Golf is a tough sport at the best of times and right now, we are seeing some of the best players in the world from recent years hitting the sort of struggles everyone goes through at some point.
With the OWGR rankings telling a clear story, the best players in golf are always desperate to maintain their top 100 status, with many pushing to be inside the top 50 as well.
At the moment, the consistency of Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy means they comfortably sit one and two in the world. The rest, however, are far less consistent.
Indeed, in 2025, we’ve seen some of America’s best players tumble down the rankings.
Among them are the trio of Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler and Sahith Theegala, all players who are popular with the fans and big names in the sport but who, right now, are facing a harsh reality ahead of 2026.
Why Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler need a big 2026
It seems crazy to think that these three names are being discussed here but their form has seen them tumble down the world rankings in recent years.
The big name among them is Jordan Spieth, a three-time major winner and former world number one.
Spieth hasn’t won a PGA Tour event in over three years now and if that stays the same past April, he will have hit the four year mark. Put simply, that is not good enough for a player of Spieth’s talent and now down in 60th in the OWGR, he knows he has to get back to form soon.
Further back from Spieth is golf’s nearly man, Rickie Fowler.
Fowler now finds himself way down in 77th on the OWGR and while he has won more recently than Spieth – the Rocket Mortgage Classic in 2023 – his form has been wayward for some time now.
The American has to find something and soon if he’s to ever win that first major. Now 36, he is running out of time to get that big one under his belt. If he doesn’t, Fowler will go down as one of golf’s biggest ‘what if’ stories, given he finished runner-up in three of the four majors in 2014 and hasn’t got near since.
Sahith Theegala could drop out of the world’s top 100
Finally, we have to look at Sahith Theegala. Remarkably, Theegala is down in 85th in the OWGR, a drop from 13th at the end of 2024.
Theegala is one of the more likeable players on the PGA Tour and when he won in 2023 for the first time, we expected more wins to follow.
However, it just hasn’t happened for the 27-year-old and in 20 events in 2025, he’s finished inside the top 25 just two times.
Theegala, then, is very much at risk of dropping out of the world’s top 100 and come January, he will be among the PGA Tour stars who are desperate to find form and if he can, win again.
Ultimately, it is down to Theegala, Spieth and Fowler to put the work in and get their game back.
If not, there is always someone waiting to take their spot and with hot talents like Marco Penge and more earning PGA Tour cards for 2026, this trio have got to find something, and soon.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
