Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth
Aug 13, 2015; Sheboygan, WI, USA; Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth line up their putts on the 16th green during the first round of the 2015 PGA Championship golf tournament at Whistling Straits. REUTERS/Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports

American golfer Jordan Spieth could lose his world number one ranking this week at The Barclays to Rory McIlroy, despite the latter’s absence from the FedEx Cup opener. Spieth dethroned McIlroy from the top spot of the Official World Golf Rankings after a second place finish in the US PGA Championship earlier this month behind Australian golfer Jason Day.

McIlroy can reclaim the top spot this week despite the fact the Northern Irishman is not playing at Plainfield Country Club, reports Golf Channel. Spieth has publicly revealed his desire to protect his spot in the world golf rankings, but the equation of OWGR could make him lose that spot if the American golfer does not finish in the top 14 at The Barclays.

The change in the rankings seems unlikely, given that Spieth has not exactly been collapsing this year. The 22-year-old Spieth has seven top-10 finishes in his last eight Tour starts since he missed out at The Players. Spieth was aware the rankings could change in two weeks, but the American golfer has a plan to keep his place atop the world golf leaderboard.

“If you win each week, you’re going to stay No. 1 and in my mind, that’s the goal is to approach each tournament to try and win and then try and keep this position for hopefully years,” Spieth said, reports The Big Lead.

While the multi-million dollar FedEx Cup could close out Spieth’s incredible year, the 2015 Masters winner admitted his main focus is to ensure he stays ahead of McIlroy. Spieth has emerged as the true challenger to the Irishman, who has four majors to his name.

The four-event season-ending finale has been somewhat an anti-climax for Spieth, admitting it was not on his list of priorities and cannot possibly compare to other premier golf events. However, Spieth still intends to take the competition seriously.

“I put winning the FedExCup below a major championship,” Spieth said, reports the Irish Examiner. “It’s something that obviously everybody wants to win, there’s no doubt about it, and it’s something I’d love to win some day.”

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