Schaeffler "I'm Number 1"... Im Sung-jae 18th Place

Ram 2nd, McIlroy 3rd, Kim Juhyung 19th Positions

‘The Players Championship Champion’ Scottie Scheffler (USA) has returned to world No. 1.

Scottie Scheffler is celebrating while holding the trophy immediately after winning The Players Championship. [Ponte Vedra Beach, USA = EPA·Yonhap News]

Scheffler received 10.40 points in the weekly official golf world rankings announced on the 12th (Korean time), pushing Jon Rahm (Spain) down to second place. Scheffler earned points by winning the PGA Tour’s ‘fifth major,’ The Players Championship (total prize money $25 million), which concluded at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA. This is his second win of the season and sixth overall, coming one month after his victory at the WM Phoenix Open last month.

Scheffler had risen to world No. 1 immediately after winning the WM Phoenix Open but dropped to second place behind Rahm after one week. He reclaimed the No. 1 spot after three weeks. Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) remained third, Patrick Cantlay (USA) fourth, and Cameron Smith (Australia) held fifth place.

In Korea, Im Sung-jae maintained his 18th place, thanks to his joint 6th place finish at The Players Championship. This is the highest ranking by a Korean player in five months since October last year. Kim Joo-hyung dropped from 17th to 19th. Kim Si-woo rose three places from 42nd to 39th. Meanwhile, Lee Kyoung-hoon fell two places from 41st to 43rd.