Scottie Scheffler ended the 2026 PGA Tour season the same way he started it: with a trophy in hand. Now, it was surprising that he added only one in between those two -- and it coming less than two weeks ago at the St. Jude Championship -- but the world No. 1 showcased throughout the year why he is just that: the top player in the game.
Despite some of his peers like Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick and Wyndham Clark taking their best cracks at Scheffler, he remained atop these Power 18 golf rankings throughout the entire season. In addition to clipping Tiger Woods in official money on the PGA Tour, Scheffler can find a sense of accomplishment in this feat as well! It's not the first time (and likely not the last) that he will go wire-to-wire in the rankings.
But to say this season belonged to just Scheffler and the myriad of statistical categories that he led -- even wins by season's end -- would be doing the rest of the world of golf a serious injustice. As mentioned, there were guys who looked keen on threatening. The distance between Scheffler and whoever was No. 2 contracted at some points, although it may have ultimately expanded when given the context of a "down" season for Scheffler.
He shared the most wins with Fitzpatrick, Clark and Chris Gotterup, who finished just his third complete season on the PGA Tour. He saw unlikely major winners in Aaron Rai and Ryan Fox, and a Players Championship winner in Young.
Scheffler's season was ultimately defined by his consistency -- something Ludvig Åberg, Tommy Fleetwood, Sam Burns, Si Woo Kim, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay hope to take solace in. From January through August, he was the man to beat. Even when he was not atop leaderboards by week's end, he was still top of mind and atop the world of golf.
The Power 18 provides insight into how golfers are currently performing, based on their play in recent events. It is a wider lens than simply what happened at the last tournament to be played but more narrow than the Official World Golf Rankings, which take into account how more than 2,000 golfers perform across an entire season.
The Power 18 golf rankings
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| Here are some statistics Scheffler led this year -- wins, scoring average, strokes gained, strokes gained tee to green, top fives, top 10s, top 25s, birdie average and bogey avoidance. Fear not, there are more, but for brevity sake those were the ones highlighted. For as much consternation as there was about whether someone would catch him this year, Scheffler widened the gap thanks to his postseason performance that could have been a sweep had it not been for hand, foot and mouth disease. Previous: 1 | |
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| Played three weeks in a row for the first time in 2026 and seemed to have found his footing in the latter two tournaments. After an abysmal performance in Memphis, McIlroy threatened at the BMW Championship and very quietly finished T4 at the Tour Championship. He now gears up for a big stretch on the DP World Tour where he will try to usurp Patrick Reed in the Race to Dubai. Previous: 2 | |
| 3 | |
| Of his six PGA Tour wins, five (five!) have come at major championship venues with Bellerive Country Club being the latest on the list. Clark notched three wins this season including the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills and turned into a completely different golfer after finding something in his swing at the Masters. Some say he lacks consistency, but Clark had three wins, three top-five finishes and two more top-15 finishes in his last 11 tournaments of the season. Previous: 10 | |
| 4 | |
| Burns did everything but win this season as he experienced his best campaign as a professional. Topped the list in terms of cumulative score across the four major championships with three serious runs in contention and nearly grabbed a trophy at the St. Jude Championship where he was in the final group with Scheffler. The question moving forward is whether this was the top or a stepping stone to it. Previous: 5 | |
| 5 | |
| Had the same quantity of wins as others, although some may argue the quality lacked. Still, Gotterup got going in 2026 and ended his season in strong fashion with two straight T4 finishes at the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship. The five-time PGA Tour winner put his ceiling on display in 2026, but his floor vastly improved as well as he had a top-20 rate north of 50%. Previous: 8 | |
| 6 | |
| Fitzpatrick could do no wrong in the early summer with three wins under his belt and runs in major championships seemingly imminent. The Englishman then fell flat in the four majors in 2026 with the missed cut at The Open throwing his game out of sorts. It's hard to remember that he missed the Tour Championship in both 2024 and 2025 as he soared to new heights in 2026. His iron play was sensational even when he struggled to find a driver to suit his swing. Previous: 4 | |
| 7 | 
Ludvig Åberg
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| Quietly ended his PGA Tour season with an awesome run of golf. His top-10 finish at The Open ended a mini downturn in quality before finishes of T7 at the St. Jude Championship, T16 at the BMW Championship and T4 at the Tour Championship. The year may have ended without a trip into the winner's circle, but he collected valuable experience late on Sundays. He also has the DP World Tour fall season to add trophies to his mantle. Previous: 14 | |
| 8 | |
| By far the best season of his career. Kim notched the second-most top-10 finishes behind only Scheffler while also collecting five podium finishes. He also gave himself his first realistic look at a major triumph with his play at The Open. Kim's combination of accuracy off the tee and precision iron play should carry into next year where just some timely putting will be the difference of getting back into the winner's circle or not. Previous: 13 | |
| 9 | |
| In his last nine starts of the season, Henley grabbed a victory at Colonial, top 10s at The Open and the Tour Championship and four other top-25 finishes. As consistent as they come, the Georgia Bulldog once again enjoyed a stellar season even as he enters his late 30s. His short game was not as reliable as years past, but he continues to showcase that he is the full package (minus the distance, of course). Previous: 11 | |
| 10 | |
| Entering the postseason, Young may have been the favorite to take home Player of the Year honors with his two wins and close calls at the major championships. His play since The Open, however, left some to be desired as he lost all touch on the greens over the last month of the season. The Players Championship winner rediscovered some of it at East Lake where he finished T11. Previous: 4 | |
| 11 | |
| Statistics love him as much as fans do, but it was another year in which Fleetwood went without winning. For as consistent as he was with 13 top-20 finishes and four top-five results, the 2025 FedEx Cup champion gave himself just one (the Memorial) realistic chance to take down a tournament. It wouldn't be shocking if he plays himself into the mix often on the DP World Tour in the coming weeks. Previous: 6 | |
| 12 | |
| He returned to the Tour Championship after missing it in 2025 and failed to finish inside the top 10 for the first time in his career at East Lake. Schauffele saw some positive signs in his game with a runner-up finish at the Rocket Classic and T7 at the St. Jude Championship, but it was largely another forgotten year for the two-time major champion. It was his worst approach season since 2020. Previous: 7 | |
| 13 | |
| In his last eight starts, Hovland won the Travelers Championship, finished on the podium twice more and collected two other top-20 finishes. Not bad for someone who was searching for a swing feel or thought or anything for much of the year. While he booted away his first outright 54-hole lead of his career at the Tour Championship, he came away sounding confident and ready to return to that player from 2023 where he was among the best week in and week out. Previous: 16 | |
| 14 | |
| May come away from the 2026 season as the most disappointed considering his start, middle and ending. The two-time major champion was never right after pulling out of The Players Championship, although he still put his best foot forward late with runs at the Travelers Championship and the BMW Championship. From a strokes-gained perspective, Morikawa still experienced the second-best season of his career and by far his best on the greens. If that continues next year, watch out. Previous: 9 | |
| 15 | |
| Easy to bag on him, but Cantlay showed up late and played himself into the Tour Championship thanks to his runner-up result at the BMW Championship. Cantlay had the best iron season of his entire career in 2026 and his best short-game season since his FedEx Cup winning campaign in 2021. The putter is nowhere near where it was five years ago, but the bones of the operation are sturdy as shown by eight top-15 finishes in his last 13 starts. Previous: Not ranked | |
| 16 | |
| Golf fans got familiar with Gerard this summer as he had two podium finishes, three top 10s and two other top 25s in his last 12 starts. He improved every week of the FedEx Cup Playoffs with a T24 at the St. Jude Championship, T16 at the BMW Championship and solo third-place finish at the Tour Championship. He did this even without striking the ball as well as he is capable of, showing a well-rounded nature to his game that he did not possess at the onset of the year. Previous: 18 | |
| 17 | |
| Ultimately, Matsuyama may have just ran out of steam. The 2021 Masters champion did not take a week off since The Open, playing in the final seven tournaments of the 2026 season. Early returns from this stretch were good with a string of five straight top-15 finishes, but he ultimately fell flat at the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship where he finished outside the top 20 no thanks to his play on the greens. Previous: 17 | |
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| Went through much of June, July and August without a top-10 finish only to bring the streak to an end with a runner-up finish at the final event of LIV Golf 1.0. What LIV Golf 2.0 looks like remains to be seen, but for Rahm it was another wasted year even when factoring in the two wins from early in the season. Previous: 12 | |
