While the champion’s open champion Scottie Scheffler topped the world’s rankings in 2025, he took the lead in the world’s No. 1 lead, but many major changes have taken place.
It was a good year for Justin Thomas and Russell Henley, who made the top five in the OWGR after winning.
Thomas rose to No. 5 in the second leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs after the BMW Championship in Maryland, starting with 14 seats.
Meanwhile, Henry ranked 17th from No. 17 after strong in 2025.
But there are some more dramatic moves when looking at the world’s current top 30.
Here we take a look at the seven largest climbers.
1. ChrisGotterup – Up 164
- Current ranking: 27
- Ranking at the end of 2024: 191
Spaun’s climb is dramatic, but the current top 30 players have added 164 positions since the beginning of the year.
Chris Gotterup won the Classic at Myrtle Beach in 2024, but it was an unusual and bad form for the rest of that year, meaning he was only in the top 200 in the world.
But after a glittering college career, he is the prediction of future stars. After immersing into No. 228, Gotterup was outstanding in the middle of the year before winning the rankings with a stunning and surprising victory at the Scottish Open before finishing third in his open title debut.
Gotterup was only ranked 158th when he arrived in Scotland, and he completed an incredible two weeks on the 27th (his current ranking). take a bow!
2. JJSpaun – Rise 113 Spots
- Current ranking: 6
- Ranking at the end of 2024: 119
Although Ross and English have made a big leap to the top 10, no one is further away than the current No. 6 JJ Spaun.
The 34-year-old finished 169th in OWGR in June 2024 until a good result this year ended at 119th. But Spaun did let go of his own pace in 2025. The second place in the player championship is his third place in the race and has raised him to 25th.
He had a stunning breakthrough victory at the U.S. Open in Oakmont, and he made a stunning breakthrough at the U.S. Open after finishing second in Fedex St. Jude last week.
3. HarrisEnglish – Up 63 positions
- Current ranking: 9
- Ranking at the end of 2024: 72
In contrast to Straka, English has had a great year in professional year, finishing second in both the PGA Championship and the Open.
When Torrey Pines’ victory in farmers’ insurance moved the American from 75th to 34th, he took Elvis the first big climb in January.
His runner-up at PGA brought him into the top 20 and finished with Scheffler’s recent challenger in Royal Porthush moving English to the top 10 challenger, who now resides in No. 9.
4. Ben Griffin – Rise 48 Spots
- Current ranking: 17
- Ranking at the end of 2024: 65
Griffin’s view at the beginning of the year was a decent player, but that’s all. Although he hints at strong performance in the second half of the year, he spent most of 2024 hovering at No. 100.
In 2025, he did start his second game at the back-to-back memorial after the victory of the Charles Schwab Challenge.
St. Jude, who ranked eighth in his last 10 games, is now in the top 20 and has been mentioned for the draft pick for the Ryder Cup team.
5. Justin Rose – Up 36 Attractions
- Current ranking: 11
- Ranking at the end of 2024: 47
Today, Rose’s results appear to have feasts or famines. But the good stuff he sprinkled in mid-2025 has made him advance to the top ten for the first time in five years.
The British lost the playoffs with Rory McIlroy of the Augusta National, moving from 39th to 12th, and after immersion, he found form again this summer.
Sixth in the Scottish Open and 16th in the Open, he flourished, winning the FedEx St. Jude title and climbing 11 titles to ninth. Entering 2025, Ross has been working hard to retain his identity.
6. SeppStraka – Rise 24 Spots
- Current ranking: 12
- Ranking at the end of 2024: 36
The Austrian’s 2025 was his year, winning the Truist Championships in January at American Express and May. He jumped to seventh after finishing third in the memorial.
Now, with the twelfth place in the top 30 outside of 2024, Straka’s rise could have been more dramatic, but it was terrible and transparent in the Grand Slam.
He missed the cuts in the Masters, PGA and the U.S. Open, and only played for the 52nd time in the Open.
7. Cameron Young – Up 19 Attractions
- Current ranking: 20
- Ranking at the end of 2024: 39
Young struggled early this year and actually fell to No. 67 because the results did not improve.
But at the Canadian Open and the U.S. Open in June, the top four back-to-back starts to move forward, and he makes the top 20 thanks to a breakthrough first win of the Wyndham Championship (six shots!), finishing fifth in the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Now, he will likely beat his best No. 13 soon.
Read more: Rory McIlroy
