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After 64 consecutive weeks, Dustin Johnson’s reign as world No.1 is over.
A T11 finish from Justin Thomas at the Players Championship – Johnson was T17 – was enough for the 25-year-old to become the 21st world No.1 since the Official World Golf Ranking started back in 1986.
It’s just rewards for a scintillating couple of seasons on the PGA Tour, racking up the most wins of any player in that period and, as a result, clinching last year’s FedEx Cup and Player of the Year awards.
But speaking after his final round at the Players Championship, where his world No.1 status was still unconfirmed with Johnson still out on the course, Thomas said that while reaching the summit was a goal of his, he will only feel content if he holds the position down for a while.
“It’s important but it’s not something where it’s like I just want to do it once,” he said. “I want to do it for a really, really long time because that means I’m playing better than everybody else for an extended period.
“It feels deserved for how I’ve played but, at the same time, if I get hot for a year, couple years or two years or something, have it and then fall off the map, that doesn’t really mean a whole lot to me.
“I would much rather continue to play well for another eight to ten years, five to ten years and see how long I can have it.”
Justin Thomas’ route to world No.1
September 2013: Turns professional. Finishes T90 in his first start as a pro at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Ranking: 1,025
January 2014: Finishes T10 playing on an invite at the Farmers Insurance Open. Ranking: 625
September 2014: Wins the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship on the Web.com Tour and finishes fifth on the money list to earn his full PGA Tour card. Ranking: 129
January 2015: Enters world top 100 for the first time after T7 finish at the Humana Challenge. Ranking: 88
November 2015: Wins the CIMB Classic for his first PGA Tour title. Ranking: 30
October 2016: Goes back-to-back at the CIMB Classic. Ranking: 21
January 2017: Wins the SBS Tournament of Champions and Sony Open in Hawaii (with a 59) in back-to-back weeks to enter the world top ten for the first time. Ranking: 8
August 2017: Wins the US PGA Championship for his maiden major title. Ranking: 6
September 2017: Wins the Dell Technologies Championship. Ranking: 4
March 2018: Wins the Honda Classic then finishes runner-up at the WGC-Mexico Championship in back-to-back weeks. Ranking: 2
May 2018: Finishes T11 at the Players Championship to leapfrog Dustin Johnson. Ranking: 1
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