Who were the top 5 Golfers of 2015?

We take a look at the top 5 ranking golfers for 2015 and how they made it there…

Rory McIlroy had success despite missing some tournaments through injury. David Davies/PA Wire

This year was seen by many as a changing of the guard. Finally, the era of the Tiger has come to an end and, in his place, came a number of young stars from across the globe.

Here are the top 5 players in the world ranking and a little information on how their performance on the course this year got them to the top of the pile.

Jordan Spieth finished top of the world rankings. Owen Humphreys/PA Wire

1. Jordan Spieth

This was Spieth’s breakthrough year. Rising up to top spot, the 22-year-old has held on to number 1 for nearly 3 months now thanks to a number of unlikely and amazing victories. These include five PGA Tour victories including the Masters, US Open and FedEx Cup.

His Masters success was just the icing on the cake of a number of record breaking achievements this year including a 72-hole scoring record (-18), lowest 54-hole total (-16), lowest 36-hole total (-14), most birdies (26) in 72 holes and being the 1st player to a -19 total.

Coming back from last year’s Masters defeat – where victory would have made him the youngest ever champion – he took the 2015 title in style, keeping his competition at least 3 shots at bay for the whole tournament.

At the US Open he became the youngest winner since the great Bobby Jones in 1923 and only the 6^th player to win the Masters and US Open in the same season.

And he has kept a level head throughout, telling the BBC that he thinks it’s too early to be putting him the new ‘big three’ bracket with McIlroy and Jason Day. We’re not so sure.

Jason Day had a great year. David Davies/PA Wire

2. Jason Day

This 27-year old Australian spent much of the year moving up and down the top 10 before successes in the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola, BMW Championship and Deutsche Bank Championship pushed him into the top 2.

This year he’s recorded an impressive 5 wins, the PGA Championship in August a particular highlight and his first career major championship.

Although Day has risen to stardom and success from an underprivileged background – his first club was found on a rubbish tip – he has always had his eye on the top, which he briefly reached towards the end of the year before being knocked off by the unstoppable Spieth.

3. Rory McIlroy

It would be hard to call 2015 a bad year for the former number 1, having managed some good top 10 finishes. But, having been at the top since August 2014, he dropped down almost exactly a year later.

His year has been hampered by injury and his only victory came in DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. Tellingly, he hasn’t won any majors this season and missed the Open Championship at St Andrews.

But expect him to come back with all cylinders firing next year in a bid to reclaim his top spot.

Bubba Watson had another consistent year. David Davies/PA Wire

4. Bubba Watson

Since early 2014, Bubba has been in the top 10, slowly building a reputation as a solid performer. The two-time Masters champion has cemented his place in the top 5 this year with some more stellar play.

Though his only victory came in the Travelers Championship, he’s also has success in the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola (top 5), BMW Championship (top 10), The Barclays (3^rd) and the RBC Canadian Open (2^nd).

He hasn’t managed anything to match last year’s 3-shot Masters win over Spieth, but you can expect his name to be around the top of the leaderboards throughout 2016.

Justin Rose was 2015’s nearly man. Owen Humphreys/PA Wire

5. Justin Rose

It has been a year of so close, yet so far for Rose. While the Brit has only just made it back into the top 5 after dropping down to 8^th in August, this doesn’t give the whole story.

He’s had victories in both the UBS Hong Kong Open and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans back in April and has been up there and challenging in other tournaments.

He came joint second in the 2015 Masters where he tied with Phil Mickleson with the lowest score ever for a runner up. He also finished joint second at the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola and 6^th at the Frys.com Open, just 3 shots off the lead.

Luck on his side, he could get back to his best in 2016.