Simply put, the golfer’s world ranking is obtained by dividing their points total by the number of events they have played, which gives their average. Players are then ranked; a higher average yields a higher rank. Currently, a ranking in the world top 50 grants automatic entry to all the majors and World Golf Championships
World Golf Championships
The World Golf Championships are a group of four annual events for professional golfers created by the International Federation of PGA Tours. All four WGC tournaments are official money events on the PGA Tour, European Tour, and the Japan Golf Tour, and officially sanctioned by the Asian Tour, Sunshine Tour, and PGA Tour of Australasia.
How does the official World Golf Ranking work?
Mar 18, 2020 · The Official World Golf Ranking formula is based on a rolling 104-week (two-year) period, with players earning points toward their ranking based on their finish in each sanctioned tournament played.
How is the PGA Tour ranking calculated?
The Official World Golf Ranking began in 1986 and is a point-based system that recognizes the ranking of the world’s top golfers. At any given time, you can go to the OWGR website and view the current top-300 players. The OWGR is the foremost authority and ranking of professional golfers. The rankings aren't just for vanity's sake.
Do you know how the world rankings are formulated?
A player’s points are divided by the number of tournaments in which he’s played during the previous two years, with a minimum of 40 tournaments necessary to achieve a …
How is a golfer's rating value calculated?
Aug 17, 2021 · The world rating relates to the number of top-200 world ranked players are competing in the event, who are all given different points depending on their ranking - the World No. 1 is allocated 45 points, the No. 2 is allocated 37, the No. 3 is allocated 32, down to those ranked between 101 and 200 who are allocated a rating value of 1 each.
How many points does the BMW PGA Championship have?
The champion of the BMW PGA Championship on the European Tour receives at least 64 points. By comparison, winning a standard PGA Tour or European Tour event earns the winner 24 points.
How long do golf points stay on a player's tally?
Points remain on a player’s tally for two years (up to a maximum of 52 events played during that time), but they’re reduced on a sliding scale after 13 weeks, so recent performances carry greater weight.
What does it mean to score well in golf?
Scoring well in the rankings is a golfer’s ticket to the world’s most prestigious tournaments. For example, the Masters accepts the top 50 players from the previous year’s rankings, plus the top 50 from the most recent rankings prior to the Masters.
Which golf clubs accept the World Golf Rankings?
Golf’s major governing bodies, such as the United States Golf Association and the Professional Golfers’ Association of America, as well as hosts of the world’s four major championships, including the Royal & Ancient Club and Augusta National Golf Club accept the World Golf Rankings.
What is the first stage of golf ranking?
The first stage in the calculation is the ranking of each event. For most events the ranking depends on the current world rankings of the participating golfers and the participation of the leading golfers from the "home tour".
What is a professional golfer's ranking?
In addition, rankings are the main criterion for selection for the International Team in the Presidents Cup, while ranking points are one of the qualification criteria for the European Ryder Cup team. The rankings are also used to help select the field for various other tournaments.
What is the official ranking of golf?
The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolling" two-year period. New rankings are produced each week.
How to get a golfer's world ranking?
Simply put, a golfer's World Ranking is obtained by dividing their points total by the number of events they have played, which gives their average. Players are then ranked according to their average, highest first.
When did McCormack publish his rankings?
The system used to calculate the rankings was developed from McCormack's World Golf Rankings, which were published in his World of Professional Golf Annual from 1968 to 1985, although these were purely unofficial and not used for any wider purpose (such as inviting players to major tournaments).
When did the 3 year period change to 2 years?
In 1996, the three-year period was reduced to two years, with the current year now counting double and the minimum number of events reduced from 60 to 40. Points were extended to more of the field, beginning in 2000, and were no longer restricted to integer values.
Who was the first golfer to be ranked 1?
The first official ranking list was published prior to the Masters in April 1986, with Bernhard Langer the first world No. 1 ranked player, ahead of Seve Ballesteros, who had topped the unofficial McCormack's World Golf Rankings at the end of the previous year. Ballesteros briefly held the No. 1 spot after Langer, before Greg Norman 's worldwide success over the rest of that season made him the first year-end No. 1. Ballesteros took the No. 1 position back from Norman in 1987, and the pair exchanged the No. 1 position several times over the next two years. During 1990, Nick Faldo remained ranked just behind Norman despite winning three majors in two years (and more world ranking points in total than his rival, albeit having entered more events). As detailed in Mark McCormack's "World of Professional Golf 1991" annual, it was also the case (but less immediately apparent) that Norman had won a total of 14 events during the ranking period to Faldo's 10, and when the two had competed in the same tournament, had finished ahead of his rival 19 times to 11, so Norman's No. 1 position (on the new "average points" system) had some justification. Faldo did inherit the No. 1 ranking for the first time early in 1991.
Overview
Calculation of the rankings
Source:
Simply put, a golfer's World Ranking is obtained by dividing their points total by the number of events they have played, which gives their average. Players are then ranked according to their average, highest first.
The first stage in the calculation is the ranking of each event. For most events the ranking depen…
History
The initiative for the creation of the Official World Golf Ranking came from the Championship Committee of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, which found in the 1980s that its system of issuing invitations to The Open Championship on a tour by tour basis was omitting an increasing number of top players because more of them were dividing their time between tours, and from preeminent sports agent Mark McCormack, who was the first chairman of the Internati…
Tours included in the rankings
The ranking system is endorsed by the four major championships and six major professional tours, five of which are charter members of the International Federation of PGA Tours:
• PGA Tour
• European Tour
• Asian Tour (from 2000; not a charter member of the Federation)
Importance of the rankings
A professional golfer's ranking is of considerable significance to his career. Currently a ranking in the World Top 50 grants automatic entry to all the majors and World Golf Championships; see table below. In addition, rankings are the main criterion for selection for the International Team in the Presidents Cup, while ranking points are one of the qualification criteria for the European Ryder Cup team. The rankings are also used to help select the field for various other tournaments.
Timeline of the "number one" ranking
The first official ranking list was published prior to the Masters in April 1986, with Bernhard Langer the first world No. 1 ranked player, ahead of Seve Ballesteros, who had topped the unofficial McCormack's World Golf Rankings at the end of the previous year. Ballesteros briefly held the No. 1 spot after Langer, before Greg Norman's worldwide success over the rest of that season made him the first year-end No. 1. Ballesteros took the No. 1 position back from Norman in 1987, and t…
Rankings archive
• 1986 Greg Norman
• 1987 Greg Norman (2)
• 1988 Seve Ballesteros
• 1989 Greg Norman (3)
• 1990 Greg Norman (4)
See also
• List of world number one male golfers
• List of male golfers who have been in the world top 10
• Women's World Golf Rankings – for female professional golfers
• World Amateur Golf Ranking – for male and female amateur golfers