4 Years Later, Jordan Spieth Trumps Justin Thomas in World Rankings

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Credit: Getty Images/Sam Greenwood

For the first time since the week of January 28, 2018, Jordan Spieth holds a better position than Justin Thomas in the Official World Golf Rankings.

On February 25, 2018, following the Honda Classic, which Thomas won, JT moved to No. 3 in the world, while Spieth dropped to 4th.

For more than 50 months, Thomas would maintain a better world ranking than Spieth, and in fact JT is the only player in the world to maintain a top-10 ranking since 2017 – closing in on five full years.

Spieth, meanwhile, endured a horrific slump – starting in late 2018, and plummeted all the way down to No. 92 in early 2021.

The once budding rivalry seemed no more. JT was now a consistently great superstar while Spieth was no longer even making the field at World Golf Championships or even qualifying for the Tour Championship.

Jordan Spieth
Jordan Spieth reacts to a birdie putt on the 17th green during the third round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale on February 06, 2021 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

In his following start, though, at the Phoenix Open, Spieth bounced back and began his rise back to prominence. A T4 in Phoenix was followed by a T3 at Pebble and a T4 at Bay Hill. He added a T15 at Riviera in between.

Following the PLAYERS, which Thomas won, JT was No. 2 in the world but Spieth was closing in on the top 50 (No. 52).

Since then, Spieth has won twice and finished in the top-3 SIX times, including two at the majors (which is akin to winning a regular tour event in terms of world-ranking points). Thomas, the winningest golfer since 2017, has been shut out of the winner’s circle for more than a year now.

Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth
Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth during the third round of the 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park on Aug 8, 2020 in San Francisco, CA. (Photo by Harry How via Getty Images)

And so… at the conclusion of the Byron Nelson, where Spieth finished solo runner-up to Thomas’ T5, it’s the Texan (No. 8) who is ranked above Kentucky native (No. 9) for the first time in what seems like forever.

World Top 10

(Jan. 28, 2018)
1. Dustin Johnson 10.71
2. Jon Rahm 9.54
3. Jordan Spieth 8.79
4. Justin Thomas 8.01
5. Hideki Matsuyama 7.40
6. Justin Rose 7.39
7. Rickie Fowler 6.64
8. Rory McIlroy 6.09
9. Brooks Koepka 5.99
10. Jason Day 5.79

World Top 10

(Feb. 25, 2018)
1. Dustin Johnson 10.67
2. Jon Rahm 8.88
3. Justin Thomas 8.74
4. Jordan Spieth 8.43
5. Justin Rose 7.44
6. Hideki Matsuyama 7.12
7. Rickie Fowler 6.40
8. Jason Day 5.89
9. Brooks Koepka 5.84
10. Rory McIlroy 5.52

World Top 10

(Jan. 31, 2021)
1. Dustin Johnson 11.99
2. Jon Rahm 9.37
3. Justin Thomas 9.04
4. Xander Schauffele 7.16
5. Collin Morikawa 6.99
6. Rory McIlroy 6.94
7. Tyrrell Hatton 6.82
8. Bryson DeChambeau 6.73
9. Webb Simpson 6.70
10. Patrick Reed 6.59

92. Jordan Spieth 1.51

World Top 10

(Mar. 14, 2021)
1. Dustin Johnson 11.57
2. Justin Thomas 9.50
3. Jon Rahm 8.69
4. Collin Morikawa 7.79
5. Bryson DeChambeau 7.43
6. Xander Schauffele 6.94
7. Patrick Reed 6.33
8. Tyrrell Hatton 6.26
9. Patrick Cantlay 6.09
10. Webb Simpson 6.08

52. Jordan Spieth 2.09

World Top 10

(May 15, 2022)
1. Scottie Scheffler 9.75
2. Jon Rahm 8.24
3. Collin Morikawa 7.60
4. Cameron Smith 7.48
5. Patrick Cantlay 7.24
6. Viktor Hovland 6.96
7. Rory McIlroy 6.49
8. Jordan Spieth 5.86
9. Justin Thomas 5.54
10. Xander Schauffele 5.06

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