This year the US Masters took place in April, and Matsuyama was crowned the winner. However, there is more to the world of golf than just this one tournament, and the world rankings have a much more complicated makeup. Matsuyama sits 15th in the world rankings despite this incredible win, so just who are the best golfers in 2021?
- Dustin Johnson
Ranking as number one in the world currently is the American, Dustin Johnson. Born in Columbia SC in 1984, he has racked up quite an impressive school board, having played hundreds of games across all of the tournaments, including the PGA.
It is estimated that over his career, he has earned over $71 million and finished in the top ten 107 times. He is undoubtedly a joy to behold as he strolls across the green, but this year for the second time, he missed the cut for the Masters. However, he was the defending champion, so he was there on Sunday to hand over the coveted green jacket to the new titleholder.
In 2020 he took the Masters tournament with a really impressive score of 268, which is actually a record and 20 under par. In 2016 he also claimed the US Open title, which that year was held at Oakmont Country Club, racking up another impressive four-under-par on a school of 276. On the PGA circuit, he has 23 wins.
- Justin Thomas
Currently sitting in second place and hot on the heels of Johnson, Justin Thomas is almost a decade younger and hails from Louisville in Kentucky. He is undoubtedly one to watch and will be determined to knock Dustin from the top spot.
In his career, he has played 169 PGA events, ranking in the top ten 59 times. He has already earned a very comfortable $43 million over his career, and he finished 21st at the Masters this year, which in itself netted him an impressive $119,000.
His playing prowess first came to light in 2017 when he managed to win five of the PGA Tour events, including the championship. This is particularly impressive as it was the first time he had played in a major championship. Not done for the year, he also won the FedEx Cup championship. His determination to return to the top will come after a brief stint before Johnson managed to seal the deal and take first place off him.
- Jon Rahm
Another player who previously enjoyed his time at the top now ranks third in the world, and that is Jon Rahm Rodriguez, who was born in Spain. In July 2020, he won the Memorial Tournament, which is what initially got him to number one. He held the position for 60 weeks, and we assume he hopes to get back there very soon.
Another relatively young player at just 26 years old, he too has some pretty impressive statistics, having played in 105 PGA events, with a top ten spot win in 49 games. His career earnings are thought to be in the region of $24 million and this year he finished fifth in the Master’s, netting himself $437,000 for his performance. He did, however, miss the cut for the Wells Fargo championship course played in early May.
- Xander Schauffele
The number four seeded player in the world is Xander Schauffele, who was born in La Jolla CA, in 1993. Over his career, he has played in the PGA Tour at 110 events and managed a top ten placing in 30 of those. He actually ranked third in the Master’s, which netted him at 600 and $67,000 and his career earnings are thought to be in the region of 22 million. Unfortunately, he did not make the cut for the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play in March.
An interesting fact about this player is although he was born and raised in San Diego, California, his father is actually German/French in heritage, and his mum is Taiwanese. Sporting prowess is clearly in his genes. His dad, Stephen, was training for the Olympics to represent Germany in the decathlon when sadly a drunk driver hit his car head-on and ended all possibilities.
In 2017 Xander was the first rookie player ever to take the Tour Championship, and it was quite a year for him as he also had his first win at the Greenbrier Classic and was therefore named Rookie of the Year 2016/17.
5 Hideki Matsuyama
So just how does our 15th World Ranked Masters winner square up to these higher placed competitors? Born in 1992 in Japan, he has 188 PGA Tour season events under his belt and has finished in the top ten an impressive 48 times.
His Master’s win netted him just over $2 million and currently his career earnings are thought to be in the region of $32 million. Another player keen on creating history, he was the first Japanese pro golfer ever to be able to win the men’s major golf championships when he took the Masters. He first played at this prestigious tournament in 2011 because he had previously been the winner of the Asia Pacific amateur tournament. He was able to successfully defend that title in 2012, which earned him a place in the Augusta National. This year was his 10th outing, and he finished in the top 15 four times before clinching this win.
