The Power 18 golf rankings: Scottie Scheffler opens at No. 1, Xander Schauffele steps back while sidelined

The inaugural power rankings of the 2025 season set the stage for what should be an incredible major championship season

Through two months of the 2025 golf season, some of the world's best have made their presence known while others continue to search for answers. With the year's first major championship fast approaching and now only one month away, players will need to start cramming for the examination that is Augusta National in early April.

Enter the first edition of The Power 18 as we power rank the best golfers in the world with major season ahead.

Reigning Masters champion Scottie Scheffler is one of those players who still may have some questions surrounding his fit level. While he continues to be the undisputed world No. 1, Scheffler struggled relative to his own expectations during the West Coast Swing as he returned from a Christmas Day ravioli-making accident. 

Shaking off the rust with a trio of top-25 finishes, Scheffler hopes his past success in Florida -- four wins in the last three seasons -- can kickstart his season ahead of his Masters defense. 

While Scheffler has gotten his feet underneath him, Xander Schauffele has not. The two-time major champion played in the PGA Tour's season opener, but Schauffele was absent from many of his usual tournament stops due to a rib injury. Teeing it up at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Schauffele's health and game will be tested immediately given the severity of Bay Hill.

Rory McIlroy rolls into Florida with a newfound approach to his game, while LIV Golf members takes to the other side of the world for a two-week stint in Asia. Led by Jon Rahm, this pack of players are putting together strong early-season efforts that could result in making even more noise next month when the golf world comes together for the first time all year.

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	Scottie Scheffler
Despite a so-so West Coast Swing, Scheffler still contended at the WM Phoenix Open and Genesis Invitational while claiming a top 10 at Pebble Beach. The world No. 1 fired a back-nine 41 to finish off his week in Scottsdale and signed for a 76 on Saturday in San Diego, but outside of those 27 holesm it was business as usual. He continued to look comfortable over the putter and his iron play was brilliant. His driver was not up to the Scheffler standard, but if that returns to normalcy, so will the results.
2	Rory McIlroy
He already has two fewer starts under his belt compared to this time last season as McIlroy has made a concerted effort to play less leading up to the Masters. It has resulted in three solid performances as he ran away from the field Sunday at Pebble Beach and played well at Torrey Pines. He would have finished even higher at the latter event if not for a historically poor putting weekend. Rory has been preaching patience the first two months of the season; Bay Hill and TPC Sawgrass will test just that.
3	Xander Schauffele
The best ability is availability, and Schauffele just hasn't been playing. Expressing caution in his return from rib injury, Schauffele skipped a couple tournaments at Torrey Pines in addition to a couple other California tournaments he would normally play. He will have two -- possibly three -- starts before he tees it up at the Masters as the most recent major champion.
4	Jon Rahm
A missed cut in Dubai was followed by a couple close calls on LIV Golf as Rahm rattled off a T2 finish in Riyadh and a solo sixth in Australia. The Spaniard remains a top driver of the golf ball in the world, but keep an eye on his iron play over the next two weeks as it has been inconsistent to start 2025. He has yet to finish outside the top 10 in his LIV Golf career.
5	Ludvig Aberg
Take away a two-week stretch in which Åberg battled a bug at the Farmers Insurance Open and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and it has been a perfect start to the season for the Swede. After finishing inside the top five at the Sentry, Åberg claimed his biggest title to date with his victory at the Genesis Invitational. While he broke all kinds of scoring records with his win at the 2023 RSM Classic, Åberg is built for major championship tests which he'll get the next two weeks.
6	Tyrrell Hatton
The Englishman has three wins in his last 16 starts with two of those coming on the DP World Tour. Hatton kicked off his year with another victory in the desert of Dubai and continues to look like one of the most well-rounded players in the world. If Hatton keeps up this form in Asia, he will be a popular pick come the Masters (despite his major record falling short of his overall skill level).
7	Hideki Matsuyama
Matsuyama has been playing plenty of golf. Since winning the Sentry, the man from Japan has teed it up five additional times in unison with his TGL commitments. He's grabbed three top-25 finishes during that span as his putter has remained serviceable and his iron play elite. He will need figure out the driver if he expects to contend at water-heavy courses in Florida.
8	Collin Morikawa
So far, Morikawa has played as many times on TGL as the PGA Tour. The two-time major champion has played the three signature events (and no regular tournaments) and that trend will continue into the Florida Swing and possibly through April. The results have been solid in limited action as his runner-up finish at the Sentry was followed up by a pair of T17s in California.
9	Justin Thomas
Thomas continues to trend towards a long-awaited victory. A runner-up result at the American Express was followed up by top-10 finishes at the WM Phoenix Open and the Genesis Invitational. He ranks second in strokes gained approach since the start of the year, but more importantly, he has been slightly positive with the putter in hand. If that club cooperates, his dry spell will end soon.
10	Bryson DeChambeau
Since his U.S. Open victory, DeChambeau hasn't done a ton, but the game is beginning to turn a corner. He grabbed a runner-up result on the Asian Tour and finished top 10 in LIV Golf's first tournament of the year. DeChambeau is driving the cover off the golf ball, but the rest of the game has some room to improve over the next month.
11	Joaquin Niemann
The 26-year-old continues to pile up victories around the world as his win at the Saudi International was followed up with a win at LIV Golf Adelaide in his last start out. Niemann has secured invitations into the Masters and the PGA Championship where his game should theoretically stack up.
12	Sepp Straka
The West Coast Swing may have belonged to the big Austrian. Straka snagged his third career victory at the American Express and held the 54-hole lead the very next week at Pebble Beach before back tracking to a T7. Another top-20 finish came at the WM Phoenix Open before Straka teed it up at the Cognizant Classic where he finished T11. Straka ranks top 10 in driving accuracy and iron play since the start of the year -- a lethal combination.
13	Tommy Fleetwood
Fleetwood checks in as the top iron player in the game in the early stages of the season. This has led to three straight top-25 finishes including a top-five result at the Genesis Invitational where he gained strokes putting for the first time all year. It's the club that has held him back so far, but the switch to Florida may change his fortunes on the greens.
14	Patrick Cantlay
His form is flying under the radar coming into Florida. Cantlay has captured two top-five finishes in his last three starts thanks to a massive uptick in his iron play and putting. Those are the two areas which hindered his performances in 2024, and if the short-term gains sustain into the long-term, then the payoff should be significant.
15	Russell Henley
The consistency is beyond impressive at this point. Henley has nabbed three top-10 finishes in his last four starts with the last one doubling as a serious contention run. Holding a share of the lead on the back nine on Sunday of the Cognizant Classic, Henley wilted with some ill-timed approach shots. He can compete at birdie fests and difficult setups, but Henley needs to start showing he can do more than just that.
16	Maverick McNealy
No one's stock has risen higher than McNealy's dating back to the fall. The RSM Classic winner has brought his winning confidence into the new year and has secured three top-10 finishes already. His final-round 64 at the Genesis Invitational was surgical and left him one stroke short of a playoff. His recent swing changes have turned him into a serious contender on a weekly basis.
17	Shane Lowry
Take away his play from Torrey Pines, and it has been a solid start for the Irishman. Lowry finished runner up to McIlroy at Pebble Beach and notched a T11 finish at the Cognizant Classic to kick off his Florida Swing. He continues to thrive from tee to green, which will come in handy during this big two-week stretch.
18	Tony Finau
Finau has finished inside the top 15 three times this season including twice in his last two starts. He will go as his putter goes, and recent improvement on the greens are a welcomed sight ahead of a run of tournaments that has been unusually unkind to him. Finau has zero top 10s in 14 combined starts at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Players Championship.