Tiger Woods was once synonymous with the feat of victory in the golf world. However, things took a turn around 2021. Woods met with a car accident where he broke his right ankle, and his gameplay changed entirely.

Well, not to forget the several surgeries that he has gone through, adding to the aging factor. This has led to the 48 YO drop down to the 807th position on the OWGR list. However, regarding the last 25 years of performance average, Mr. T remains pretty unbeatable, so much so that the battle between Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy goes completely unnoticed.

Tiger Woods has attained over 600 points average in 25 years

Nosferatu, a golf reporting page, recently took to their official X (formerly Twitter) account and shared a statistic of all the top players who have won the highest OWGR points from 1999 to 2023. Phil Mickelson was ranked to bag the second-highest number of average points. Now at the 160th position because of an estimated $200 million shift to the LIV golf, has won the PGA Championship twice (2005, 2021), and has gathered somewhere a little higher than 400 points.

However, LIV Golfer Brooks Koepka and PGA Tour Pro Rory McIlroy are pretty much neck-to-neck to battle for the second position. Brooks Koepka being closer to Lefty, has won the PGA Championship thrice (2018, 2019, 2023). On the other hand, Rory McIlroy is just a little below the 400 mark, having won the Major twice (2012, 2014). What works in his favor and makes him closer to the spot is the fact that he is a PGA Tour Pro!

Despite the thrilling fight of Brooks Koepka vs Rory McIlroy, it is safe to say that while they can easily take away the position of Phil Mickelson, replacing Tiger Woods and aiming for the first position is still a far-fetched dream for them. Mr. T has won the championship four times, back to back on separate occasions (1999, 2000, 2006, 2007). This has earned him more than 600 points in the last 25 years, which is pretty much difficult to beat!

All four members will be competing in the field of the PGA Championship at Valhalla this year. Given that their career histories have been such a close battle, who is more prone to win the Wanamaker trophy this year?

Will it be a LIV Golf or a PGA tour victory at Texas?

LIV Golfer Brooks Koepka is the defending champion at Louisville this year. However, his 2024 season was not as great as it should have been. Out of the seven events that he has participated in, Koepka was ranked in the Top only thrice, which included a fifth-position finish at the Mayakoba, a ninth at Adelaide, and a win at Singapore this month! However, what matters is, that he has been amping up his game, and there’s a pretty huge possibility that he will once again take the trophy home this year.

Lefty, on the other hand, has been pretty much consistent with a not-so-great 2024 season. Apart from the Jeddah, where he was placed sixth, Mickelson failed to deliver many great sites to his fans this year. However, with his left swing-heavy performance, who knows what is in store for them this weekend?

From the PGA Tour, currently ranked in the 2nd position, although Rory McIlroy did not enjoy a great start, he has been on a victory streak since the Zurich Classic this month. Apart from that, he also won the Wells Fargo championship defeating Xander Schauffele by five strokes last weekend. There are pretty high chances that history will again repeat itself, as his 2014 PGA Championship win too came at Valhalla after two back-to-back wins.

However, when it comes to Tiger Woods, the chances look pretty slim. Although during the Masters, Mr. T stated that he will be consistent doing his homework for the other Majors, the performance that he has given out throughout the season, makes it seem pretty less likely.

Who do you think will lift the Wanamaker trophy? Let us know in the comments section below!