As we come to a close on the 2023 golfing season, we wanted to take a moment to index where we think the top players stack up against one another. Who is too high? Too low? Let us know in the comments and on our social media! We will be updating these rankings monthly once the 2024 season begins.
1. Scottie Scheffler: While he didn’t exactly hoover up wins the same way he did last season, Scottie is still the premier player in the game today. Of his starts that had SG data recorded with them, he only had eight in which he was positive SG putting. His putting feels worse than other people because he hits it so close to the hole on a regular basis it feels as if he should hit every put he looks at I think the time off will be good for Scottie on the greens and he is going to come back in January and tear it up on tour again next season. We saw a preview of this at The Hero where he grabbed a stress free victory.
2. Viktor Hovland: Viktor cleaned up the one major weakness in his game which was his play around the greens. He moved from statistically far below tour average to right around tour average. When you are as elite as he is at every other area in the game, cutting this anchoring dead weight from his game had a drastic impact, as we saw in his form at the end of the year when he won the BMW and Tour Championship. This is only the beginning from Viktor and it would be surprising to no one if he ascended to number one in the world next season.
3. Jon Rahm: When he put the green jacket on, it felt like there was no ceiling on his dominance and he could rack up a near record number of wins in a season. It turned out to be the last victory he would grab last year, but that shouldn’t skew how we view him. He has immense talent and that tangible “killer” quality to his game where no moment is too big for him. Rahm is a special player and you should expect to see him contending in every event he tees it up in. No matter if it is on The PGA Tour or LIV
4. Rory McIlroy: It is hard to feel like Rory ever has a successful season because his personal standards, as well as the expectations we hold for him, are astronomically high. However, just about every player in the world would switch seasons with him in a heartbeat. Starting with the PGA Championship through the Tour Championship, his worst finish during that entire stretch was T9! That level of elite play on consistency makes you a top five player in the world
5. Max Homa: Homa this high may be controversial. His major record still leaves a lot to be desired, but I really feel like he turned the corner this season. His 3-1-1 performance at The Ryder Cup this year was nothing short of inspiring. With his mental side of the game so much improved over the last couple of seasons, it feels like he now has all the pieces of the puzzle to be a truly elite player, one of the five best in the world even.
6. Collin Morikawa: It was nice to see Morikawa get back to his winning ways at ZOZO. He is a 26 year old two time major winner who when at his best could be the best player in the world. His driving accuracy is a true world class weapon. This last season feels like it could have gone very differently for Collin had he not been chased down by Rahm at The Century TOC to start the season. He has elite level skills that few people in the world can match in his driving accuracy and his ball striking, which is why he finds himself 6th on this list.
7. Patrick Cantlay: It is hard to find anything really inspiring or insightful about Cantlay’s game. He is either very good or great in every statistical category. He has no real weakness to his game. He takes a very straightforward businesslike approach to everything he does on and off the course. If he had a stronger showing in the majors or to close the season he would likely be higher on the list. Instead he finds himself here where he often finds himself, right on the cusp of truly elite play, but just not quite in that category.
8. Tommy Fleetwood: The winless wonder himself! He grabbed three top three finishes on The PGA Tour this season as he got back to his world class ball striking that had left him the last couple of seasons. Tommy looked renewed and rejuvenated this season. While it may feel crazy to have someone who hasn’t won on The PGA Tour in their career this high on the list; if you watch PGA Tour golf week in and week out, you know he is one of the best there is. Stop me if you have heard this one before, Tommy’s first win is right around the corner.
9. Matt Fitzpatrick: It was a season of high highs and low lows for Matty Fitz that was marred by injury in the early going. Once he got healthy, his play improved dramatically and we got a good look at who he really is as a player. His combination of short game skill and putting prowess is what lands him so high on this list. Those are elite skills to have that even when the rest of his game isn’t there, he can keep himself towards the middle and top of leaderboards which is something not everyone can say for themselves.
10. Xander Schauffele: Xander may not have gotten a win this year, but that doesn’t mean he was in poor form. He did not miss a single cut this season! Truly a beacon of consistency in his play. His style of play reflects that as well. He has no glaring weaknesses and brings a steady and solid approach to every round he plays. If we see a little higher ceiling to his spike weeks of play, especially in majors, he will cruise up this list.
11. Ludvig Aberg: He recently won the European Masters, as well as the RSM. It is hard to avoid using the term generational when describing his driving because that is what it is. He is one of the longest and straightest players in the world. With that deadly combination he is constantly setting himself up with scoring opportunities. It is simply a week to week basis on what his wedge play and putting looks like that determines where he finishes. The driver of his is truly a weapon and it puts an incredibly high floor to his game.
12. Tom Kim: Defending his Shriners Title in impressive fashion a few weeks ago, Tom Kim reminds us of why we all got so excited about his game in 2022. An incredibly precise player off the tee and with his approaches into greens, the only question that surrounds his game is if he can increase his distance at all. Still at 21 years old you think there is a lot of growth to his game which is saying something because he is already an exceptional iron player.
13. Cameron Smith: Short and simple, Cam Smith is a wizard on and around the green. His game travels well because of that. This year we saw a slight dip in form. A slight dip in form for Cam Smith however, still includes two top ten finishes in Major Championships. When the golf gets harder, he gets better, and that is not something that is true of all players.
14. Tyrrell Hatton: The antics of Tyrrell Hatton can sometimes overshadow his game. Which is hard to do because his game is immaculate. Once he gets off the tee, he is truly a world class player in every other area of the game. He has a really underwhelming Major Championship history with his best ever finish being a T5 at The Open in 2016. If he can ever shake those struggles, he could climb this list. For now, he sits comfortably as a world class player, but not a true apex predator of a player.
15. Wyndham Clark: Wyndham loves a big spacious ballpark to play his golf in. He obviously won twice this year: Once at Quail Hollow and the other LACC. He absolutely mashes the ball off the tee, the rest of his game however, is hovering around Tour average. The year he had cannot be discredited which is why he finds himself at 15, despite some real room for improvement in other areas of his game.
16. Sungjae IM: If you ask an average golf fan what they know about Sungjae, it is probably that he records so many starts. The dude is an absolute workhorse rarely missing a tournament in which he is able to play in. He didn’t have his best year this year but the underlying numbers are encouraging. He missed the cut in two of the four majors, which is an area you would expect him to be stronger given his stature in the game. It would not be surprising if he had a much better year in majors and on tour in general this next season.
17. Cameron Young: This is a ranking based on perceived talent more than anything else. He had a disappointing season and there is no way around that. He had an encouraging Open Championship and that is about it. He toggled between ball models that he was playing and never seemed fully content with his game or his set up this season. I think we saw the absolute floor of Cam Young last season and have much higher expectations for next season than what he showed this year.
18. Sahith Theegala: It was great to see Sahith win The Fortinet given his dip in form towards the end of the season. He failed to make The Tour Championship, which was certainly a disappointment given how he started the year. I think the best Sahith comparison is still Spieth. The creativity, high highs, and low lows are all very Spiethien. He could be a superstar in the game, if he could improve his driving. The only thing consistent about his driving, is that it is very erratic. If he starts keeping the ball on line off the tee box, he could be a seriously dangerous player.
19. Brooks Koepka: Brooks came mighty close to winning two majors this year. On that alone you could argue he should be higher up this list. He has a history in his career of not getting up for what he deems unimportant events and this year was no different. With his lack of consistency it is hard to get a read on where he should fall on this list. When he is on, he is one of the world’s best, we just do not get to see that version of him frequently anymore.
20. Eric Cole: Without a doubt the biggest riser in all of golf this year is Eric Cole. He is fourth all time on the Minor League Golf Tour money list which is not a place you find many PGA Tour stalwarts. He burst onto the scene this year with six top five finishes in PGA Tour events. He has a game that seems as if it was built in a different era. Shorter hitter who is also a little sporadic off the tee, yet is so good in every other area that it does not matter. His statistical profile and the eye test line up really well for him and I would bet that this is not a flash in the pan; rather I feel he is here to stay as a fixture in the competitive golfing landscape.
21. Keegan Bradley: Keegan had a nice resurgence this year. A two time winner on The PGA Tour this year he showed that the modern game and new generation of players has not passed him by. He is a slightly above average player in all areas of the game and has a really high floor to his game thanks to his great putting. Keegan has been divisive over his career, but there is no arguing that he is once again a fixture at the top of The PGA Tour.
22. Sepp Straka: This may be unfair to Sepp, but the shot of his I remember most from his season is him pulling (maybe snap hooking?) an approach into the green into the water at John Deere. What it stands for though is what I like about Sepp as a player, he is always going for it. In this case, he was trying to make history and shoot a 59. He ended up shooting 62 en route to his victory at The John Deere this year. He added a T2 at The Open to his John Deere victory to make it a really impressive season for himself. While Sepp is not an elite player, he is one of the world’s best as we saw throughout this season.
23. Sam Burns: Sam Burns won the match play this year. Besides that, it was a pretty forgettable year for Burns. He didn’t finish better than 6th in any other event this year. His approach play regressed statistically this year and you could see how it hurt his finishes. There is no doubt Burns has immense amounts of talent, he just has to get his ball striking back on track to climb up this list.
24. Tony Finau: It may seem that Finau is a player who makes his money driving the golf ball. This is not the case however. He is actually one of the world’s elite iron players and last season, just about an average driver of the golf ball. We hear a lot about how much more Tony has in the tank off the tee, and it may be time that we start seeing it in events! Since his win in Mexico he has posted primarily pedestrian results. I would however, be willing to bet that he looks much better next season than his form to end this season would suggest.
25. Justin Rose: Rose didn’t get many starts this season but he made the most of them. He won at Pebble Beach and posted six solid top 10 finishes. With his current age his greatest ability is probably experience and savvy. Would it surprise me if he fell off next season? No. However, let us just enjoy his current run of form and appreciate the year he had.
26. Hideki Matsuyama: Hideki’s talent is still top class. His health let him down some this year and he could never seem to find his form. His ball striking has not wavered in spite of that. He just struggled to find any real sense of consistency. If he gets off to a slow start in 2024 he will drop off this list. It is just too soon for that because of his relentless ball striking he still displays.
27. Brian Harman: The champion golfer of the year, who saw that one coming! To me, it feels like his game is built so firmly on the back of his putter that it feels unsustainable. He started off in poor form in 2023, but brought it back at the end of the season. I will be interested to see what Harman we get at the start of the 2024 season.
28. Shane Lowry: Shane grabbed a top 20 finish in three of the four majors, which really saved his season in my eyes. There is something to be said for playing your best golf when the lights are brightest and that is what Lowry did this season. He is a solid player that is turning 37 in the near future. It will be interesting to see if he can stay towards the top of the game with the exciting crop of young players coming into the game.
29. Justin Thomas: Plenty of ink has been spilled over JT this year. He missed the cut at three of the four majors and finished T65 at The PGA. Yet, leaving him out of the top 30 in the world still feels impossible to do because of how high his ceiling is when it clicks. This year it never really clicked for him though. The one bright spot for him was his play around the greens this year. With a slight decline in his approach play compared to his usual standard, his chipping and pitching was stressed more than ever before. We saw his creativity and his quality on full display in this area and we hope he can get back to top form in the 2024 season.
30. Min Woo Lee: Min Woo Lee is almost a perfect encapsulation of modern golf. He is so long off of the tee. His swing is teaching tape on how to leverage your frame for maximum speed. His social media presence is delightful. In addition to all this, he is an elite player around and on the greens. If he can improve his iron and wedge play, we are looking at a top 10 player in the world. Being that he is only 25, I believe that we will see that one day for Min Woo Lee.
