SI World Golf Rankings: Justin Thomas's Summer Ends Early

Lucas Glover and Bryson DeChambeau were big winners, while Justin Thomas stunningly missed the FedEx Playoffs. See where they land in this week's SI World Golf Rankings.
SI World Golf Rankings: Justin Thomas's Summer Ends Early
SI World Golf Rankings: Justin Thomas's Summer Ends Early /

It was a full week in men’s pro golf, as Lucas Glover won the Wyndham Championship by two shots on the PGA Tour, while Bryson DeChambeau stormed to a Sunday 58 and the title at the LIV Golf Greenbrier event.

Glover and DeChambeau are big movers in this week’s Sports Illustrated World Golf Rankings, our proprietary, data-driven list of the top men’s golfers in the world right now, which looks at performances across all pro tours, including LIV Golf. (Here’s how we do our calculations.)

The week ahead features more action on both tours, as the PGA Tour kicks off the FedEx Cup playoffs in Memphis, while LIV Golf rolls into New Jersey for its Bedminster event.

3 Risers in the SI World Golf Rankings

Bryson DeChambeau – Up 11 Spots

Bryson DeChambeau of the United States celebrates his birdie putt on the 18th hole with a record 58 to win the LIV Golf Invitational - Greenbrier at The Old White Course on August 06, 2023 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
Eakin Howard/Getty Images

This Week: 17

Last Week: 28

Skinny: Emphatically won LIV Golf Greenbrier with rounds of 68-61-58, capped by a 35-footer in the rain on his final hole. It was DeChambeau’s first win on the LIV Tour and his first title since the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Mito Pereira – Up 18 Spots

Mito Pereira tees off at the BMW Championship.
Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports

This Week: 36

Last Week: 54

Skinny: Shot a 63 on Sunday at LIV Greenbrier that wasn’t enough to keep up with DeChambeau, but still good for solo second.

Lucas Glover – Up 47 Spots

Lucas Glover watches a shot in the final round of the 2023 Wyndham Championship.
David Yeazell/USA TODAY Sports

This Week: 53

Last Week: 100

Skinny: Shot 68 on Sunday to win the Wyndham Championship by two shots over Russell Henley. It was Glover’s fifth PGA Tour title and at age 43 he became the oldest Tour winner since Phil Mickelson won the 2021 PGA Championship at age 50. it moved him from 112th in the FedEx standings to 49th and into the playoffs.

3 Fallers in This Week's Sports Illustrated World Golf Rankings

Justin Thomas - Down 4 Spots

Justin-Thomas-SIWGR

This Week: 49

Last Week: 45

Skinny: Thomas isn’t the steepest drop on our list, but he finished 71st in the regular-season FedEx points list after a Sunday at Sedgefield that went right down to his final hole. He’ll miss the three-week playoffs, and his Ryder Cup chances would seem to take a hit along with it. Thomas is a case where the SIWGR’s emphasis on a player’s current form—we only use the most recent 12 months of data—give us a more predictive edge over the Official World Golf Rankings. We’ve had Thomas sliding for a while this summer, while he is still currently 25th in the OWGR, mostly on the strength of results that are more than one year old, particularly his 2022 PGA Championship win.

Tom Kim - Down 5 Spots

Tom Kim plays a chip shot in the second round of the 2021 British Open.
Andrew Redington/Getty Images

This Week: 19

Last Week: 14

Skinny: Sat out the Wyndham, where he was the defending champion, while resting a sprained ankle he suffered at the British Open. Called into the CBS broadcast last weekend and gave an encouraging update for his FedEx playoff plans. 

Davis Riley - Down 9 Spots

Davis Riley watches a shot in the first round of the 2023 Memorial Tournament.
Darron Cummings/AP

This Week: 87

Last Week: 96

Skinny: MC at the Wyndham. Inside the top 70 in the FedEx, so has a chance at postseason life. 


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Jeff Ritter
JEFF RITTER

Jeff Ritter is the managing director of SI Golf. He has more than 20 years of sports media experience, and previously was the general manager at the Morning Read, where he led that business's growth and joined SI as part of an acquisition in 2022. Earlier in his career he spent more than a decade at SI and Golf Magazine, and his journalism awards include a MIN Magazine Award and an Edward R. Murrow Award for sports reporting. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a master's from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.