After just one start into his PGA Tour season, Scottie Scheffler brought a thought to the minds of those watching and covering the sport: “How many times is he going to win this year?” Running away and hiding from the field at the 2026 American Express, the world No. 1 claimed the 20th PGA Tour victory of his career, doing so early in the playing schedule.
Where will Scheffler go from here? Will he threaten double-digit wins this season? It seems like an absurd question to ask, but the fact that it can be asked speaks to Scheffler’s place in golf and atop the newest Power 18 rankings. Scheffler has been firmly holding the No. 1 spot for years, and he won’t be moving anytime soon.
However, one month into the year, it is not the four-time major champion who has claimed the most trophies on the PGA Tour but rather another young American. Scheffler is one of three players to win on the PGA Tour already this season. The others are Justin Rose and Chris Gotterup, who reigned victorious in a playoff over Hideki Matsuyama at the WM Phoenix Open on Sunday for his second victory of 2026. Stretching back to last summer, Gotterup has entered the winner’s circle three times out of his last 10 PGA Tour starts.
Play on the PGA Tour continues to find its stride with the first two signature events upcoming, as European stalwarts like Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood will enter the fold. Meanwhile, the DP World Tour wrapped up its first stretch in the Middle East as none other than Patrick Reed asserted his dominance with a pair of victories to all but secure his full-time card on the PGA Tour in 2027.
Around the block in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, LIV Golf got its season underway with Elvis Smylie winning in his league debut, clipping two-time major champion Jon Rahm by a single stroke. The Spaniard has not entered the winner’s circle since September 2024 despite a run of consistency that produced the season-long individual title last year.
The Power 18 provides insight as to how golfers are currently performing with benefit given to their play over recent events. It is a wider lens than simply what happened at the last tournament to be played but more narrow than the Official World Golf Rankings, which take into account how more than 2,000 golfers perform across an entire season.
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