Phil Mickelson has moved ahead of fellow LIV Golf player Dustin Johnson in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) for the first time in over eight years.
Mickelson had suffered an alarming slump in the rankings following his move to LIV Golf. While a drop was not unexpected given the circuit’s inability to offer OWGR points, the 52-year-old’s fall from grace had been particularly severe. Indeed, of the 18 LIV Golf players who were eligible for this year’s Masters, Mickelson began the tournament in the lowest position, at World No.425.
That’s nothing that a vintage performance at Augusta National didn’t go a long way to rectifying. The three-time Masters winner came close to wearing the Green Jacket on a fourth occasion but eventually had to settle for a tie for second. Still, it saw him leap to World No.72.
In contrast, Johnson floundered in the tournament, and eventually finished in an eight-over tie for 48th, which led to him slipping a place in the rankings to World No.70.
In the weeks since the tournament, neither player has appeared in another ranking event. However, while Johnson has fallen a further four places to World No.74, Mickelson is down just one place to World No.73.
The previous time Mickelson was ahead of Johnson in the world rankings was the week of 15 February 2015. Back then, he stood at World No.18 but was in a mini-slump after enduring his second missed cut in a row at the Farmers Insurance Open.
On the other hand, Johnson was just finding some form. His tie for fourth at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am saw him stand three places beneath Mickelson at World No.21. Then, a tie for second at the Northern Trust Open the following week was enough for him to move ahead of Mickelson, who didn’t play.
Mickelson claimed three wins in ranking events in the years that followed, including the 2021 PGA Championship. However, Johnson enjoyed the best years of his career to date, which included two Major wins and 135 weeks as World No.1. For those reasons, Mickelson couldn’t move ahead of Johnson again, until now.
It’s unclear if Mickelson’s lead over Johnson will hold for long, but both should have a chance to affect the OWGR again soon enough – each is expected to compete in the second Major of the year, the PGA Championship, at Oak Hill Country Club, which begins on 18 May.
