With the 2025 PGA Tour main season over and the Ryder Cup on the schedule, most of America’s best golfers can now take the rest of the calendar year off. While the FedEx Cup Fall Tournament continues to take shape and the DP World Tour inches toward a postseason culminating in the Middle East, most of the world’s top golfers are working on their games with an eye toward the start of 2026.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is among those taking on the Hero World Challenge in December. The four-time major champion won his 19th PGA Tour title at the Pro Core Championship in the run-up to the Ryder Cup, but lost badly in Europe and improved to 1-4-0 thanks to a singles win over Rory McIlroy.
Meanwhile, McIlroy enjoyed a very productive Ryder Cup with a personal record of 3 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw. Dealing with adversity both on and off the ropes, the Northern Irishman completed his shot amidst the hostility thrown at Bethpage Black and lifted the cup.
The Northern Irishman could not have done this job without his fellow Europeans: Tommy Fleetwood and Jon Rahm. The pair performed well in the first four sessions, but they too were eliminated in Sunday’s singles amidst a frantic effort by the Americans to get back into contention.
Matt Fitzpatrick made everyone forget his poor Ryder Cup performance with his play on Long Island, while New York’s Cameron Young showed he has the guts and courage to perform on the grandest stage, even when the lights are brightest.
The Power 18 provides insight into how golfers are currently performing, with their play benefiting from recent events. This is a broader perspective than simply what happened in the last tournament, but narrower than the Official World Golf Ranking, which takes into account how more than 2,000 golfers performed overall. season.
