American Johnny Keefer is closing in on a Masters debut, having improved his position just inside the world's top 50 golfers with his best PGA Tour finish only last Sunday.

Johnny who? You know the chap. Twenty-four year old from Baltimore. He won the NV5 Invitational in July and the Vertex Bank Championship in April.

No, me neither.

It took an email from an intrigued listener to the Chipping Forecast golf podcast to highlight the curious case of the rise of Johnny Keefer.

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Surely, only the most ardent follower of men's professional golf would recognise this player, who finished in a career best share of seventh at the RSM Classic at Sea Island last week.

It was an excellent performance because it was just his sixth event on the PGA Tour. Only the third time he had made a cut at this level.

Yet, here he is moving to 47th in the official world rankings. And if Keefer can stay in the top 50 by the end of the year he can look forward to a 2026 schedule littered with glorious playing opportunities including a first visit to Augusta in April.

Those two wins came on the Korn Ferry Tour (KFT), the US circuit that feeds into the PGA Tour.

In these past two years the former Baylor University student has had 25 top 25 finishes from a combination of the KFT and the even more lowly PGA Americas Tour.

Keefer did play two majors this year; missing the cut at the US PGA Championship and finishing tied 61st at the US Open.

That such performances at such levels have yielded such an elevated ranking, surely poses questions about the algorithms at play on the official world golf rankings (OWGR) these days. This seems an anomaly too far.

As the podcast emailer pointed out, what must Harry Hall make of it? The US-based Cornishman – arguably the world's best putter – is ranked 10 places lower at 57th, despite reaching the season-ending Tour Championship.

Hall finished 17th among everyone who played on the PGA Tour this year. He has not missed a cut on the toughest circuit in world golf since March, yet trails in the rankings behind someone who has been playing in the minor leagues.

Data Golf, who crunch the numbers from all tours including the breakaway LIV League, seem closer to the mark. Hall is 19th in their standings, while Keefer is 91st.

American golf, from the PGA Tour downwards, dominates the OWGR.

Of all the players in the top 50, Marco Penge and Tyrrell Hatton are the only golfers who have arrived there playing the majority of their schedules away from the United States.

Penge has risen to 30 in the world, courtesy of his three victories on the DP World Tour this year. Hatton has supplemented his non-counting LIV schedule with fine performances on the DP World Tour and a decent year in the majors.

There is a growing imbalance in an era when the European organisation's 10 leading players are instantly promoted to the PGA Tour at the end of every season. Penge is among those heading stateside for 2026.

But it is also worth noting that of the nine who 'graduated' last year (Tom McKibbin went to LIV instead) only two – Rasmus Hojgaard (84) and Thorbjorn Olesen (96) – finished among the top 100 who retain full playing privileges. It was previously 125 before this season.

So the likes of Matteo Manassero, Paul Waring (injury ruined season) and Antoine Rozner will be returning to the DP World Tour next year.

There was heartache for a number of players last Sunday, England's Matt Wallace included after missing the top 100 by just three spots.

He will still have plenty of playing opportunities, but less certainty over which events and longer waits before he knows for sure where he will be competing.

Wallace is currently 74th in the world rankings in a year where he has had two top-three finishes and a major top 20 at the US PGA.

OK, he would have wanted to be better, but still a reasonably productive year spread between the PGA and DP World tours – the two hardest circuits on the planet.

At least he will be playing plenty in America next year, and as Keefer has proven – if you are playing in those parts, there is plenty of scope for a rapid ascent of the official rankings.