By his own insane standards, Scottie Scheffler has had a relatively quiet time of things in 2025. At the time of writing, he has won a mere six tournaments, compared to nine in 2024. Of course, he missed quite a lot of golf due to a bizarre injury suffered while making Christmas dinner (in December 2024), and then took some time to get back to his best. And two of his victories in 2025 came in majors. So maybe not so quiet after all.
Despite Rory McIlroy having a fantastic year, which included wins at the Players and, finally, the Masters, plus before those in the AT&T Pebble Beach, Scheffler maintains a commanding lead at the top of the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). Rory also won the Irish Open and the Race to Dubai, but even so, he is currently only on around 56% of the OWGR points as the American world number one.
Scheffler is miles clear of the competition, boasting 17.95 points, comfortably more than second (McIlroy on 9.96) and third (Tommy Fleetwood, 5.78) combined. He moved to the top of the world rankings for the fourth time back in May 2023 and has stayed there ever since. He is closing in on three straight years at the top and he seems certain to reach that milestone. In truth, it would take something incredible for him not to still be top heading into 2027. Can anyone overtake Scheffler in 2026?
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Scheffler Setting new Standards and Breaking Records
The world number one has probably reached a level that only Tiger Woods has previously met. Scheffler has broken countless records and there are so many stats about what he has achieved already. His seven PGA Tour wins in 2024 were the most since Woods managed that in 2007. Indeed, one of those wins, at The Players, saw him manage something that nobody (including Tiger) had, as he became the first golfer to land back-to-back wins at the event.
His 2024 season was one of the most dominant the game has seen, including further wins at the Olympics and a big invitational. That he was able to back that up in 2025 despite injury, Rory’s fine form and the brilliant play of Fleetwood in the latter half of the year, has given him a commanding lead in the world rankings.
Since 2022, Scheffler has won four majors but it is his incredible consistency that really marks him out. He first played all four majors in 2021 and in five complete seasons from then to the end of 2025 he has missed just one cut. He has four wins, two seconds, a third, two fourths and a further seven top-10 finishes. In other words, 20 appearances in the majors have yielded 15 finishes inside the top 10!
Scottie Scheffler’s Major Record 2021 – 2025
| Tournament | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters | T18th | 1st | T10th | 1st | 4th |
| PGA Championship | T8th | Cut | T2nd | T8th | 1st |
| US Open | T7th | T2nd | 3rd | T41st | T7th |
| Open Championship | T8th | T21st | T23rd | T7th | 1st |
All this has helped him stay atop the rankings for 133 straight weeks. He has now held that position for a total of 168 weeks, with only Greg Norman (331 weeks) and Tiger Woods (683) ahead of him. It will take some doing to overtake either of those legends, but top spot certainly seems his for the foreseeable future.
What Would it Take?
In theory it would be possible for a player – Rory being the obvious one as he has the talent and is currently second in the rankings – to overtake Scheffler relatively quickly. However, that would take a truly astonishing run. If we assume Rory won every event possible, Scottie missed all cuts and also assume the highest realistic ranking points for each event, Scheffler could be displaced as early as February.
More realistically (well, just about within the realms of possibility!), Rory would probably need to win the opening two majors of the year, plus the Players and another couple of signature events. Alongside that, his rival’s form would need to drop off a cliff. If Scheffler missed a host of cuts, our number crunching suggests that July could be the time that he is usurped at the top. But we certainly won’t be banking on it!
Might Scheffler Beat Scheffler?
When someone eventually does knock Scheffler off top spot, it could be more down to the great man himself, rather than the feats of the player who replaces him. The American made the headlines in July 2025 when he gave an incredible press conference, stating he frequently struggles with his “why” when it comes to playing golf.
He said that golf was “not a fulfilling life” from the “deepest places of your heart”. He added that if the game “ever started affecting my home life… that’s going to be the last day that I play (for a living)”. He then stated that golf was “not the most important thing” in his life.
Even aside from his incredible disclosure, there is little doubt that staying at the top for a long period is often harder than getting there. Keeping that same motivation, hunger and drive when you have already achieved so much is incredibly difficult. Given that issue common to almost everyone, plus his public statement about the game not being the be-all and end-all for him, it would be little surprise if his motivation levels dropped in the years ahead.
The way he has been playing over the last few years, it would be little surprise if the only time anyone can overtake Scottie is when he lets his standards drop. Rory and all the rest can but hope.