Cameron Smith soars to highest world ranking of career after win at The Players

Cameron Smith entered 2022 as the 21st-ranked player in the world, but that didn’t last long. 

He quickly jumped to No. 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking after setting the PGA Tour scoring record at the Sentry Tournament of Champions on his way to victory. Smith now finds himself as the sixth-ranked player in the world after winning The Players Championship on the strength of 10 final-round birdies. 

Smith is ranked ahead of Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele and Dustin Johnson, who round out the top 10. 

The top five in the OWGR were unchanged after The Players, with Jon Rahm retaining his spot at No. 1.

The biggest jump in the world ranking came from Anirban Lahiri, who soared up 233 spots, from No. 322 to No. 89, after his solo second-place finish. 

Brooks Koepka’s reign inside the top 20 finally came to an end after his missed cut at The Players. Koepka, now ranked 21st, had been inside the top 20 of the world ranking since winning his first major championship, the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills. 

Players inside the top 64 of the OWGR after The Players are guaranteed invites to next week’s WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. Ian Poulter, known for his match-play heroics in the Ryder Cup, finds himself at lucky No. 64.