Three down. You should go.
The Open Championship, the final major of the men’s professional golf season, will be two weeks away from July 17th-20th at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Portrush, Northern Ireland.
This week’s John Deere Classic in Sylvis, Illinois and Genesis Scotland’s opening in North Berwick, Scotland, was first introduced, with many of the world’s best golfers traveling abroad a week earlier to get a taste of Link Golf.
Will World No. 1 golfer Scotty Schaeffler win the third leg of a career grand slam? Can Reignive Masters champion Rory McIlroy drive away the devil from six years ago, missing out on a cut at the Royal Portrush opening? Will defending Open Championship winner Xander Schauffele find his form?
With the FedEx Cup playoffs approaching and the Ryder Cup turning the corner, there’s not much chance that golfers will impress Captain Keegan Bradley and European Captain Luke Donald.
This is the latest PGA Tour power ranking.
1. Scotty Scheffler
Schaeffler took a few weeks off before crossing the pond to open and open Genesis Scotland. Surprisingly, Schaeffler hasn’t finished outside the top 25 with 14 starts on the tour this season. He was in the top eight of each of his last nine times, including CJ Cup Byron Nelson, PGA Championship and Memorial Tournament victory. He finished third in his final start at the Renaissance Club in 2023 with a five-stroke behind McIlroy.
2. Rory McIlroy
A few weeks in the UK will help McIlroy climb out of his postmaster funk. He planned to spend time with his family in this new home in London before playing an important two weeks of golf. He won the 2023 Genesis Scotland Open with a thrilling one-stroke victory over Robert McIntyre. McIlroy was tied fourth last season, with a four-stroke behind Macintyre.
The 36-year-old plays the best golf of his career with eight top-10 finishes in 14 starts on the tour. He collected his fifth PGA Tour victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, winning the Travelers Championship again. Henry was fifth in last year’s Open Championship at Scotland’s Royal Toon Golf Club, and was the best finish in that major.
0:37
Spaun calls us the open win “the ending of a fairy tale.”
JJ Spaun looks back at winning his first major after draining a memorable birdie at Hole 18 to secure the 2025 US Open.
Our incredible open winner tracked his performance in tie 14th place in the Travelers Championship. He was two runner-up this season at Palm Beach and the Cognizant Classic in the Players Championship. Spaun came third in the US Ryder Cup Team Points standings behind Scheffler and Schauffele alone, and he appears to be a nearby rock to make a team.
Born in Austria, Straca has already won the American Express and Trust Championship twice this season’s PGA Tour. Surprisingly, he missed the cut in each of the first three majors, but otherwise played epic golf. He is sixth in the European Ryder Cup team rankings, but even if he falls below the cut line, it appears to be one of Donald’s six captain choices. A good open finish will save a major season for Straca, who placed second in the UK’s Royal Liverpool Golf Club in 2023.
JT’s performance in the first three majors – finished 36th in the Masters and missed cuts at the PGA Championship and the US Open, but it was an incredible turnaround season. He finished nearly three years of drought without a victory by winning the RBC legacy in the playoffs and was runner-up in the American Express, the Valsper Championship and the Trust Championship. If he creates a US Ryder Cup team, there is no second guess.
7. Keegan Bradley
“Captain America” previously said he would only play in the upcoming Ryder Cup if he automatically qualifies a US team. He was ninth after winning the Travelers Championship, which came in 8th place in the PGA Championship and 7th place in the monument. Currently ranked seventh in the world golf rankings, Bradley is clearly playing like one of America’s top 12 golfers. Depending on what happens in the next seven weeks, Bradley may have no choice but to choose himself.
The Griffin heater has changed to a red hot summer. Currently ranked 17th in the world, Griffin worked with Andrew Novak to capture the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event and won his first stroke play title on the tour at the Charles Schwab Challenge. He has two top-10 finishes in the majors, finishing eighth in the PGA Championship and 10th in the US Open. Griffin also finished runner-up at the monument against the loaded field. He is eighth in points in the Ryder Cup and may have to break down the stretch to get off the roster.
The past few months have been a bit rough for the two-time major champion, but he has turned things around with an eighth tie in the Rocket Classic. Morikawa has not won since the Zozo Championship in October 2023, but has finished in two runner-ups this season, earning a 10 top 25 with 14 starts. He is in the Caddy market for the second time this season after breaking up with Joe Greiner before the Rocket Classic. He didn’t say who would open and carry his bag.
10. Xander Schauffele
The winner of the Righing Open Championship wins the mulligan for a decent summer after missing about two months with a rib injury. He worked pretty well in the majors. He finished 8th in the Masters, 28th in the PGA Championship, and 12th in the US Open. He has 11 starts on the tour and one top 10 finish with six top 25s. Schaufere appears to be close to finding his form, and after winning two majors in 2024, he is still second in the Ryder Cup points.
Another heartbreaking mistake at the Travelers Championship was when British golfers were still looking for his first PGA Tour victory. He played like one of the best in the world this year at the start of the tour in five top 10 and 11 top 25. He is second in European Ryder Cup Point standings, behind only McIlroy. He finished third in strokes: total (1.414), approach No. 9 (.622).
English has been doing very well this season, especially at the tour’s biggest event. He won his fifth PGA Tour victory at the Farmers Insurance Open and placed second in the PGA Championship. He also scored top 25 finishes at the Genesis Invitational, Truist Championship, Memorial Tournament and Travellers Championship. He is 10th in points in the Ryder Cup and throws his prowess figures into a mix to create a US team.
Hovland’s swing remains an ongoing job, but he won the Valspar Championship earlier this season and finished third in the US Open solo. He withdraws from the final round of the Travelers Championship due to a neck injury a day after applying a 7-under 63. Hofland is in the open field in Scotland.
The 29-year-old former Stanford star may need a good finish in the FedEx Cup season to secure his first spot on the Ryder Cup team. After winning his first PGA Tour with the RSM Classic in November, he finished second in the Genesis Invitational and recorded a top five finish in Valero Texas Open, RBC Heritage and The Memorial. He finished outside the top 30 in each of the first three majors.
It was an incredibly inconsistent FedEx Cup season for Swedish golfers. After winning his second tour at Genesis Invitational and finishing seventh in the Masters, Oberg has not had a top-10 finish in his past seven starts. Åberg was efficient from the tee, but he ranks 147th on the tour with the strokes he acquired.
The Irish golfer probably needed a break after missing a cut at the US Open and tied for 45th place in the Travelers Championship. His iron play was spectacular this season. He ranks second in the strokes he has acquired: Approach (.932). What is his job at Green? Yeah, he’s 122nd in strokes, so not that much: putting (-.138). He returned to his happy place, including the Royal Port Rush Golf Club, where he rolled up a jug of claret in 2019.
17. AndrewNovak
After a hot stretch that put Novak’s tie in third place at the Texas Open, he’s been calm for the past few months after falling to Thomas in the playoffs at RBC Heritage, winning the Griffin and the Zurich Classics in New Orleans. He finished 17th in The Truist Championship and 11th in the Charles Schwab Challenge, so the game is still there.
The Connors played very well before the final US round at the Oakmont Country Club, outside Pittsburgh, until a wrist injury led him to retreat. He has not appeared at PGA Tour events since. Previously, the Connors had five top 10 and 10 top 25 in the 16 start of the tour.
The 2023 Open Championship winner, Herman could use another hot stretch to crack the top six of the US Ryder Cup points, or at least make Bradley’s captain’s choice more difficult. He currently wins Valero Texas Open and finishes third at RBC Heritage before being 12th. Herman finished in the solo eighth in the Travelers Championship.
20. RobertMacintyre
Macintyre was hot again – he came in second place at the US Open and 17th place at the Travellers Championship. Now, the Scottish golfer will return to the Scottish Open, running in 2023, as the defending champion runner-up. He finished sixth at the 22-year-old at the 2019 Open Championship at the Royal Portrush.
Burns’ slow struggle in difficult situations on the back nine in the US final round obscured his epic performance at Oakmont. His game was heading in the right direction for a few weeks. He lost to Ryan Fox in the playoffs at the RBC Canada Open and was tied to seventh place at the US Open. He has four top 10 and 10 top 25 at the start of the tour.
It’s hard to imagine Cantrey not joining the US Ryder Cup team, but he has to do anything – anything to strengthen the inclusion argument. The fourth Cantlay tie at the Truist Championship was his only top ten since mid-February. His ball strike statistics suggest that he should be better. He is 10th in the approach (.598), 8th to green (1.028), and 12th total (1.122).
twenty three. Ryan Fox
After winning their first PGA Tour victory in the playoffs at OneFlight Myrtle Beach Classic, Fox didn’t have to wait for a second time. He won another playoff at the RBC Canada Open, finishing twice in four starts. He rose to 29th in the official world golf rankings.
When the former Masters champion filmed the season-opening sent in Hawaii in January, he looked ready to take off again. Surprisingly, he is his only top-10 finish with 17 starts on the tour this season. He was tied to 21st place at Augusta National, missed a cut in the PGA Championship, leading him to 42nd place at the US Open. Matsuyama’s problem lies with his driver – he ranks 128th in strokes he acquired: off the tee (-.166) and 127th in driving accuracy (56.2% of fairways hit).
Burger looked like a serious contender for the Ryder Cup team, but he missed two cuts and needs to turn his form around after a slow stretch tied up at the US Open and 46th in the Travelers Championship. He is 18th in the Ryder Cup Points ranking.
Just missed the cut: Sungjae IM, Nick Taylor, Jason Day, Thomas Detry, Aldrich Potgieter, Cameron Young, Michael Kim, Jacob Bridgeman
