Not a bad work week for Brooks Koepka. The two-time defending U.S. Open champion didn’t play a tournament, but the math was in his favor. As a result, Koepka jumped back to world No. 1, the latest in a recent see-saw atop the game’s rankings.
During the week off, Koepka’s divisor dropped from 45 to 44 in the two-year OWGR calendar. That meant his average points rose to 10.32, enough to take the world’s top spot back from Justin Rose. Rose, who elected to skip the European Tour’s penultimate tournament in South Africa, is a whisker behind Koepka at 10.16.
But Koepka’s lead is far from safe. One world rankings expert estimates that Koepka will need to notch a top 10 finish at this week’s Dunlop Phoenix Open in Japan to retain the alpha dog status. Otherwise it will swing back Rose’s way.
Dustin Johnson sits at No. 3 in the world with 9.37 points. Justin Thomas and Bryson DeChambeau round out the game’s top five.
Lee Westwood had the weekend’s other notable jump in rankings, climbing from No. 119 to 64 after his win at the NedBank.
You can see the entire rankings here.
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