Xander Schauffele is back up to a career-high of number two in the world following his Open victory, a move that sees him nudge Rory McIlroy, who missed the cut at Royal Troon, down into third.
The American, who also won the PGA Championship in May, his first Major title, has been one of the game’s most consistent performers for the last couple of years.
The 30-year-old from California hasn’t been outside the top 20 in the world since July 2018, and he’s been an established top-10 player for over two years.
Given Scottie Scheffler’s six victories in 2024, which includes a second Masters title, the number one spot remains out of reach at present, but a case can be made for Schauffele being the best player on the planet right now.
Elsewhere, Justin Rose and Billy Horschel, who shared second at The Open, both made significant jumps in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).
England’s Rose, who was World No.1 six years ago, came close to winning his second Major title at the 152nd Open, finishing two shots back of Schauffele, a result that saw him move from 67th to 34th.
Horschel, meanwhile, has jumped 29 spots from 62nd to 33rd.
The American wasn’t the only one to climb the list, with Russell Henley, who finished alone in fifth, jumping from 20th to a career-high of 12th.
South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence, who took a one-shot lead heading into the back nine at Royal Troon, was still well rewarded for his fine effort despite being passed by Schauffele, Rose and Horschel.
Daniel Brown has broken into the world’s top 200
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The South African finished alone in fourth spot, which puts him in a strong position to gain his PGA Tour card for 2025.
As well as netting his biggest ever payday, some $876,000, the four-time DP World Tour winner made a big leap from 98th in the world to 71st.
And there were a lot of positives to take aware from the west coast of Scotland for England’s Daniel Brown, who finished tied 10th.
The man from Yorkshire – who played in the third tier of men’s pro golf in Europe as recently as 2021 – was among the leaders heading into round four after a rapid start to the Championship but fell away on Sunday.
Brown almost jumped a hundred spots, moving from 272nd to 184th.
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