The bulk of the 2023 golf season is done and dusted, and there have been plenty of star performances throughout the year.
Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland have dominated proceedings throughout the most-recent PGA Tour campaign, but there have been plenty of other players who have enjoyed great seasons too.
Wyndham Clark is one of them, with the US Open champion rising from outside of the world's top 150 all the way into the top 10. It resulted in him making his Ryder Cup debut for Team USA and earning many millions.
So, who else has seen a huge jump in the world rankings this year? We take a look at 20 notable risers...
20 players with huge world rankings rises in 2023
Wyndham Clark
- Ended 2022: 163rd
- Current ranking: 10th
Wyndham Clark held off Rory McIlroy to win his maiden Major title in June at the US Open. The American rocketed up inside the world's top 10 for the first time in what was the highlight of his career.
Clark has been around the PGA Tour for a number of years now, but 2023 was the period where he really took off. He also secured his biggest win-to-date in May at the Wells Fargo Championship, one of the PGA Tour's designated events, to seal the $3.6m first prize. That was usurped the very next month at LACC.
Jason Day
- Ended 2022: 112th
- Current ranking: 21st
Former World No.1 Jason Day has enjoyed a stellar campaign himself, winning his first PGA Tour title in five years at the AT&T Byron Nelson in May.
Day has had a constant struggle with injuries since reaching the World No.1 position in 2015, but the Aussie is still one of the most likeable players in the game. His fantastic season also included a T2nd at the 151st Open as well as two other top-fives on tour.
It's been great to see him back.
Rickie Fowler
- Ended 2022: 103rd
- Current ranking: 24th
The popular American is another player to have had a stellar comeback year in 2023, one that culminated in him winning for the first time since February 2019 and then making the Ryder Cup for the first time in five years. That didn't go too well due to a reported illness, but it was a superb season nonetheless.
Rickie also had a brilliant US Open at LACC, where he became the first man in the championship's history to shoot a 62. He eventually finished T5th, one of six top-10s in a year that has featured just one missed cut.
Lucas Glover
- Ended 2022: 105th
- Current ranking: 32nd
The 2009 US Open champion has opened up on the struggles he went through with the putting yips, but he has always been a supreme ball striker.
He matched up his long and short games this year to record arguably his best season yet, albeit he'll forever treasure that Major glory in '09 when he won at Bethpage. Glover won in back-to-back weeks at the Wyndham Championship and FedEx St Jude Championship to put him in the pipeline for a Ryder Cup debut. He was overlooked for a spot on Team USA in the end but still enjoyed a remarkable comeback year.
Adam Schenk
- Ended 2022: 172nd
- Current ranking: 44th
The American had his best year yet with two runners-up finishes on the PGA Tour, coming at the Valspar Championship and Charles Schwab Championship - where he lost in a playoff. Schenk was also T7th at the Memorial Tournament, a designated event, and had a few more top-10s.
He made the Tour Championship for the first time in his career and eventually finished inside the top-10 of the FedEx Cup standings - by far his best ever result (his previous best finish was 71st in 2019). With his new top-50 ranking, he'll be in all the Majors next year, which will include his first ever Masters appearance.
Nick Taylor
- Ended 2022: 257th
- Current ranking: 48th
The Canadian won the event he could describe as his fifth Major in 2023, when he holed a 72-foot putt on the fourth playoff hole to take down Tommy Fleetwood and lift his national open at the RBC Canadian Open - becoming the first home winner of the event in 69 years.
It was the former World No.1 amateur's third PGA Tour title and came after a strong start to the season where he finished runner-up to Scottie Scheffler at the designated WM Phoenix Open.
Eric Cole
- Ended 2022: 384th
- Current ranking: 50th
The 35-year-old PGA Tour rookie has had a breakout year in 2023, rising well over 300 spots in the world rankings to climb inside the world's top 50. If he can stay there, he'll make his first ever Masters and Open appearances in 2024.
Cole - who came up through the Minor League Golf Tour and Korn Ferry Tour - lost out to Chris Kirk in a playoff at the Honda Classic earlier in the year, and he continued his form throughout the summer and early fall. He was T5th at the Mexico Open, T6th at the Canadian Open, and then went 4-T35-T3-T2 from the Fortinet Championship to the Zozo Championship.
Byeong-hun An
- Ended 2022: 231st
- Current ranking: 53rd
The former US amateur champion and 2015 BMW PGA Champion had a resurgent year in 2023 that saw him post three top-six finishes and multiple top-25s.
His best result came at the Wyndham Championship where he ended T2nd. That came just two starts after the Genesis Scottish Open, co-sanctioned by the PGA and DP World Tours, where he finished T3rd. He came 44th in the FedEx Cup points list to qualify for all of the designated events next year.
His 2023 hasn't finished the way he wanted to, though, as he was suspended for an anti-doping violation because of a substance found in an over-the-counter cough medicine available in his native South Korea.
Ludvig Aberg
- Ended 2022: 3064th
- Current ranking: 58th
Swedish star Ludvig Aberg was undoubtedly one of the breakout stars of 2023, with the former World No.1 amateur turning professional in May and then making his Ryder Cup debut just four months later.
Ludvig got off to a strong start on the PGA Tour, after earning his card by topping the PGA Tour University rankings, and then came over to Europe to prove to Luke Donald that he deserved a wildcard pick. It went well, as he lifted his first professional title at the Omega European Masters.
His Ryder Cup debut was impressive, too, with a return of two points including a record 9&7 victory over Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka alongside Viktor Hovland.
Vincent Norrman
- Ended 2022: 324th
- Current ranking: 73rd
Another Swede to enjoy a memorable 2023 was Vincent Norrman, with the 25-year-old winning both the Barbasol Championship and Irish Open.
Norrman also recorded a T8th at the AT&T Byron Nelson, and now plays full time on the PGA Tour after coming through the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022. He's set to be a contender for Team Europe in 2025 if he continues on this trajectory.
Zac Blair
- Ended 2022: 719th
- Current ranking: 92nd
Zac Blair climbed over 600 spots in the world rankings this year, jumping 350 spots alone in one week after finishing T2nd at the Travelers Championship.
The 33-year-old, who has played on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica and Korn Ferry Tour in the past, won $1.78m for his week in Hartford, Connecticut to bank his biggest ever check as a pro. He was also T10 at the Valspar earlier in the season, which saw him jump over 150 spots in the world rankings, too.
Alejandro Tosti
- Ended 2022: 627th
- Current ranking: 101st
Argentina's Alejandro Tosti is another to have had a year to savor in 2023, winning his first Korn Ferry Tour title at the Pinnacle Bank Championship.
The University of Florida alumnus also recorded nine other top-10s, including four fourth-place finishes and a T6 at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship. He finished 3rd in the points list to earn his PGA Tour card for 2024.
Akshay Bhatia
- Ended 2022: 431rd
- Current ranking: 110th
The talented left-hander, just 21-years-old, skipped college to turn pro at the age of 17 and he had the best season of his short career in 2023.
Bhatia's maiden PGA Tour title came at the Barracuda Championship after his first Korn Ferry Tour win in 2022. He was also 2nd at the Puerto Rico Open this year and 4th at the Mexico Open.
We're set to see a lot more from Bhatia in the coming years, who is surely one of the brightest talents in the game.
Grayson Murray
- Ended 2022: 630th
- Current ranking: 121st
The former controversial pro, who quit Twitter in 2017 after criticism, opened up on his struggles with mental health this year.
The 30-year-old - who triumphed on the PGA Tour in 2017 - won two Korn Ferry Tour titles this year and recorded three other top-sevens. He'll be back in the big league next year after finishing 7th on the Korn Ferry Tour points list.
Alex Fitzpatrick
- Ended 2022: 785th
- Current ranking: 132nd
Matt Fitzpatrick's younger brother Alex rose over 650 spots in the world rankings this year in just his second campaign as a professional.
He won his first pro title on the Challenge Tour in August, picking up the British Challenge by five strokes at the Jack Nicklaus-designed St Mellion. He was also 2nd at the ISPS Handa World Invitational, 4th at the Italian Challenge Open, T3rd at the B-NL Challenge Trophy, and T5th at the Omega European Masters on the DP World Tour - where he finished just one stroke shy of his older brother.
His best week of the year, though, came at Royal Liverpool where he finished T17th at the 151st Open - in his first ever Major start!
Rico Hoey
- Ended 2022: 3064th
- Current ranking: 141st
American Rico Hoey climbed an incredible 2900+ spots in the world this year.
Born in the Philipines and coming through the University of Southern California, the 28-year-old picked up his first Korn Ferry Tour title at the Knoxville Open and had a super consistent season that also included a T2nd finish and two T3s, all on the Korn Ferry Tour.
He finished 4th in the 'Korn Ferry Tour The 25' to earn his PGA Tour card for 2024.
Ben Silverman
- Ended 2022: 1017st
- Current ranking: 152nd
Canada's Ben Silverman rose from outside of the world's top 1,000 right up the to brink of the top 150 after a strong season on the Korn Ferry Tour.
He won in his first start of the year in the Bahamas, and that set him up for a season where he finished 5th in the points list to graduate up to the PGA Tour.
Silverman - who has been a pro since 2013 - had a win, two runners-ups, a third, and two other top-10s from 20 starts this year. Well played.
Max Greyserman
- Ended 2022: 1105th
- Current ranking: 184th
Max Greyserman is another player to look out for on the PGA Tour in 2024 after earning his card via the Korn Ferry Tour. He's been on the second-tier PGA Tour for five years now after a season-and-a-bit on the PGA Tour Canada.
The American, born in New Jersey, is yet to win in the big leagues but had a stellar year to rise over 900 spots in the world rankings. He twice finished second in 2023 and had three other top-10s.
Andy Ogletree
- Ended 2022: 861st
- Current ranking: 187th
Former US Amateur champion Andy Ogletree, who won the silver cup at the 2020 Masters after playing with Tiger Woods for the first two days, has risen almost 700 spots in the world this year despite playing numerous non-sanctioned LIV Golf events.
He was a surprise entry into LIV last year and has since spent his time filling in on the 54-hole tour when spots are available along with his regular Asian Tour starts.
The American is set to return to the LIV Golf League for real next year via the Asian Tour's International Series rankings, after winning three times on the International Series in Egypt, Qatar and England.
Jacob Bridgeman
- Ended 2022: 982nd
- Current ranking: 197th
Yet another Korn Ferry Tour graduate to make huge world ranking inroads this year is Jacob Bridgeman.
It was a win-less year - but an incredibly consistent one nonetheless - with just three missed cuts from 24 starts, including six top-10s in just his second year as a pro. He finished 14th in the points list to secure his PGA Tour card for 2024.
The South Carolinan came through Clemson University and is just 23-years-old. Watch out for him in the coming years!
