How long was Scottie Scheffler away from the World No. 1 spot?

Modified Feb 13, 2023 16:10 GMT

Scottie Scheffler regained the world's No. 1 title after four months on Sunday, February 12. The American golfer moved up to second place in October last year when Rory McIlroy topped the world rankings.

Scheffler once again led the world rankings after registering a two-shot victory over Nick Taylor at the 2023 WM Phoenix Open on Sunday.

The New Jersey native had an amazing career year in 2022 when he started with a win at the Phoenix Open. He then went on to win three more PGA Tour events, including the Masters, that helped him reach No. 1 in the world rankings.

With his victory at the 2023 WM Phoenix Open, Scottie Scheffler became the seventh player to defend the title. He first became world No. 1 in April 2022 after winning the Masters. He held the title for 30 weeks before losing it to McIlroy in October.

McIlroy is now ranked second in the world, followed by Jon Rahm. The fourth position is secured by Cameron Smith, while Patrick Catlay is fifth.

McIlroy also competed at the 2023 WM Phoenix Open, but could not defeat Scottie Scheffler and ended up in a seven-way tie at T32.

Jon Rahm is also having the best days of his career. He has won two consecutive tournaments on the PGA Tour and finished in the top 10 in the next two tournaments he played this year.

Rahm has also gained points in the world rankings and touched $40 million in career earnings.

Scottie Scheffler played in the Sentry Tournament of Champions. He finished in seventh position before competing at the American Express to finish in 11th position.

McIlroy missed both tournaments and started the calendar year while playing in the Dubai Dessert Classic. He won the tournament and maintained his lead in the official world rankings. However, his performance at the Phoenix Open took away his No. 1 title.

Will Zalatoris, who was on hiatus for a few months in 2022, is ranked No. 8, while Collin Morikawa is ninth, followed by Matt Fitzpatrick.

Current Official World Golf Rankings

1. Scottie Scheffler
2. Rory McIlroy
3. Jon Rahm
4. Cameron Smith
5. Patrick Cantlay
6. Xander Schauffele
7. Justin Thomas
8. Will Zalatoris
9. Collin Morikawa
10. Matt Fitzpatrick
11. Victor Hovland
12. Max Homa
13. Tony Finau
14. Sam Burns
15. Tom Kim
16. Jordan Spieth
17. Cameron Young
18. Sungjae Im
19. Billy Horschel
20. Hideki Matsuyama
21. Keegan Bradley
22. Shane Lowry
23. Joaquin Niemann
24. Tyrrell Hatton
25. Brian Harman
26. Tommy Fleetwood
27. Abraham Ancer
28. Seamus Power
29. Ryan Fox
30. Sepp Straka
31. Tom Hoge
32. Russell Henley
33. Sahith Theegala
34. Thomas Pieters
35. Adam Scott
36. Justin Rose
37. Corey Conners
38. Kevin Kisner
39. Kyoung Hoon Lee
40. Aaron Wise
41. Alex Horen
42. Si Woo Kim
43. Talor Gooch
44. Kurt Kutayama
45. Lucas Herbert
46. Guillermo Mito Pereira
47. Min Woo Lee
48. Chris Kirk
49. Harold Varner II
50. JT Poston

Edited by Aditya Singh