Jordan Spieth Could Lose His World No. 1 Ranking This Week With Rory McIlroy Absent

Jordan Spieth could lose his world number one ranking this week at The Barclays without Rory McIlroy in the field. Spieth just claimed the spot after finishing second at the PGA Championship, but thanks to the weird equation of the OWGR, he could lose that spot if he doesn’t finish in the top 14.

"Via Golf Channel: Actually, according to Golf Channel research, Rory McIlroy, who Spieth overtook atop the world ranking, can reclaim the top spot this week despite the fact the Northern Irishman isn’t playing The Barclays. "

Seems kind of ridiculous considering the field is basically one of major championship caliber and Spieth hasn’t exactly been the guy who is collapsing or choking under the pressure. At his press conference before The Barclays, Spieth said he knows the rankings could change again in two weeks.

"“As far as No. 1 in the world, there are people, plenty of guys on tour right now that have held that position for longer than a week, and I’m happy to be in that position now, but I’d like to obviously hold it.” “If you win each week, you’re going to stay No. 1 and in my mind, that’s the goal is to approach each tournament to try and win and then try and keep this position for hopefully years.” “But again, it can change in two weeks’ time, so I’m aware of that.”"

He’s right, if you win each week, or finish second, you’re very likely going to stay number one. Spieth has seven top-10 finishes in his last eight Tour starts since he missed the cut at The Players so it seems unlikely we’ll see a change, but golf is funny sometimes.