Morikawa: "I'm Number 5~"... Ram: "Regained World Ranking No. 1"

PGA Championship Victory Propels 5th Place Jump, Thomas 2nd, McIlroy 3rd, Woods 16th

Collin Morikawa is posing for a commemorative photo with the trophy placed in front of him right after winning his first major PGA Championship of the season. San Francisco, California, USA - Getty Images/Multibits

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "I am number 5."

Collin Morikawa (USA) scored 7.51 points in the weekly official golf world rankings announced on the afternoon of the 10th (Korean time), rising to 5th place. He accumulated points by winning the first major of the 2020 PGA Tour season, the PGA Championship (total prize money $11 million), which ended that morning at Harding Park TPC (par 70) in San Francisco, California, USA. This is his second win of the season and third overall, following last month's Workday Charity Open.

Morikawa especially caused a stir by winning a major in only his second appearance. At just 23 years old, he joined the ranks of players who have collected this tournament's trophy, alongside Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods (both USA), and Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland). Turning professional in June last year, he quickly secured his first victory at the Barracuda Championship in July, marking him as a promising next-generation player. He also set a remarkable record of 22 consecutive cuts made up to the RBC Heritage in June.

Although he missed the cut at the Travelers Championship, falling short of Woods' 25 consecutive tournaments made, he once again drew the spotlight by defeating Justin Thomas (USA) in a playoff at the Workday Charity Open. Starting the day tied for 4th place, two strokes behind, he demonstrated his 'clutch player' qualities by shooting 6 under par. Rising from 1039th in the world rankings just 1 year and 2 months ago, he soared 1034 places, collecting three wins including a major.

Jon Rahm (Spain) reclaimed the top spot after two weeks. After winning the Memorial Tournament last month, he became the first Spanish player in 31 years since Seve Ballesteros in 1989 to reach number 1, but had to give up the position to Thomas, which was frustrating. Thomas is now 2nd, McIlroy 3rd, and Dustin Johnson (USA) 4th. Woods is positioned 16th. In Korea, Im Sung-jae (22) is 27th, An Byeong-hun (29) 55th, Kang Sung-hoon (33) 61st, and Kim Joo-hyung (18, all CJ Logistics) is 98th.