The rankings are based on performance in the official events held by the most significant professional golf tours around the world. The PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main professional golf tours played primarily by men in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, as well as PGA Tour Champions and the Korn Ferry Tour…
Full Answer
How is a golfer's world ranking determined?
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.
How is a golfer's rating value calculated?
A "world rating value" is calculated. Any golfer currently ranked in the world top 200 is given a rating value. 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.
What is the highest world rating in 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 the history of the PGA Tour rankings?
History. 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).
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.
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 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).
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.
Who were the top six golfers in the world in 1986?
The top six ranked golfers were: Bernhard Langer, Seve Ballesteros, Sandy Lyle, Tom Watson, Mark O'Meara and Greg Norman. Thus the top three were all European, but there were 31 Americans in the top 50 (compared with 17 at the end of 2010).
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
How does the current Official World Golf Ranking work?
Each player earns World Ranking Points over a two year rolling period with the points awarded for each tournament maintained for a 13-week period to place greater weight on recent performances.
How are the points awarded at the biggest events?
The winner of each of the four major championships receives 100 points. A runner-up finish earns 60 while a third-place spot gives a player 40 points.
Why is cracking the top 50 especially important?
The top 50 players in the world are all eligible to compete in The Open, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Players. The world’s top 50 players also receive an invite to the Masters and all of the World Golf Championships.
Overview
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 calculated each week. During 2018, nearly 400 tournaments on 20 tours were covered by the ranking system. All players competing i…
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)
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…
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