Tommy Fleetwood is back in DP World Tour action this week as he chases success at the DP World Tour Championship.
Fleetwood enters the final DP World Tour event on the back of a runner-up finish at last week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
Aaron Rai overcame Fleetwood in a playoff in Abu Dhabi, with both players rising the Race to Dubai rankings after their strong showings.
Moreover, Fleetwood has risen to fourth in the world rankings after his week in Abu Dhabi, while Rai has climbed to 23rd.
Tommy Fleetwood’s chances of replacing Scottie Scheffler as world number one discussed
Scottie Scheffler continues to lead the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), with his position having now been discussed by Rick Shiels in light of Fleetwood’s latest rise.
He said on The Rick Shiels Golf Show of the Englishman’s move to world number four ahead of the DP World Tour Championship: “That’s so good.
“I remember a few years ago, it was the BMW Pro-Am when I played in 2018. I remember we were in the hotel the night before, and Fino (Ian Finnis), Tommy’s long-term caddie, sat with us, and Tommy had just maybe stuck into the world top 10.
“And I remember talking to him then and he was like, honestly, our dream is to get into the world top 10, and now we’ve got there, our genuine ambition is to become the best player in the world. And I thought, wow, that seems ambitious, it really does.
“But he is now absolutely knocking on the door. I mean, if it wasn’t for Scottie Scheffler, who is obviously a machine, could we ever see Tommy Fleetwood being the world number one?
“And it doesn’t mean he has to go out and win three or four majors, but we’ve seen it before where Lee Westwood, Luke Donald, guys like that have made it to world number one.
“Could Tommy Fleetwood make it to world number one? It’s just that the gap between him and Scottie probably at the moment is still huge.”
READ MORE: Tommy Fleetwood reacts after being accused of gamesmanship during the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
Tommy Fleetwood’s entire Official World Golf Ranking history
Fleetwood has enjoyed his best-ever season in golf, which has included claiming his maiden PGA Tour win.
He triumphed at the Tour Championship in stunning fashion, and with Fleetwood winning the DP World India Championship last month too.
| Year | Events played | Year-end rank |
| 2025 | 24 | – |
| 2024 | 27 | 9 |
| 2023 | 25 | 14 |
| 2022 | 26 | 23 |
| 2021 | 26 | 40 |
| 2020 | 19 | 17 |
| 2019 | 28 | 10 |
| 2018 | 29 | 12 |
| 2017 | 28 | 17 |
| 2016 | 27 | 99 |
| 2015 | 30 | 78 |
| 2014 | 31 | 51 |
| 2013 | 29 | 118 |
| 2012 | 30 | 276 |
| 2011 | 24 | 133 |
| 2010 | 10 | 468 |
| 2008 | 2 | 1381 |
| 2007 | 1 | 1375 |
The new world number four also played a starring role as Europe beat the USA to lift the Ryder Cup trophy in September, claiming four points for the visitors.
He does, however, clearly remain behind Scheffler in a handful of areas, with the American boasting six PGA Tour wins this season, including two major championships.