The emergence of a new "cream of the crop"?

[Rogin]

In the current World Rankings, all of the top 6 are major champions. That's the first time that's happened since the end of 2003. As recently as 2011, the top TEN included only three players - McIlroy, Kaymer and Schwartzel - who'd won a major, and the top two in the rankings were Donald and Westwood, who are still waiting one now.

At present, three of the top four - Spieth, McIlroy and Watson - are not only major winners but multiple ones, and Day and Rose are fairly likely to join that set. Zach Johnson, another multiple major winner, is in 11th but should finish the year ranked higher.

Comparing now to 4 years ago, have the top players now coalesced into a new "top set", that we can expect to see remain the ones sharing the top honours for a while now?

[jbishop15]

In the current World Rankings, all of the top 6 are major champions. That's the first time that's happened since the end of 2003. As recently as 2011, the top TEN included only three players - McIlroy, Kaymer and Schwartzel - who'd won a major, and the top two in the rankings were Donald and Westwood, who are still waiting one now.

At present, three of the top four - Spieth, McIlroy and Watson - are not only major winners but multiple ones, and Day and Rose are fairly likely to join that set. Zach Johnson, another multiple major winner, is in 11th but should finish the year ranked higher.

Comparing now to 4 years ago, have the top players now coalesced into a new "top set", that we can expect to see remain the ones sharing the top honours for a while now?

That's the hope. All sports are at their best when they have a dominant or several semi-dominant figures. Golf, especially, needs this sort of upper echelon, because for years they've been propped up ratings-wise by Tiger and they need to have something to paper over that void.