The PGA Tour postseason and Presidents Cup are in the rear-view mirror leaving only a handful of events remaining in the 2024 golfing calendar. While competitors will vie for the DP World Tour's season-long race in the Middle East over the next couple weeks, the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup Fall has been mostly absent of stars as they enjoy their time off before a new campaign begins in 2025.
Justin Thomas was one of those few stars to tee it up at the Zozo Championship, and the two-time major champion nearly broke his two-year winless drought. The American was unable to enter the winner's circle in Japan, but he took another step towards becoming the player fans have grown accustomed to seeing.
In fact, Thomas raised his odds to 28-1 at the 2025 PGA Championship, tied for 10th-best in the field, according to DraftKings sportsbook, one of the top betting sites.
Thomas does enter The Power 18 this week thanks to his recent resurgence, but that is not to say much has changed. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler won't be seen again until he defends his crown at the Hero World Challenge in The Bahamas, while Rory McIlroy, Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood are among those who will star on the DP World Tour these next two weeks.
The Power 18 provides insight as to how golfers are currently performing with benefit given to their play over 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
| 1 | |
| He's officially in the field for Tiger Woods' event in The Bahamas where he will aim to successfully defend his crown. Scheffler has shown throughout his career that there are golf courses that simply fit his eye -- Augusta National, Bay Hill, TPC Sawgrass, etc. Albany is certainly among those as he has lost to just one player (Viktor Hovland, twice) in three prior trips. Previous: 1 | |
| 2 | |
| Schauffele is, in fact, human after all. After a seven-month stretch of finishing inside the top 20 of every tournament, the two-time major champion stumbled at the Zozo Championship with a T41 result. A quadruple-bogey 8 in his opening round derailed his chances, but it shouldn't take away from an otherwise sensational season. Previous: 2 | |
| 3 | |
| After claiming the individual crown on LIV Golf, Rahm got to work on the DP World Tour to satisfy the minimum start requirement in order to remain eligible for the Ryder Cup. The Spaniard notched three straight top-10 finishes including a playoff loss. Outside the PGA Championship and the Masters, Rahm has not finished outside the top 10 this year. Previous: 3 | |
| 4 | |
| Despite his 2024 being the year of almosts, McIlroy is in the driver's seat to take down the Race to Dubai on the DP World Tour. If he is to go onto to claim the title, the 35-year-old would have six crowns to his name including one from each of the last three seasons. Previous: 4 | |
| 5 | |
| Morikawa's inability to go back-to-back at the Zozo Championship means it has been more than one year without entering the winner's circle. He has turned into a much more complete player during that time but has ran into buzzsaws (i.e. Scheffler) when in contention. The 27-year-old will need his patented iron play to return to take down the top names in the game. Previous: 5 | |
| 6 | |
| While he had the home country fans cheering him on, Matsuyama was an afterthought at the Zozo Championship finishing outside the top 40. The Olympic bronze medalist has experienced everything over the last three months — Presidents Cup disappointment, an injury at the BMW Championship and a victory in Memphis. Previous: 6 | |
| 7 | |
| Cantlay's calendar is a known quantity at this stage of his career: signature events, major championships, a team competition and maybe one other tournament sprinkled in. He'll return to action at The Sentry where he has endured middling success and seeks his first trophy since the 2022 BMW Championship. Previous: 7 | |
| 8 | |
| The biggest climber in this week's edition, Hatton is among the most recent to raise a trophy. Winning the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship for the third time, the Englishman gave himself a chance to take down the DP World Tour's season-long race despite logging the majority of his round son LIV Golf. Crucial Ryder Cup and Official World Golf Rankings points are on the line as well. Previous: 18 | |
| 9 | |
| Fleetwood is surging at the perfect time as his Olympic silver medal appears to have served as a catalyst for his fall. He has claimed three straight top-12 results on the DP World Tour including back-to-back podium finishes. These have come despite a faulty putter that has held him back from the winner's circle. Previous: 11 | |
| 10 | |
| A fantastic season was backed up with a sensational Presidents Cup where he teamed up with Scheffler. Henley proved to have one of the higher floors on the PGA Tour in 2024. Next year, he'll look to make that ceiling of his even higher. Previous: 8 | |
| 11 | |
| The young Swede kept open the possibility of teeing it up over these next two weeks following a successful surgery to clean up his knee, but Åberg is not listed in the field in Abu Dhabi. He has committed to the Hero World Challenge next month, which has often served as the proving ground for injured golfers. Previous: 9 | |
| 12 | |
| Burns' iron play took a really nice step in the right direction towards the end of his season and carried into the Presidents Cup. If that continues in 2025, he will have an opportunity to contend in major championships as the four big ones have previously posed a problem with just one top 10 in 17 starts. Previous: 10 | |
| 13 | |
| It was a pretty on-par performance from Im at the Zozo Championship. He was never a threat to contend, but a couple solid rounds over the weekend were enough to push his name onto the second page of the leaderboard when all was said and done. His consistency is clear as day, but his winning upside is continuing to get harder to see. Previous: 12 | |
| 14 | |
| DeChambeau returned to his alma mater to show off his U.S. Open trophy and may head to India in early 2025 to make a start alongside his Crushers teammates in the Asian Tour's co-sanctioned International Series. He hasn't played since September, but he remains a top-15 player at the least. Previous: 13 | |
| 15 | |
| His victory at the BMW PGA Championship has since been followed by missed cuts at St. Andrews and Le Golf National. Horschel hasn't played in the DP World Tour Championship since 2021, but his win at Wentworth and runner-up finish at The Open has him ranked fourth two weeks ahead of the postseason finale. Previous: 14 | |
| 16 | |
| Thomas had every opportunity to win the Zozo Championship before final-round putting woes proved to be his undoing. His tee-to-green game has returned to normal levels, but his putting remains abnormally poor. What he does to improve on the greens ahead of 2025 is among the biggest storylines heading into next season. Previous: Not ranked | |
| 17 | |
| Murmurs of a possible injury have circled Hovland as the Norwegian is a non-factor in the Race to Dubai. In fact, he's likely done for the year as he is not among those in the Hero World Challenge. Despite his poor 2024, he still finished top 15 in the FedEx Cup and factored in a major championship. His full swing looks tighter, but his short game is a real issue. Previous: 15 | |
| 18 | |
| Consistency will be key for Clark in 2025 as his boom-or-bust nature left him irrelevant in some of the game's top tournaments. Expectations may have gotten the better of him, but if he is to be considered a top player like his OWGR suggests, he needs to be in the conversation more often. Outside his U.S. Open victory, Clark's best major finish is T33. Previous: 16 | |
Get in the game with a DraftKings promo code as FedEx Fall concludes and the 2025 PGA Tour season begins in January.
