Justin Thomas wants to surpass Scottie Scheffler in the world rankings, but he knows that goal is currently unlikely.
“It’s still on my mind,” Thomas said Monday at the U.S. Open. “I even had the thought last week of—I’m sure some people will laugh, but if I can even catch him this year.”
Scheffler is the benchmark in the sport, having been the world No. 1 for over 100 straight weeks. Thomas has earned that throne twice, in 2018 and 2020. This year, he ended a two-year winless drought at the RBC Heritage and has jumped back into being a top 5 player in the world.
But there are very few scenarios where Thomas, or anyone, can top Scheffler, who has been called the closest thing golf has seen since Tiger Woods.
“Win however many tournaments the rest of the year,” the two-time major winner said, “and maybe Scottie doesn’t play or something.”
Thomas is nearly 500 points behind Scheffler in the world rankings, and No. 2 Rory McIlroy, who has won three times this season, is 239 points back.
Scheffler, however, has won three times in his last four starts after winning seven times in 2024. And those who have gone on heaters still can’t reach the OWGR’s top spot.
“I think that's the thing about it is guys are playing unbelievable, like Xander [Schauffele] did last year,” Thomas said, “like Rory is this year, but it’s just that Scottie is also doing that. You can’t really catch that if he keeps doing what he’s doing.”
But Thomas’s objective will remain, and he’ll just control what he can.
“It’s still on the forefront of my mind,” he said, “and it’s something that I’m working toward. I obviously can’t do anything about what (Scheffler’s) doing, and he doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of slowing down or wanting to. Just try to go win some tournaments, and hopefully get close sooner rather than later.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Justin Thomas Reveals ‘Laughable’ Goal to Catch Scottie Scheffler in World Rankings.
