All-time ranking: Who moved up in 2020?
By Bill Felber
Rory McIlroy, -11.56
McIlroy is a four-time Major champion. That’s the good news. The bad news is that he snatched the fourth of those six seasons ago.
He made runs at both the 2020 U.S. Open and Masters before succumbing to the onslaughts personified by DeChambeau and Johnson. Still, his ties for eighth at the Open and for fifth at the Masters – in concert with a tie for 33rd at the PGA – made 2020 on balance a positive season or McIlroy’s all-time ranking.
Entering the year at -9.30 on the dominance rating – good for 66th position – McIlroy’s two top 10s boosted him a healthy 12 spots on the list. He finished the season with a career score of -11.54, lifting him into 54th place.
In the process, he passed, among others, Old Tom Morris, Young Tom Morris, Tony Lema, Bob Martin, Willie Fernie, and his contemporary, Day. Next in his sights is Billy Casper.
If McIlroy repeats his 2020 season in 2021, he would improve his score by -2.26, and jump to -13.80. That would elevate him above Casper and eight other players to 45th place all time, right behind Phil Mickelson. Given that McIlroy is only a year past 30 and appears to be fully competitive, there’s every expectation that he will continue to ascend the all-time career list for several seasons to come.