
How is a golfer’s World Ranking calculated?
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 …
When did the official World Golf Ranking board make changes to rankings?
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 important are rankings in golf tournaments?
The same type of rankings can apply to golf. On the simple side, the futures market or the odds board for an upcoming tournament gives a general order of those in the field. Over on the advanced side, rankings assign a value to each golfer and list them from top to bottom. The rankings are based on how the players perform at events.
Do you know how the world rankings are formulated?
The ranking shows a player’s average points per tournament, his total points earned divided by the number of tournaments he has competed in. The system places greater emphasis on performance over...

What is the world golf rankings based on?
Are the Official World Golf Rankings biased?
How often are the world golf rankings updated?
How does the Golf World Championship work?
Who is the best golfer ever?
How does the PGA point system work?
What is Tiger Woods World golf Ranking?
How many World Golf Championships has Tiger Woods won?
How do golfers qualify for WGC events?
How many golf championships are there?
Why is it important to have a high ranking in golf?
Achieving a high enough ranking assures players of automatic entry into numerous tournaments. Additionally, there’s a major prestige factor -- and plenty of endorsement money -- available to world’s No. 1-ranked professional golfer.
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".
How are golf rankings calculated?
Initially, the rankings were calculated over a three-year period, with the current year's points multiplied by four (three in 1986), the previous year's points by two and the third year's points by one. Rankings were based on the total points and points awarded were restricted to integer values. All tournaments recognised by the world's professional tours, and some leading invitational events, were graded into categories ranging from major championship (whose winners would receive 50 points) to "other tournaments" (whose winners would receive a minimum of 8). In all events, other finishers received points on a diminishing scale that began with runners-up receiving 60% of the winners' points, and the number of players in the field receiving points would be the same as the points awarded to the winner. In a major, for example, all players finishing 30th to 40th would receive 2 points, and all players finishing 50th or higher, 1 point.
How many major championships are there in the PGA?
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 :
What is the world rating of golf?
The world No. 1 is allocated 45, 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. The maximum possible world rating value is 925 but this would only happen if all the top 200 golfers were playing.
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 was the World Golf Rankings created?
The roots of the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) stretch back to 1986. The OWGR’s purpose is to rank the best golfers from around the globe on their performances over two years.
Is there a default system for golf rankings?
Not one default system is the end all and be all for golf rankings. However, there are several popular ways to make sense of the field as the various events approach. Let’s walk through them and see what makes them tick.
Why are the Ryder Cup rankings used?
In addition, the rankings are used to help select the members of the Ryder Cup team.
When was McCormack's golf ranking published?
McCormack published his rankings from 1968 to 1985 in his book “The World of Professional Golf Annual.”. Today, the rankings are issued weekly.
How long has Tiger Woods been the world number one?
Between 1986 and August 2010, only 12 players held the world No. 1 ranking. Tiger Woods has earned the title for more than 600 weeks- -by far the most.
When did the British Open rankings start?
Origin. The official rankings began to be published in 1986. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews devised the system as a more equitable way to select players to be invited to the British Open. The rankings were inspired by an earlier unofficial ranking system developed by sports agent Mark McCormack, whose clients included Arnold Palmer.
Who is Brian Hill?
Brian Hill is the author of four popular business and finance books: "The Making of a Bestseller," "Inside Secrets to Venture Capital," "Attracting Capital from Angels" and his latest book, published in 2013, "The Pocket Small Business Owner's Guide to Business Plans.".
Who was the No. 1 golfer in 2010?
Lee Woods surpassed Tiger Woods for the No. 1 ranking in 2010.
What tournaments are eligible for World Ranking Points?
Official Tournaments from the leading professional Eligible Golf Tours from around the world as well as Major Championships, World Golf Championships, Olympic Games and the World Cup of Golf* (*Individual Competition only) are eligible for World Ranking Points (excluding team events).
What is a special tournament?
Special Tournaments are defined as a tournament that is sanctioned by an Eligible Golf Tour but does not count towards the Eligible Golf Tour’s end of season ranking list.
How is the home rating determined for a joint sanctioned tournament?
The Home Rating to be used for a Joint Sanctioned Tournament is determined by the geographical location of the tournament and the Eligible Golf Tour associated with that region.
What are the leading 6 golf tours?
The Leading 6 tours: PGA TOUR, PGA European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia, Sunshine Tour, Asian Tour and the 2 development Web.com and European Challenge Tour are awarded a flagship tournament and allocated a higher minimum points levels to reflect their status.
How many players are eligible for a golf tournament?
Shall mean a tournament which appears on more than one Eligible Golf Tour’s Official Schedule provided that at least 30 players from each Eligible Golf Tour are eligible to compete.
How many players are allowed in limited field tournaments?
Limited field tournaments are defined as less than 30 qualified players. The Strength of Field for a limited field is calculated by using the World Rating only. Points are capped to 2.40 maximum points for last place or first round losers in match play events of less than 30 qualified players.
What is the world ranking?
The World Rating is based on the number of Top-200 World Ranked players competing in the event and a value is allocated to the position within the Top 200.
Why do lower level golfers get shafts?
His findings also state that the lower level golfers get the shaft the most because of the points disparity below fifth place.
What are the points awarded for golf?
Any golfer that plays on any of the six professional tours, the Canadian, Nationwide and/or Challenge Tours are eligible for points which are awarded based on their finish in events of those respective tours. The base point value for each event is based upon the tour the event is on, the strength of the field (based on the Official World Golf Ranking), and the prestige of the tournament being played.
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”.
When did golf become an international sport?
In the old days, one had to only look at the PGA Tour money list to discern who the best golfer in the world was. That was back in the 1970’s, when Jack and Gary and Tom among others were dominating the sport. Then golf became a truly international game. Seve Ballesteros, Greg Norman, Bernhard Langer and Nick Faldo among others made it impossible to ignore the need for a worldwide ranking system. By 1986, the World Golf Rankings were born. You can read more on how the system has evolved here.
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Is strength a factor in golf?
Strength of the field is a factor, and different events have minimum points levels. World Golf Championships and Major Championships are weighed differently. And it’s not just the PGA Tour and the European Tour tournaments.
Who said winning takes care of everything?
Tiger once said, “winning takes care of everything.” And that’s true. The golfer who shoots the lowest score wins, and the golfer who shoots the lowest score a lot, wins a lot. At least I’ve figured that out.

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