This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.
The new year in golf began with the same narrative as the last year ended: gauging how the top of the world rankings would shake out. There was Brooks Koepka jockeying back and forth with Justin Rose for the No. 1 position. Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas were right behind, both trying to reclaim the top spot. And Bryson DeChambeau had surged to finish 2018 at No. 5, leading some observers to believe it was just a matter of time before golf's master thinker would leapfrog the entire quartet.
Well, less than a week into 2019, that story line has a new angle.
Xander Schauffele went out and shot a course-record-tying 11-under 62 Sunday to overtake an elite field and win the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua. With his fourth win in 18 months in a still very brief PGA Tour career, the Southern California native zoomed to No. 6 in the world rankings. At 25, he is the youngest golfer in top-30 in the OWGR.
Schauffele isn't in immediate proximity of the No. 1 ranking – there's still a bit of space separating Rose and Koepka from Johnson and Thomas, and then another gap to DeChambeau. But one more win for Schauffele – and this was his second in a little more than two months -- would do it. His rise has been fast and steady, from around 300th in the world at the end of 2016 to 25th after 2017 to 10th at the conclusion of 2018
The new year in golf began with the same narrative as the last year ended: gauging how the top of the world rankings would shake out. There was Brooks Koepka jockeying back and forth with Justin Rose for the No. 1 position. Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas were right behind, both trying to reclaim the top spot. And Bryson DeChambeau had surged to finish 2018 at No. 5, leading some observers to believe it was just a matter of time before golf's master thinker would leapfrog the entire quartet.
Well, less than a week into 2019, that story line has a new angle.
Xander Schauffele went out and shot a course-record-tying 11-under 62 Sunday to overtake an elite field and win the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua. With his fourth win in 18 months in a still very brief PGA Tour career, the Southern California native zoomed to No. 6 in the world rankings. At 25, he is the youngest golfer in top-30 in the OWGR.
Schauffele isn't in immediate proximity of the No. 1 ranking – there's still a bit of space separating Rose and Koepka from Johnson and Thomas, and then another gap to DeChambeau. But one more win for Schauffele – and this was his second in a little more than two months -- would do it. His rise has been fast and steady, from around 300th in the world at the end of 2016 to 25th after 2017 to 10th at the conclusion of 2018 and now to sixth. Along the way, Schauffele has overtaken the likes of Rory McIlroy Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Tommy Fleetwood, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.
Schauffele's resume already had been filled with some pretty lofty accomplishments at the world's biggest tournaments: wins at the WGC-HSBC Champions and Tour Championship, runners-up at the Open Championship and The Players Championship and a pair of top-sixes at the past two U.S. Opens.
On Sunday, Schauffele came from five shots behind 54-hole leader Gary Woodland, who himself went out and shot a bogey-free 5-under 68. Schauffele actually bogeyed the first hole before binging on eight birdies and two eagles (both of them hole-outs) to finish the 2019 lid-lifter at 23-under-par.
We'll probably see the La Jolla, Calif., native next in three weeks at his hometown Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, where he curiously has missed the cut in all three of his visits. But it's hard not to immediately look ahead to The Players, which has now been moved up to March and where Schauffele tied for second a year ago.
By then, Schauffele could be even closer to the fivesome in the group just ahead of him.
MONDAY BACKSPIN
Brooks Koepka
Koepka was in the 33-man TOC field and Rose wasn't. The Floridian needed to tie for eighth to maintain his grip on the No. 1 ranking, but a lackluster four days left him in 24th place. No doubt that Koepka and Rose could continue to play musical chairs for a while, but this past week only added to the theory that Koepka doesn't fully invest in winning every time out. We'll see Koepka next in another elite field at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in two weeks, when Rose will be at the far weaker Desert Classic in the California desert.
Gary Woodland
Woodland led by three shots after the second round and again after the third. And by finishing with a 68, he could hardly be accused of gagging away the tournament. Schauffele was just lights-out. Woodland continues to play the best golf of his career, with his world ranking now its best ever at No. 22. Seems another win is lurking for Woodland, who is in the field at this week's Sony Open.
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy showed his commitment to 2019 by coming to Kapalua for the first time, after previously stating he'd concentrate more on the PGA Tour at the expense of European play. So when he began Sunday in the final pairing with Woodland, everything seemed to be lining up nicely for him. And then what we've seen with increasing frequency happened again: McIlroy was a final-round nonfactor. While so many guys were going super low in the pristine conditions, McIlroy limped home with a 1-under 72 to tie for fourth. While he was bypassed by Schauffele in the world rankings, he managed to stay at No. 8, as Francesco Molinari fell from seventh to ninth.
Justin Thomas
Thomas closed with a 7-under 65, equaling the second best round of the day after Schauffele's 62. That moved the 2017 Kapalua champion to solo third, a quality start to 2019. Thomas is still ranked fourth, but he can overtake Dustin Johnson for third this week. Thomas is playing the Sony, and Johnson is off.
Dustin Johnson
The defending champion never really was in the mix to repeat, though he closed with a 6-under 67 to move into a tie for fourth with McIlroy and Marc Leishman. Johnson now heads to Abu Dhabi for a big cash grab in two weeks, just like he did last year.
Bryson DeChambeau
DeChambeau had a sub-par Sunday, when he shot a 2-under 71 to fall from fourth to solo seventh. Still, not a bad week, and he'll give it a go this week in another pretty good field at the Sony. That's a change from last year for DeChambeau, who instead went to Abu Dhabi. He missed the cut there, so maybe this move makes sense.
Jason Day
The former No. 1 is largely left out of the conversation about the world's best. And until he at least gets back into the top-10, that's probably deserved. Day moved close, at No. 11, after shooting a final-round 66 to end the week in solo 13th place. The Aussie hasn't come close to winning since he took two titles early in 2018. But since a missed cut at the U.S. Open last June, Day has been incredibly consistent, with top-25s in 11 of his 12 starts. We'll probably see him next in three weeks, when he looks to defend his title at Torrey Pines.
Webb Simpson
Simpson used two eagles to finish with a 65 and move into a tie for eighth. But in what could be troubling or encouraging, depending on what happens next, he was 26th in the 33-man field in strokes gained: putting. Simpson became an elite putter last year, ranking fifth for the season. If he regresses, then his fantasy value takes a large hit. If this past week was an aberration, then a top-10 without a great week on the greens is pretty impressive.
Cameron Champ
The darling of the fall season, not to mention the sport's longest hitter, acquitted himself nicely in his first true test against the big boys. The 23-year-old tied for 11th. Interestingly, he didn't lead the field in driving distance – he was second to Day – but he was fourth in strokes gained: putting. And he had never played Kapalua's trick greens before. That will keep him in the mix a lot of weeks, perhaps even this week when he plays the Sony.
Jordan Spieth
Spieth was notable by his absence from Kapalua – he didn't win a tournament in 2018. He will make his 2019 debut this week at the Sony, and we may learn very quickly whether the former No. 1 can find his lost game. Spieth is down to No. 17 in the world, and a slow start this year could really fuel a downward spiral.
