For the first time since his U.S. Open-winning season in 2012, Webb Simpson is ranked inside the top 10 in the world.
Simpson’s victory at the Waste Management Phoenix Open moved him from 11th to seventh in the Official World Golf Ranking. His highest-ever ranking is fifth, which occurred following his major triumph at Olympic Club eight years ago.
This was Simpson’s sixth career PGA Tour victory, but his rise in the rankings has been thanks to a steady diet of top-3 finishes. He has five in his last 10 Tour starts.
Updated Official World Golf Ranking
Graeme McDowell also made a significant jump, thanks to his win at the Saudi International. The Northern Irishman moved from 104th to 47th. A year ago at this time, McDowell was 262nd in the world, but has since won on the PGA Tour in the Dominican Republic and this past week on the European Tour.
Phil Mickelson, who tied for third in Saudi Arabia, jumped 14 spots, to No. 72. It’s the first time since he won at Pebble Beach last year that Mickelson has made a positive move in the OWGR. He will attempt to defend his AT&T title this week.
Other notable movers included Bubba Watson (T-3, WMPO), from 55th to 44th, and Jordan Spieth (MC, WMPO), from 51st to 55th.
The top six players in the rankings remained the same: Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson and Tiger Woods.
Following Simpson, Patrick Cantlay is No. 8 and Xander Schauffele is No. 9.
Former world No. 1 Justin Rose dropped from eighth to 10th. The Englishman hasn’t been outside of the top 10 since the end of the 2017 Tour season.