in the world; they're supposed to be walking off into the sunset with the captaincy all that is on their mind.
Perhaps this is simply reality in 2025 as some stars have fallen out of the sky, those accustomed to entering the winner's circle being locked out with new names walking through the door they have left ajar.
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 still Scheffler and everyone else. The world No. 1 has rattled off nine straight top-10 finishes with five of those doubling as top fives, including his three wins. He has been without his best stuff at various points throughout this run but has been able to scratch and claw his way to the first page of the leaderboard thanks to the well-rounded nature of his game. A five-win season may be in the cards by the time this year ends. Previous: 1 | |
| 2 | |
| Rahm's top-10 streak on LIV Golf came to an end this past Sunday as he finished … T11 in Dallas. What a bummer that is for the two-time major champion, but what isn't a downer is how he has fared in the first three majors this year. Rahm has connected on three top-15 finishes in the three biggest tournaments and was a cooperative putter away from seriously threatening at Oakmont. Previous: 4 | |
| 3 | |
| It seems the final-round 67 at the U.S. Open pulled Rory out of whatever rut he was experiencing. The five-time major champion followed up his top 20 at Oakmont with a top 10 at the Travelers Championship thanks to a strong showing from the putter. He now enters a stretch of the season he loves with the Scottish Open and a return to his native Northern Ireland set for The Open. Previous: 2 | |
| 4 | |
| The missed cut at Oakmont was somewhat surprising given his form in U.S. majors and ultimately came down to his inability to figure out the green complexes. He is driving the ball as well as ever and his iron play has slightly improved thanks to the new stick put into his bag last month. Links golf isn't his favorite, but he'll have to figure it out eventually. Previous: 3 | |
| 5 | |
| This spot could have gone to a number of players, so why not reward the man amid a heater of all heaters? A multiple-time winner this season, Griffin finished runner up to Scheffler at Jack's Place and has since followed that up with three straight top 15s, including a T10 finish at the U.S. Open. He can do no wrong at the moment. Previous: 10 | |
| 6 | |
| It's simple: He's a winner. Bradley now has four wins on the PGA Tour since the start of the 2022-23 season trailing only Scheffler and McIlroy. His latest came in dramatic fashion at the Travelers Championship and raised the volume surrounding a potential playing captain role at the Ryder Cup. He's known for his ball striking, but it is his around the green play (No. 1 the last three months) which has impressed. Previous: 16 | |
| 7 | |
| He has emerged from the other side of a little lull in the middle of his spring. Since missing the cut at the PGA Championship, Henley has gone T5 at the Memorial, T10 at the U.S. Open and T2 at the Travelers Championship. Not too shabby. If it wasn't for a self-called penalty on Friday where he assessed himself a one-stroke penalty for his ball moving, Henley would have been in a playoff with Bradley in the final signature event of the season. Previous: 9 | |
| 8 | |
| Two major championships a season ago only buy yourself a certain amount of grace inside the top five. He has performed well on the major stage this season and extended his top-15 finish streak to nine in the U.S. Open, but Schauffele has not played himself into contention yet in 2025. The driver and putter will need to improve if he is to defend the Claret Jug. Previous: 5 | |
| 9 | |
| Statistically, he could be higher, but at some point he needs to win on the PGA Tour. He had one hand on the trophy at the Travelers Championship in what may ultimately prove to be the most painful defeat of his career. Still, the Englishman continues to be the model of consistency and always has to be considered when the golf moves to his side of the pond. Previous: 12 | |
| 10 | |
| Was a couple of bad bounces away from winning the U.S. Open and followed it up with a near-miss at LIV Golf Dallas where he finished one stroke outside a playoff. Hatton is rounding into form at a perfect time given his affinity for links golf, and his great play at Royal Portrush in 2019. He has been my pick to raise the Claret Jug since the beginning of the year, and I ain't changing it now. Previous: Not ranked | |
| 11 | |
| Morikawa has been searching ever since things did not go his way down the stretch at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. New swing thoughts, new caddies, newer caddies and a rotation of putters are just some of what he has gone through the last three months. The ball striking remains as pure as ever and led him to his first top 10 at the Rocket Classic since March. Previous: 11 | |
| 12 | |
| After a brutal beginning to his year, Burns has caught fire. He has connected on eight straight top-30 finishes, including a playoff loss at the Canadian Open and a serious run the following week at the U.S. Open where he slept on the 54-hole lead. The putter is a serious weapon and the iron play is finally starting to look like many expected it to be at the start of the season. Previous: NR | |
| 13 | |
| He said his driver was not where it needed to be, and it may have cost him the U.S. Open. Hovland once again found himself in contention in a major championship without his best stuff as he finished solo 3rd at Oakmont largely due to massive gains with his scoring clubs. His short game has held up under the gun, and he should be on the short list of contenders for the final major of the year. Previous: NR | |
| 14 | |
| He's a great PGA Tour player and a not-so great major player right now. Thomas missed the cut in spectacular fashion at Oakmont, marking yet another major in which he packed his bags early. He bounced back with a nice run at the Travelers Championship where he was the leader at the halfway point before the wheels fell off in the third round. The two-time major champion is experiencing the best putting season of his career and the worst driving season of his career. Previous: 8 | |
| 15 | |
| The U.S. Open champion has three top-two finishes this season when coupled with his playoff loss at the Players Championship and runner-up result at the Cognizant Classic. He has shot up into the top 10 of the OWGR and into the automatic qualifiers for the U.S. Ryder Cup team. It has been more than a successful year for the 34-year-old, who was battling to maintain his status this time last season. Previous: NR | |
| 16 | |
| A two-time winner in 2025, Straka seemed like he was going to figure out his major championship woes at Oakmont. He arrived following a podium finish at the Memorial, but for the third straight major in 2025, the big Austrian was on a Friday flight home. Supremely accurate off the tee and a great iron player, Straka's struggles around the green have showed up on the major stage. Previous: NR | |
| 17 | |
| Nearly stole the U.S. Open but instead settled for a solo runner-up performance at Oakmont. The Scot has four top 20s in his last five starts now and heads to a title defense at his home open where he bagged the biggest win of his career in 2024. Everything is clicking for MacIntyre, and another run at a big trophy over the next month would not surprise anyone. Previous: NR | |
| 18 | |
| The 35-year-old is vying for a spot on that U.S. Ryder Cup team, and he has accumulated some much-needed points at some big-time events. He is one of roughly 20 players to make the cut in all three major championships and has surrounded those performances with a T12 at the Memorial and T4 at the Travelers Championship -- the final two signature events of the season. Previous: 15 | |
