Could Jordan Spieth soon be the world No. 1 golfer?
PGA Tour Tiger Woods News

Could Jordan Spieth soon be the world No. 1 golfer?

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It's time to seriously discuss Jordan Spieth as the 20-year-old top-ranked golfer in the world.

Spieth finds himself in the final group on Moving Day at The Players Championship, just a stroke behind 36-hole leader Martin Kaymer. Spieth will ultimately become the betting favorite to pick up his second PGA Tour title and biggest win of his short career.

With the win, Spieth would likely find himself inside the top four in the world, barring a weekend surge by Masters champion Bubba Watson. In the Official World Golf Ranking, Spieth would be a little more than one half of an average point away from catching the sidelined world No. 1 Tiger Woods for the top spot in the world.

Spieth's next start will be in next week's HP Byron Nelson Championship, where Spieth contended multiple times as a teenage amateur. It's not unreasonable to think he'll contend again.

There's a scenario where Spieth could become No. 1 next Sunday in Dallas. Spieth would have to win The Players and the Nelson to become No. 1 in the world, assuming Jason Day -- a former Nelson winner -- does not play.

If Spieth wins The Players and finishes alone in second, he would be close to No. 1 but a likely second to Woods, who continues to shed points every week.

With each passing week, the number of players that could conceivably become No. 1 in the world grows, but, to become No. 1 before the U.S. Open, a player will need to have average 7 world ranking points per event and a very high finish in a standard PGA Tour event to get to the top spot.

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Ryan Ballengee

Ryan Ballengee is founder and editor of Golf News Net. He has been writing and broadcasting about golf for nearly 20 years. Ballengee lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his family. He is a scratch golfer...sometimes.

Ballengee can be reached by email at ryan[at]thegolfnewsnet.com

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