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How Are the World Golf Rankings Calculated and Top Golfers Ranked?

Posted by Admin 21 Oct 2024

Written By- Aksh Gupta

Understanding how the World Golf Rankings are calculated can seem complex, but let’s break it down step by step. This explanation will focus on the basics, so by the end, you'll clearly understand how the rankings work!

1. What Are the World Golf Rankings?

The World Golf Rankings are systems used to rank professional golfers based on their performance in various tournaments worldwide. There are two main types of rankings:

Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR): For male golfers.
Women's World Golf Rankings (WWGR): For female golfers.

These rankings are important because they help determine which players qualify for major tournaments, such as the Masters, the U.S. Open, and even the Olympics.

2. How Do Golfers Earn Points?

The ranking system is based on a points system. Golfers earn points by playing in tournaments. The better they perform (the higher they finish), the more points they earn. But not all tournaments give the same number of points—let's see why.

Tournament Strength:

Some tournaments are more prestigious and have stronger fields (meaning they attract more top players). The tougher the competition, the more points the tournament is worth. For example:

Major Championships like The Masters or the U.S. Open give a lot of points.
Smaller, regional tournaments give fewer points because the competition might not be as strong.

Finishing Position:

The higher a golfer finishes in a tournament, the more points they get. For instance:

First place gets the most points.
Second place gets slightly fewer points, and so on.

Example:

Winning a big tournament like The Masters could give a golfer 100 points.
Finishing 10th in a smaller tournament might give them only 5 points.

3. Rolling Two-Year Period

Golfers don’t just get ranked based on one tournament. The rankings look at their performance over two years, so golfers have to perform consistently over time to stay on top.

Why Two Years?

This helps ensure the rankings reflect the current form but still reward long-term success. But to keep things fair, the points earned over time start to lose value as they get older.

Points Decay:

Points earned from a tournament don’t last forever. Here’s how it works:

Points earned from a tournament are worth full value for the first 13 weeks (roughly 3 months).
After 13 weeks, the points gradually decrease in value until they "expire" after 2 years. This means newer results are more important than older ones.

Example:

If a golfer wins a tournament in January and earns 50 points, those points are worth the full 50 for the first 3 months. After that, the points slowly drop in value, so by the end of the two years, they won’t count for much.

USA’s Nelly Korda (CURRENT WORLD'S NO.1 FEMALE GOLFER) holds on for Olympic gold in golf

4. Total Points vs. Average Points

Now, instead of just adding up all the points a golfer earns, the rankings use an average points system. This is where it can get tricky, but it’s key to understanding how the rankings work.

Dividing by Tournament Count:

The rankings look at the total number of points a golfer has earned in all their tournaments over two years and then divide those points by the number of tournaments the golfer has played. This gives an average, which is a fairer way to rank golfers who play a different number of tournaments.

But, to prevent golfers from gaming the system by playing too few tournaments, there’s a minimum divisor.

Minimum Number of Tournaments (Minimum Divisor):

Even if a golfer doesn’t play many tournaments, their total points are divided by a minimum number, which is usually 40. This prevents golfers from only playing a few events and still ranking high by averaging just their best performances.

Example:

Golfer A earns 200 points from 20 tournaments. Their average would be 200 ÷ 20 = 10 points.
Golfer B earns 200 points from 40 tournaments. Their average would be 200 ÷ 40 = 5 points.

So, even though both golfers earned 200 points, Golfer A ranks higher because their average points per tournament is better.

5. Points Won (2024):

This refers to the total number of new points a golfer has earned during the year 2024 from participating in tournaments.
Each time a golfer competes in a tournament and earns points based on their finishing position, those points are added to their "Points Won" for the year.

Example:

A golfer finishes 2nd in a big tournament and earns 40 points. These 40 points will be added to the "Points Won (2024)" field.

6. Points Lost (2024):

This refers to the points that have expired or decayed from the golfer’s ranking total during the year 2024.
Since the rankings work on a rolling two-year period, points earned more than two years ago will begin to lose value over time, and after two years, they expire.
Additionally, points from tournaments in 2022 or earlier will lose some of their value in 2024, contributing to "Points Lost."

Example:

A golfer earned 50 points in a tournament in early 2022. By the middle of 2024, these points will have decayed and eventually be removed from their total, contributing to the "Points Lost (2024)" field.

7. Ranking Updates

The rankings are updated every week. So, after each tournament, points are added for golfers who played well, and the points for older tournaments continue to decay. This ensures that the rankings are always up-to-date and reflect the players’ most recent form.

8. Why Are These Rankings Important?

These rankings are not just about bragging rights. They have real-world consequences for golfers:

Automatic Entry into Big Tournaments: Players ranked highly are invited to major championships and other prestigious events. The top players get direct entry without needing to qualify separately.
International Competitions: Rankings help select players for global events like the Ryder Cup (men) or the Solheim Cup (women).
Sponsorships and Endorsements: A higher ranking increases a golfer’s visibility, which can lead to better sponsorship deals.

Summary

To sum it all up:

Golfers earn points by performing well in tournaments.
Bigger tournaments with stronger competition give more points.
Rankings are based on a golfer’s performance over the last two years, but newer results matter more.
Points earned are divided by the number of tournaments played to create an average score.
Points Won shows how much a golfer has gained during the year, reflecting their current form and performance.
Points Lost represents how many points have decayed or expired, showing how much of the golfer’s past success is no longer counted toward their current ranking.
Rankings are updated weekly to reflect the latest tournament results.

By keeping these principles in mind, the World Golf Rankings ensure that the best players consistently rise to the top and are rewarded for their ongoing success.