Scottie Scheffler hasn’t been his usual self at the start of 2026, but is he still the best player in the world?
Many would say yes, but that would largely be based on the assumption that he will return to his brilliant best at some point in 2026. He has won this year, but his performances over the last two months have been trending downward.
And diving into the numbers, it’s clear that while he holds the number one spot in the official world golf rankings, Scheffler has not been the best player on the planet in 2026. Instead, that title goes to Jon Rahm.
Jon Rahm has been the best player in 2026
DataGolf has had Scheffler as the best player in the world for the last 60 months. Until now. Their model says that over the last three months, Rahm, not Scheffler, has set the standard.
After a dominant 2025 season that saw Scheffler compared to Tiger Woods, he simply hasn’t been the same player at the start of 2026. He won the American Express and recorded top fives in his first three events, but since then, the American has struggled.
Poor rounds on Thursday have put him on the back foot, and he’s finished T12, T22 and T24 in his last three events. He was uncompetitive at The Players with horrendous play off the tee.
Meanwhile, Rahm has been ruthlessly consistent on LIV Golf this year. He broke his winless streak with a victory at LIV Hong Kong, and his worst finish of the year was a fifth place in Singapore.
In every other event, the Spaniard has finished in the top two, so he leads the LIV Golf standings over Bryson DeChambeau through five tournaments.
With that said, he’s a strong contender to claim his second Green Jacket at Augusta this year, while Scheffler has some work to do to find his form.
Scottie Scheffler’s biggest strength is his weakness in 2026
What has been so jarring about Scheffler this year is that his iron play, which has traditionally been his strength, has actually been his biggest downfall.
During his historic 2025, where Scheffler won six times on the PGA Tour, he gained 1.45 strokes to the field with his approach play. This was his third-straight season averaging over a stroke gained with his irons.
But so far this year, he’s gained just 0.35 strokes on approach. That’s his worst since 2021. He lost strokes to the field at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and his terrible driving at TPC Sawgrass left him constantly out of position, meaning he gained only half a stroke on approach there.
Last time Scheffler played so poorly with his irons, he went winless all season, and while that won’t be the case this year, it does mean that he feels a long way from being able to challenge at the top of leaderboards this year.
