Hard to imagine, maybe, but it was just 50 weeks ago that Jason Day’s name sat atop the world rankings. It’s been a short 2 ½ years, too, since Rory McIlroy’s name was there. Thus it was a little perplexing at year’s end to see both players outside the top 10.

Their performances this weekend, though, restored a little more sense of order. Both are back in the top 10, thanks to Day’s win at the Farmers Insurance Open and McIlroy’s second top-3 finish in as many weeks in the Middle East.

TOP 10

1 Dustin Johnson (1) 10.72
2 Jon Rahm (2) 9.54
3 Jordan Spieth (3) 8.79
4 Justin Thomas (4) 8.01
5 Hideki Matsuyama (5) 7.40
6 Justin Rose (6) 7.39
7 Rickie Fowler (7) 6.65
8 Rory McIlroy (11) 6.09
9 Brooks Koepka (8) 5.99
10 Jason Day (14) 5.79

FREE FALL

Bubba Watson entered the Waste Management Phoenix Open last year with a world-ranking of No. 10. This year, the two-time major winner will tee it up in Scottsdale with a ranking of No. 108, nearly a 100-spot plummet.

It’s the worst position for Bubba since the 2009 edition, then titled the FBR Open.

BUBBA’S RANKING IN SCOTTSDALE
2018: 108th
2017: 10th
2016: 4th
2015: 4th
2014: 30th
2013: 9th
2012: 24th
2011: 18th
2010: 89th
2009: 131st

Credits: Getty Images, OWGR

Jeff Smith contributed to this report. Parts of content in this post originally appeared in Jeff Shain’s The Starter.