The Official World Golf Ranking has been updated for the week of August 18, 2026, and with a victory at the FedEx St. Jude, Scottie Scheffler cemented his spot as the planet's best player.
But there was other movement in the newest ranking, including Sam Burns climbing into the top 10. With a second-place finish in Memphis, Burns has now jumped from No. 11 up to the seventh spot, marking his highest career placement in the rankings. Also, Si Woo Kim climbed five spots from No. 18 to No. 13.
The OWGR system is calculated by awarding points from eligible tours and events to participating players over a rolling two-year period. Players are ranked weekly based on the amount of points they earn divided by the number of events they played in to reach an average total. Points hold their full value for a 13-week period and are then reduced in equal decrements. The current ranking for the Top 50 golfers in the world appears below.
Official World Golf Ranking Top 50 for August 18, 2026
Ranking is accurate as of Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, at 5:12 a.m.
| Rank | Player | Average Points | Events Played |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scottie Scheffler, United States | 17.7 | 42 |
| 2 | Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland | 8.76 | 43 |
| 3 | Cameron Young, United States | 7.98 | 46 |
| 4 | Matt Fitzpatrick, England | 7.15 | 48 |
| 5 | Tommy Fleetwood, England | 5.58 | 51 |
| 6 | Russell Henley, United States | 5.57 | 40 |
| 7 | Sam Burns, United States | 5.44 | 47 |
| 8 | Wyndham Clark, United States | 5.42 | 49 |
| 9 | Chris Gotterup, United States | 5.3 | 52 |
| 10 | Xander Schauffele, United States | 5.28 | 40 |
| 11 | Collin Morikawa, United States | 5.04 | 40 |
| 12 | Justin Rose, England | 4.89 | 42 |
| 13 | Si Woo Kim, South Korea | 4.88 | 52 |
| 14 | Viktor Hovland, Norway | 4.67 | 42 |
| 15 | Jon Rahm, Spain | 4.63 | 40 |
| 16 | J.J. Spaun, United States | 4.45 | 52 |
| 17 | Ludvig Aberg, Sweden | 4.39 | 45 |
| 18 | Alex Noren, Sweden | 4.12 | 40 |
| 19 | Robert MacIntyre, Scotland | 4.09 | 52 |
| 20 | Aaron Rai, England | 4.08 | 49 |
| 21 | Ben Griffin, United States | 3.99 | 52 |
| 22 | Tyrrell Hatton, England | 3.93 | 40 |
| 23 | Justin Thomas, United States | 3.89 | 41 |
| 24 | Ryan Fox, New Zealand | 3.87 | 51 |
| 25 | Hideki Matsuyama, Japan | 3.79 | 52 |
| 26 | Ryan Gerard, United States | 3.6 | 52 |
| 27 | Min Woo Lee, Australia | 3.45 | 49 |
| 28 | Tom Kim, South Korea | 3.42 | 50 |
| 29 | Kristoffer Reitan, Norway | 3.36 | 52 |
| 30 | Sepp Straka, Austria | 3.34 | 48 |
| 31 | Jacob Bridgeman, United States | 3.3 | 52 |
| 32 | Patrick Reed, United States | 3.24 | 40 |
| 33 | Akshay Bhatia, United States | 3.23 | 51 |
| 34 | Michael Brennan, United States | 3.1 | 47 |
| 35 | J.T. Poston, United States | 3.09 | 48 |
| 36 | Bryson DeChambeau, United States | 3.07 | 40 |
| 37 | Kurt Kitayama, United States | 2.99 | 46 |
| 38 | Patrick Cantlay, United States | 2.92 | 41 |
| 39 | Harris English, United States | 2.88 | 51 |
| 40 | Nicolai Hojgaard, Denmark | 2.83 | 52 |
| 41 | Michael Thorbjornsen, United States | 2.81 | 49 |
| 42 | Bud Cauley, United States | 2.76 | 47 |
| 43 | Joaquin Niemann, Chile | 2.74 | 40 |
| 44 | Rickie Fowler, United States | 2.66 | 44 |
| 45 | Alex Smalley, United States | 2.62 | 52 |
| 46 | Maverick McNealy, United States | 2.6 | 52 |
| 47 | Gary Woodland, United States | 2.56 | 47 |
| 48 | Jake Knapp, United States | 2.55 | 40 |
| 49 | Keegan Bradley, United States | 2.54 | 45 |
| 50 | Lucas Herbert, Australia | 2.39 | 40 |
Which tours are eligible for the Official World Golf Ranking?
- ACN Tour
- All Thailand Golf Tour
- Alps Tour Golf
- Asian Development Tour
- Asian Tour
- Big Easy Tour
- China Tour
- ClutchPro Tour
- DP World Tour
- Gira de Golf Professional Mexicana
- HotelPlanner Tour
- Japan Golf Tour
- Korn Ferry Tour
- Korean PGA Tour
- MENA Tour
- Nordic Golf League
- PGA TOUR Americas
- PGA Tour of Taiwan - Chinese Taipei
- PGA TOUR
- PGA Tour of Australasia
- Pro Golf Tour
- Sunshine Tour
- Tartan Pro Tour
- Professional Golf Tour of India
Additionally, The Open, Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, PGA Championship, World Golf Championship and Olympic Games are considered eligible tournaments.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Sam Burns reaches career high in new Official World Golf Ranking