There were questions swirling around Scottie Scheffler’s game entering the Florida swing, but as the PGA Tour exits stage left for the first major championship of the season, those questions have turned into answers. Scheffler has tightened his grip around the top ranking and provided clear responses to any queries about any shortcomings.
Victories at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship have propelled Scheffler well past his counterparts, but one question does remain: Who is No. 2? His biggest competition in those two tournaments was none other than Wyndham Clark.
The reigning U.S. Open champion finished runner up to Scheffler at both Bay Hill and TPC Sawgrass; as such, he has catapulted himself inside the top five of the Power 18 rankings. While Clark continues to surge, Rory McIlroy continues to search for his footing ahead of his 16th attempt at winning a green jacket.
Prone to a quick left miss and the big number in the early stages of 2024, McIlroy has yet to register a top 10 on the PGA Tour. He is not the only star to be on the lookout for form as the Masters approaches, though, as Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland have all been without their best stuff so far this season.
As for the man who is set to defend his Masters title, Jon Rahm continues to be Jon Rahm. A steady presence on LIV Golf, Rahm headlines a trio of players in the Power 18 from the 54-hole circuit, but it may not be who you’d expect. Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka were among those to narrowly miss out on this edition of the rankings, but that would change quickly if one were to slip on the green jacket in a couple weeks.
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.