Jon Rahm has dropped out of the world’s top 50 for the first time in over eight years after his Spanish PGA Tour embargo, the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) confirmed on Monday
Jon Rahm has dropped out of the top 50 golfers in the world for the first time since 2017, with the OWGR placing him at No. 52 this week.
The Spanish golfer, who last found himself in a similar position when he clinched his first PGA Tour win at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, has seen his ranking suffer following his move to LIV Golf in December 2023.
Despite restricting his play to majors and some DP World Tour events, Rahm’s performances—including cuts at the Masters and PGA Championship, a withdrawal from the US Open, and a T-7 at the Open Championship—haven’t sufficed to maintain his top 50 status.
Rahm’s prolonged stay in the upper echelons of the rankings was bolstered by a year-long reign as world No. 1, during which he dominated the circuit. His prowess continued at LIV Golf, where he won the individual championship, but the OWGR’s refusal to recognise LIV events has seen his ranking slide.
Nonetheless, Rahm has been delivering top-notch golf for the Saudi-backed tour, starting the season with a T-2 finish in Riyadh and leading his Legion XIII to victory in the team competition, snatching Tom McKibbin away from the PGA Tour in the process.
Despite these successes, Rahm, ever the perfectionist, expressed frustration at not securing the LIV double, saying, “It’s just frustrating. Every day I’ve made, I would say, two big mistakes that I think were avoidable, two very easy ones to say I bogeyed two par-5s without any penalty strokes and being in play, in a decent spot or a good spot on my third spot at least. If I could at least clean that up and clean up a couple very, very fixable mistakes, it would have been better.
Jon Rahm’s Team Legion XIII celebrates on the podium after winning the LIV Golf tournament in Riyadh
“I think I played good enough to win. Obviously it just maybe wasn’t my week. But I could go through the rounds and tell you a couple moments a day that could have changed things.”
“You know, there’s no coincidence that I’ve tried to keep the team young. Hopefully we can create a powerhouse that can do what many other teams in other disciplines have been able to do. I might be a little early to say that, but the goal is there.
“Me and Tyrrell having the experience, and then having two younger guys with that much talent, yeah, I like our chances to possibly see the podium again, and I was very hopeful coming into this year, and I think this week only proves what we can do.”
