From January through August, one man has occupied the top spot in The Power 18 Golf Rankings: world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. Emerging victorious in his first event of the season, Scheffler has yet to reenter the winner’s circle this season, though it has neither been for a lack of effort nor terrific performances.
In his final event of the regular season, Scheffler finished runner-up (again) to Jackson Koivun for his fifth such result of the year. He has fallen short of victories against not only Koivun but also Rory McIlroy at the Masters, Matt Fitzpatrick at the RBC Heritage, Cameron Young at the Cadillac Championship and Viktor Hovland at the Travelers Championship.
Strong, quality, high-end players have stopped Scheffler in his tracks this season, something no one has been able to do in the last handful of years. So, yes, Scheffler remains the clear class of professional golf. However, between a lack of sharpness with his wedges, poor putting overseas and the occasional slow start, the all-important statistic of wins is not one in which he leads.
That belongs to Fitzpatrick and Chris Gotterup with other multiple-time winners like Young and Wyndham Clark not far behind. In addition to Scheffler, those four players are likely your candidates for player of the year at the moment, but there is still time for that to change — time for big wins to materialize in the postseason and time for players to put their stamp on this season and remind everyone of who they are.
The Power 18 provides insight into how golfers are currently performing, based on their play in 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 golf rankings
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