Rory McIlroy has vaulted above Jon Rahm into second place in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) after his sensational Scottish Open victory.
The Northern Irishman was demoted to third following his missed cut at The Masters as Rahm went on to land his first Green Jacket, but he has since rediscovered some of his best form to make inroads into World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler's advantage.
McIlroy hasn't finished outside the top seven in his last six starts, which culminated in his first win in the Home of Golf as he denied Robert MacIntyre in thrilling fashion at the Renaissance Club.
It sets him up perfectly for this week's Open at Hoylake, the scene of his third Major win all the way back in 2014. Should he keep up this run of form for the remainder of 2023, he could also wrestle the top spot in the rankings away from Scheffler, who set a new PGA Tour prize money record with his T3 finish in North Berwick.
The American has been unbelievably consistent from tee-to-green this season, rarely finishing outside the top five when it comes to ball-striking. He won the Phoenix Open in February and Players Championship in March but could have added more titles to his impressive resume were it not for a stone-cold putter.
McIlroy has topped the rankings on nine different occasions, first in March 2012 and most recently following his win at the CJ Cup in October of last year. He has spent a total of 122 weeks as the World No. 1, which places him fourth on the all-time list behind Tiger Woods, Greg Norman and Dustin Johnson.
While ending his Major drought that extends all the way back to the 2014 PGA Championship will be at the forefront of his mind at Royal Liverpool this week, he will have the opportunity to displace Scheffler as the World No. 1 should results go his way.
