‘Johnny who? Why Keefer’s rise is posing world ranking questions’

With his best PGA Tour performance coming only last Sunday, American Johnny Keefer is on the verge of making his Masters debut. He has since improved his position just outside the top 50 golfers.

Who is Johnny? You are familiar with the man. 24-year-old Baltimore resident. He won the Vertex Bank Championship in April and the NV5 Invitational in July.

No, I didn’t either.

Only the most devoted follower of men’s professional golf would recognize this player, who placed seventh overall in the RSM Classic last week.

Given that this was only his sixth PGA Tour event, it was a strong performance. At this level, he had only made a third cut before.

Yet, he is now sitting in the 47th place among all the world’s official rankings. And if Keefer can stay in the top 50 by the end of the year, he can anticipate a 2026 schedule full of fantastic playing opportunities, including his first first trip to Augusta in April.

The US circuit that feeds into the PGA Tour, the Korn Ferry Tour (KFT), saw those two victories.

The former Baylor University student has won 25 top 25 finishes over the KFT and the even less prestigious PGA Americas Tour in the last two years.

Keefer did two majors this year, finishing tied for first at the US Open and missing the cut at the US PGA Championship.

The fact that such performances have resulted in such a high ranking raises some questions about the current algorithms used in the official world golf rankings (OWGR) rankings. This seems too unusual, in my opinion.

What must Harry Hall make of it, as the podcast emailer remarked? Despite winning the season-ending Tour Championship, the US-based Cornishman, arguably the best putter in the world, is ranked 57th in the world.

Hall placed 17th overall among all PGA Tour participants this year. He hasn’t missed a beat since March when he has been playing in the minor leagues, which is the toughest circuit in the world of golf.

Data Golf, who compiles the statistics for every tour, including the disbanded LIV League, seem more accurate. Hall ranks 19th in their standings, while Keefer ranks 91st.

The OWGR is dominated by American golf, which starts with the PGA Tour.

Only two golfers in the top 50 have arrived and spent the majority of their time away from the United States, Marco Penge and Tyrrell Hatton.

With his three victories on the DP World Tour this year, Penge has now won the ranking of 30 in the world. Hatton has added some good performances to his non-counting LIV schedule, including a strong year in the majors and a strong year on the DP World Tour.

The 10 leading players of the European organization are immediately promoted to the PGA Tour at the end of every season, which is causing a growing imbalance in the sport. For 2026, Penge will be one of those heading stateside.

Only two of the nine players who “graduated” last year (Tom McKibbin chose to attend LIV instead) – Rasmus Hojgaard (84) and Thorbjorn Olesen (96) – finished among the top 100 players who still enjoy full playing privileges. Prior to this season, it was 125.

Therefore, Antoine Rozner, Paul Waring, and Matteo Manassero will all make their way back to the DP World Tour next year.

Last Sunday, England’s Matt Wallace, who had only lost three spots in the top 100, caused heartache for a number of players.

He’ll still have plenty of opportunities to play, but there won’t be as many events as he’d like and there weren’t as many waits until he’s certain of his location.

Wallace is currently ranked 74th in the world after posting two top-three finishes and two major top 20s at the US PGA.

Although he might have preferred to be better, the PGA and DP World tours, the two world’s most difficult circuits, still managed to have a decent year.