Who are the current top 10 golfers in the world? We trawl through the facts and stats to determine a definitive ranking.
Whether enjoying the captivating spectacle of one of golf’s four majors or tuning into a routine event on the European Tour, you’ll see an immensely talented group of players at work. Due to improved training methodologies, superior golf club design, and a range of technological advancements, playing standards are arguably at a higher level now than they’ve ever been.
A mixture of experienced campaigners and prodigious youngsters are amongst the current crop of the world’s best golfers, with one or two contemporary legends of the sport sprinkled in for good measure. Unlike previous eras, golf’s elite circuit isn’t dominated by one individual or a limited group of all-conquering stars. Past generations have watched the likes of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods build their respective dynasties, but predicting the winner of today’s major tournaments is a much tougher task.
The introduction of the LIV Series has also added a different dynamic to the modern game, as a steady stream of players abandon their PGA Tour membership to compete in the Saudi-backed league.
As we hurtle towards the second major of the year after a barnstorming week in Augusta, it seems a good time to assess the merits of those currently competing for the sport’s most prestigious titles. So, who are the 10 best golfers in the world in 2025?
Explanation of ranking criteria
To help us configure our rankings, we’ve considered various factors and deployed a specific set of quantitative measures. Whilst it’s always difficult to directly compare the performance of one sportsman to another, these indicators enable us to effectively grade each competitor.
The acquisition of trophies is the most obvious way to demonstrate sporting excellence, but it’s important to make distinctions when judging the calibre of each triumph. Some tournaments are much harder to win than others, and therefore any career victories should be ranked with this reality in mind. For example, earning one of golf’s four major titles – the Masters, PGA Championships, US Open, and The (British) Open – commands greater respect than picking up some silverware on the second-tier Challenger Tour.
A world-class level of performance commands a great deal of recognition, and therefore the receipt of personal awards is also something to take into account. Accolades such as the PGA Player of the Year award are clearly a powerful endorsement of any golfer’s credentials. It’s also important to consider a player’s longevity, and give appropriate respect to those who have remained competitive in the game for an extended period of time. Ruling the roost for several months is one thing, but keeping pace with the world’s best for decades is an entirely different proposition.
Please note that our top 10 list is not merely a reflection of the current status of the official WGR rankings. Although the rankings clearly have relevance here, they do not necessarily provide an accurate view of who is the very best in the business. Class is permanent, but a player’s level of performance can fluctuate from month to month. Therefore, it’s acceptable to include diminishing forces, out-of-form players, and unproven youngsters within this type of list. The best players deserve to be suitably recognised, regardless of their current outputs.
The top 10 golfers in the world in 2025
Let’s get into it – who are the best 10 players on the planet at this present moment in time?
10. Viktor Hovland
Since becoming the first Norwegian to claim a PGA Tour title following a dazzling display at the 2020 Puerto Rico Open, Viktor Hovland’s promising career has continued on a largely upward trajectory. A maiden European Tour trophy came in June 2021, before back-to-back Hero World Challenge triumphs cemented his position amongst the world’s elite.
Hovland has arguably played his best golf at the PGA Championships. After sharing second place with Scottie Scheffler in 2023, the Oslo-born youngster finished within touching distance of eventual winner Xander Schauffele last summer. However, his positive performance at Valhalla came midway through a torrid 2024, as Hovland missed the cut at all three other majors.
Blessed with textbook technique and supreme ball-striking capability, the 2023 FedEx Cup winner exhibits a calm and assured presence on the course.
9. Tiger Woods
Although some may view his inclusion as contentious, it would seem counter-intuitive to omit an active Tiger Woods from a list of the world’s current best players.
The only player in history to possess all four major titles at one time, Woods was a monstrous force on the PGA Tour throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s. Enthralling spectators with his compelling mix of raw power, pinpoint accuracy, and ruthless competitive edge, Woods’ barnstorming performances served to attract a new demographic of fans and boost commercial revenues to unprecedented levels.
Unfortunately, a spate of injuries and several character-damaging scandals would seriously destabilise his career, but the 11-time PGA Tour Player of the Year hasn’t quite given up hope of rebuilding his crumbled empire.
8. Justin Rose
Although Rory McIlroy’s painful wait for a first green jacket ended in April, his victory extended Justin Rose’s seemingly endless struggle for Masters glory. Since finishing four strokes behind a swashbuckling Jordan Spieth a decade ago, Rose has agonisingly lost two play-offs – succumbing to birdies from Sergio García and the aforementioned Northern Irishman on either occasion – in the Augusta sunshine.
A solitary major triumph came in the 2013 US Open, completing four steady rounds amidst challenging conditions in Pennsylvania. Three years later, the Englishman stepped onto the highest platform of the Olympic rostrum after a gold-medal performance in Rio de Janeiro. Having competed at the elite level for the entirety of his long and successful career, Rose has racked up 11 PGA Tour wins, lifted the FedEx Cup, and received the coveted Payne Stewart Award.
Able to effectively ‘feel’ his way around the course, the 44-year-old places his heavy emphasis on grip, swing control, and clubface angle.
7. Ludvig Åberg
Despite still being very much at the formative stage of his career, Ludvig Åberg can already boast an impressive suite of personal achievements. The Swedish star overcame compatriot Alexander Björk to earn a landmark first title, delivering a score of 21 under par to win the European Masters in Switzerland.
However, Åberg’s finest performance so far came during a barnstorming Masters debut, astonishingly sealing second place on a memorable weekend in Georgia. After commencing the 2025 campaign with a respectable fifth-place finish at the Kapalua Resort, the highly-rated youngster won the Genesis Invitational in southern California.
Keen to maintain a quick tempo of play and championing an efficient shot set-up routine, Åberg has been a refreshing addition to the PGA Tour. One to keep an eye on….
6. Bryson DeChambeau
Famed for his incredible driving distances and raking fairway shots, Bryson DeChambeau provides a compelling threat to any championship rival.
Before his controversial switch to the LIV Golf League, DeChambeau enjoyed two landmark triumphs on native soil. After he obliterated the field to land the 2020 US Open title, the Californian-born talent helped America overcome their European adversaries in the 2021 Ryder Cup. DeChambeau earned an impressive 2.5 points at Whistling Straits, over 10% of Team USA’s overall points tally.
Since his decision to depart the PGA Tour in the summer of 2022, DeChambeau has struggled to find his best form on golf’s controversial new stage. A quick sequence of wins in Greenbrier and Chicago suggested there was some light at the end of the tunnel, but no further triumphs have followed in the last eighteen months.
Nevertheless, the ‘Bison’ scored an unlikely victory at the 2024 US Open, edging out Rory McIlroy in an absorbing contest at North Carolina’s Pinehouse Resort.
5. Justin Thomas
Although success has been in short supply in recent seasons, Justin Thomas still deserves to be recognised as one of the most capable golfers of the modern era. The former world number one recorded his last majors victory at the 2022 PGA Championship, five years on from winning the same competition during a barnstorming breakout campaign.
However, the Kentuckian has experienced somewhat of a renaissance over the last few months. A week after making the cut at the Masters for the first time in three years, Thomas defeated fellow American Andrew Novak in a one-hole play-off to land the RBC Heritage title.
Despite his explosiveness off the tee, Thomas has the subtlety to escape bunkers with consummate ease and skilfully navigate difficult terrains and weather conditions.
4. Collin Morikawa
After securing a maiden major title at the COVID-impacted 2020 PGA Championships, Collin Morikawa would celebrate his next triumph in front of a boisterous set of spectators. Morikawa hung on the coattails of dominant leader Louis Oosthuizen before leapfrogging the South African – and keeping clear of a resurgent Jordan Spieth to win the 2021 Open Championships.
The American has won a total of seven PGA Tour events, although his last triumph came way back in October 2023 at the Zozo Championship in Tokyo. Although he made a promising start to the 2025 season thanks to several impressive performances in Hawaii and Florida, the 28-year-old will have been disappointed to finish outside the top 10 positions at Augusta, a feat he’s achieved in each of the previous three editions of the Masters.
Although not the biggest hitter on the circuit, the Berkeley graduate mitigates his lack of power by being ultra-precise, methodical, and strategic in his approach.
3. Xander Schauffele
A former PGA Rookie of the Year, Xander Schauffele is an immensely powerful and athletic golfer with a keen eye for course detail.
With an impressive tally of 12 professional wins under his belt, the San Diego-born sharpshooter consistently assumes a place in the WGR’s top 10 rankings. After establishing himself on the elite circuit over the previous decade, Schauffele delivered a blockbuster 2024 that sparked reverberations around the golfing world. Having already held off a late fightback from Bryson DeChambeau to win the PGA Championship at Valhalla, Schauffele lifted the Claret Jug after recording a sensational final round of 65 at Royal Troon.
Currently just 31 years of age, expect plenty more to come from the gifted Californian.
2. Scottie Scheffler
Despite possessing an unorthodox swing and displaying some rather unconventional footwork, Scottie Scheffler is undoubtedly one of the best ball-strikers in the business. A supremely adaptable player, he’s capable of finding the green from a host of tricky locations.
Two years after winning the 2022 Masters following a dominant performance at Augusta, Scheffler earned a second green jacket in a similarly sensational style. The American ace navigated the world-famous course in just 66 shots on the opening day to keep pace with Bryson DeChambeau, before pulling away from the field in the remaining three rounds.
Despite his commanding performances in Georgia, the three-time PGA Tour Player of the Year has been unable to conclude any other majors at the summit of the leaderboard. Scheffler has managed to secure a runner-up spot at both the PGA Championships and US Open, but has remarkably never finished higher than seventh at the Open Championship. Can he produce a better result at Royal Portrush this summer?
Although a freak hand injury incurred whilst preparing Christmas dinner derailed his start to the 2025 season, Scheffler bounced back with an impressive display at last April’s Masters.
1. Rory McIlroy
Dropping to his knees on Augusta’s 18th hole following a nerve-shredding play-off against familiar foe Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy must have felt an outpouring of relief. After years of heartbreak, media scrutiny, and glorious failures, the Northern Irishman had finally achieved the holy grail of winning all four majors.
Having clinched 29 PGA Tour and 19 European Tour titles throughout his highly decorated career, the three-time Mark H. McCormack recipient has enjoyed a constant stream of success. No player has lifted the prestigious FedEx Cup on more occasions than the 35-year-old star, while few have bounced back so effectively from a series of challenging setbacks.
Although ‘Wee-Mac’ is currently nestled behind Scottie Scheffler in the WGR rankings at the time of writing, few would begrudge his coronation as the world’s best golfer, particularly given his recent exploits at Augusta. It’s unlikely McIlroy will ever scale the heights of the game’s all-time legends, but expect him to produce several more historic moments in the coming years…..
Honourable mentions
When compiling these types of lists, there will always be winners and losers. Some debatable omissions are the natural by-product of this process.
So, who didn’t quite make the cut? We’ve made some honourable mentions below.
Phil Mickelson
Although he faced substantial criticism following his decision to join the LIV Series, Phil Mickelson is still adored by golf enthusiasts across the world. ‘Lefty’ has won six majors overall, but an elusive first US Open title still eludes him following a series of close attempts.
The popular American may no longer be a compelling force, but his career record, technical prowess, and charismatic charm ensure he remains an icon of the modern game.
Brooks Koepka
After delivering a stunning sequence of PGA Championship and US Open triumphs between 2017 and 2023, Brooks Koepka has become somewhat of a peripheral figure in recent years. Having achieved most of his early success on American soil, the Floridian’s switch to the pan-continental LIV Golf League was perhaps not the wisest career move.
However, Koepka is still a worthy competitor on the elite stage, having progressed beyond the midway point of all four majors throughout 2024.
Hideki Matsuyama
Thanks to a superb performance at Erin Hills in the 2017 US Open, Hideki Matsuyama rose to second place in the world rankings just four years on from achieving professional status. The Japanese seriously enhanced his reputation by winning the 2021 Masters, pipping Will Zalatoris to the green jacket after an exhilarating finale at Augusta.
Shane Lowry
Upon winning The Open Championship at Royal Portrush in 2019, Shane Lowry became only the second player from the Republic of Ireland, alongside esteemed compatriot Pádraig Harrington, to secure a major title.
Despite finishing third in Augusta in 2022 and clinching a runner-up spot at the US Open six years earlier, the experienced competitor has remarkably never featured in the top 10 of the WGR rankings.
Final thoughts
There are plenty of outspoken commentators in the sporting world, and some may challenge the line-up or indeed configuration of these rankings. Whilst we welcome the debate, our evidence-driven picks reflect an objective view of golf’s current hierarchy. Whether due to their competitive record, memorable feats, or material influence on the sport, each of the above players deserves to be included in our top 10 list.
However, lists of this type of nature are in a constant state of flux. As performance levels peak and trough, players can be added or eliminated within the space of a few short months. With a healthy stream of young talent attempting to unsettle the established order, such as the likes of David Puig, Nick Dunlap, and the Højgaard twins, no position is safe. For now, at least, the future of golf appears extremely bright...