The PGA Tour begins its Florida swing with the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches this week, a sign that it's finally warming up on the East Coast.
Even better, it means the Masters, the first major championship of the season, is right around the corner.
With the two biggest stars of last season, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele, battling injuries at the start of 2025, there were a handful of comeback winners and first-timers in the first two months of the season.
With the Players Championship only two weeks away, and the Masters teeing off at Augusta National Golf Club in 43 days, it's a great time for the first PGA Tour Power Rankings of the season.
A reminder: This list isn't the top 25 men's golfers in the world, with Bryson DeChambeau, Tyrrell Hatton and others competing in the LIV Golf League. While I'm giving Scheffler and Schauffele the benefit of doubt, the rankings were largely determined by what golfers have accomplished this season to date.
1. Scottie Scheffler
The world No. 1 golfer missed the first month of the season with a hand injury suffered in an accident while cooking Christmas dinner. He's rounding into form with three top-25 finishes in as many starts this season, including a tie for third at the Genesis Invitational. This is traditionally the time of year when Scheffler heats up; he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship (both for the second time) in March 2024.
2. Rory McIlroy
Don't look now, but McIlroy is playing well just before the Masters, which he needs to win to complete the career Grand Slam. He collected his 27th PGA Tour victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Feb. 2. He didn't putt well in his last start at the Genesis Invitational, but he figures to be much more comfortable on Florida's Bermuda greens.
3. Ludvig Åberg
Åberg's immense talent was on display at the Genesis when he defeated an elite field for his second PGA Tour victory. In only his second full season on tour, the 25-year-old is getting a second look at golf courses. That includes Augusta National Golf Club, where he was solo second, four strokes behind Scheffler, in his debut in 2024.
4. Xander Schauffele
After picking up his first two major championship victories at the PGA Championship and The Open in 2024, Schauffele has made just one start on tour this season because of a strained rib cage. After skipping signature events at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis, Schauffele is scheduled to return at next week's API at Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Florida.
5. Hideki Matsuyama
The 2021 Masters champion finally looks healthy (knock on wood) after battling neck and back injuries the past couple of seasons. He claimed his 11th PGA Tour victory at The Sentry in the season opener and tied for 13th at the Genesis. He's sixth on tour in strokes gained: total (1.641) and is 18th on approach (.699), 15th around the green (.517) and 34th in putting (.474). If he gets his driver going again, look out.
6. Sepp Straka
The Austrian-born Straka continues to get better and better, winning for the third time on tour at The American Express on Jan. 19. Straka's iron play has been stellar this season. He doesn't hit it far off the tee but finds most fairways. He captured his first PGA Tour victory at PGA National Resort & Spa in the Honda Classic in 2022.
7. Harris English
Like Straka, English is among a handful of former University of Georgia golfers who have made noise on tour this season. English took home his fifth PGA Tour victory, his first since the 2021 Travelers Championship, with a one-shot victory over Sam Stevens at the Farmers Insurance Open on Jan. 25. English bounced back from major hip surgery and a swing change to lift a trophy again.
8. Collin Morikawa
Morikawa has won just once on tour since claiming his second major championship at the 2021 Open Championship at Royal St. George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England. He came close in his first start in 2024, losing to Matsuyama by three strokes at The Sentry. Morikawa's irons and putter have been dialed in early this season.
9. Maverick McNealy
It looked like the former Stanford star was going to pick up his second PGA Tour victory in four months (the first came at the RSM Classic in late November) after he carded eight birdies in 11 holes to take a three-shot lead in the final round of the Genesis Invitational. But then Åberg chased McNealy down and beat him by a stroke. McNealy, a former world No. 1 amateur golfer, had top-10s at The Sentry and WM Phoenix Open, too. The budding star seems to be only scratching the surface of what he can do on tour.
10. Thomas Detry
The former Illinois golfer showed flashes of what was coming last season when he tied for fourth at the PGA Championship and finished 14th at the U.S. Open. On Feb. 9, he became the first Belgian-born golfer to win on the PGA Tour when he took the WM Phoenix Open by a whopping seven strokes. He's one of the best putters on tour and is more than solid off the tee. His inconsistent iron play had held him back until now.
11. Nick Taylor
After being left off the International team in last year's Presidents Cup in Montreal, Taylor holed a birdie on the second playoff hole to defeat Nico Echavarria in the Sony Open in Hawaii on Jan. 12. There's no doubt Taylor struggled in 2024, missing the cut in all four majors, but his game is clicking early this season.
12. Justin Thomas
After battling his swing for much of the past two seasons, there are plenty of signs that JT is close to breaking through. He was runner-up at the American Express, two strokes behind Straka, and tied for sixth at the WM Phoenix Open and for ninth at the Genesis. His iron play has been much better -- he's fourth on tour in strokes gained: approach (1.054). After struggling mightily on the greens in 2024, Thomas is gaining strokes in putting (.217) this season.
13. Patrick Cantlay
Cantlay has been intimately involved in reshaping the PGA Tour the past couple of seasons, which might be one of the reasons he hasn't finished atop a leaderboard since the BMW Championship in August 2022. He already has three top-15 finishes this season, tying for fifth at both the American Express and the Genesis. He's second in greens in regulation (76.4%), and his putting has been better than most.
14. Daniel Berger
After a debilitating back injury caused Berger to step away from the course for 18 months, he found his form again during the fall. He has already piled up three top-25 finishes in six starts this season, including a tie for second at the WM Phoenix Open. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Berger pick up his fifth PGA Tour victory at The Champion course at PGA National Resort & Spa, his home course.
15. Russell Henley
Henley had a bit of a breakthrough in the majors last season, tying for seventh in the U.S. Open and finishing solo fifth at The Open. He has two top-10s in four starts this season, thanks to his strong iron play and putting. Henley took down McIlroy and others in a playoff to take home his second tour victory at the Honda Classic in March 2014.
16. Sungjae Im
The South Korean golfer captured PGA Tour victories in back-to-back seasons in 2020 and 2021, but has been searching for his third one the past four seasons. He's off to a good start this year with a solo third at The Sentry and tie for fourth at the Farmers Insurance Open. His inconsistent iron play -- he's 171st in strokes gained: approach (-.919) -- led to missed cuts at The American Express and the Genesis.
17. Tony Finau
Finau's wife, Layla, gave birth to their sixth child last month. The birth of his daughter seemed to inspire Finau, who tied for 13th at Pebble Beach and for fifth at the Genesis. The six-time winner on tour seems to be rounding into form after undergoing surgery in October to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.
18. Tommy Fleetwood
The English golfer has made only two starts on the PGA Tour this season -- he tied for 22nd at Pebble Beach and for fifth at the Genesis. With Fleetwood now ranked 10th in the Official World Golf Ranking, it seems to only be a matter of time before the eight-time worldwide winner finally claims a victory in the U.S. He had six straight top 25s on the DP World Tour at the end of 2024.
19. Michael Kim
The former UC Berkeley golfer is one of the best follows on X, and now he's playing great golf to back up his tips. Kim, whose only Tour victory came at the 2018 John Deere Classic, tied for second at the WM Phoenix Open and for 13th at both the Genesis and Mexico Open. Ranked 147th in the world at the end of 2024, Kim has climbed to 79th, his highest OWGR ranking.
20. Keegan Bradley
The U.S. Ryder Cup team captain gave the European squad plenty of bulletin board material in the third season of Netflix's Full Swing, when cameras captured him telling teammates at last year's Presidents Cup, "I'm gonna get criticized as the captain next year. They're gonna underestimate me, they're gonna doubt me. I've been doubted my whole f---ing life. That's when I do my best work. We're gonna go to Bethpage to kick their f---ing ass." Bradley has three top-15s in five starts.
21. Cam Davis
After winning the Rocket Mortgage Classic against a lighter field for the second time in his career in 2024, Davis seems like a golfer who might take off this season. He tied for fifth at Pebble Beach and has two other top-20s in five starts. His iron play and short game are very good, but his inaccuracy off the tee (56.1% of fairways) is holding him back.
22. Shane Lowry
Lowry would probably love nothing more than to be heating up this summer before The Open returns to Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland, where he won a Claret Jug in 2019. He hasn't had a PGA Tour stroke-play victory since, although he did win the Zurich Classic team event with his good friend McIlroy last year. Lowry's solo second at Pebble Beach was a good early sign.
23. Patrick Rodgers
The former Stanford golfer, who is tied with Tiger Woods and McNealy for the school record of 11 career victories, has quietly put together a solid stretch of golf with three top-25s in his past four starts. He tied for third at the Genesis, three shots behind Åberg, which earned him $1.2 million. Rodgers has scrambled well, but needs to improve his approach shots (-.040) and putting (-.529) if he's finally going to capture his first PGA Tour win after 288 starts.
24. Lucas Glover
The 45-year-old Glover has been one of the most outspoken critics of the tour's reduced fields and pace-of-play problems. After struggling in 2024 with only two top-10s in 27 starts, he has shown promise early this year, tying for third at Pebble Beach against an elite field. Glover is 47th in strokes gained: putting (.331) after finishing 139th (-.215) in 2024.
25. Brian Campbell
Campbell's surprising victory at last week's Mexico Open at VidantaWorld was a much-need reminder that storybook victories are still an important part of the sport. Campbell made 186 starts on the Korn Ferry and PGA Tour combined before finally winning. His $1.26 million payday was almost as much as he'd earned over the past decade. The 37-year-old, who ranks dead last on tour in driving distance (277.8 yards), is now headed to the Masters, Players Championship and PGA Championship this season.
Just missed the cut: Adam Scott, Robert MacIntyre, Sam Burns, Wyndham Clark, Viktor Hovland, Billy Horschel, Sahith Theegala, Aaron Rai, Denny McCarthy, Aldrich Potgieter, Jason Day, Sam Stevens, Andrew Novak, Taylor Pendrith, Justin Rose