Breakdown of golf’s 18 world No.1s

In finishing second to Jason Day at the US PGA Championship, Jordan Spieth became only the 18th player to hold the world No.1 spot since the introduction of the Official World Golf Rankings in 1986.

He also became the second youngest, rewards for an emphatic 2015 season so far which has seen him lift the Masters and US Open titles, as well as two others on the PGA Tour.

But what of the 18 players who can forever call themselves an official world No.1? Can you name them all off the top of your head? Here’s a little breakdown…

Most weeks spent…

Of the 1,533 weeks there have been since the introduction of the Official World Golf Rankings, Woods has spent 683 weeks at the summit. That’s a whopping 45%!

Second-placed Greg Norman hasn’t even spent half the amount of time there with 331 weeks, which is more than three times that of Sir Nick Faldo in third on 97 weeks.

But perhaps what is most surprising is that Luke Donald, who enjoyed an exceptional 2011, has been at No.1 for the sixth-longest period of time on 56 weeks.

Age when first reaching No.1…

Tiger again dominates this, reaching No.1 for the first time as a 21-year-old in 1997. But now aged 39, only Vijay Singh and Greg Norman have assumed the world No.1 spot into their 40s and with the American out of sorts and turning 40 in December, it’s looking highly unlikely that he’ll ever get to the top again.

Three of the last five players to take on the No.1 role for the first time – Martin Kaymer (2011) Rory McIlroy (2012) and Jordan Spieth (2015) – have each been the youngest person since Tiger to reach top spot.

Tiger’s 11 spells…

Woods has taken on the No.1 spot on 11 different occasions, with some spells lasting significantly longer than others.

Norman’s record of 96 weeks from 1995-97 was blown out the water by Woods’ 264-week stint from August 1999 to September 2004, before he went on to better that with a record 281 weeks from June 2005 to October 2010.

No. of majors…

Sixteen of the 18 players who have reached world No.1 have won a major – only Donald and Lee Westwood haven’t. There are 52 wins in total between the 16 players, more than a quarter of which are Tiger’s with 14.

Second best…

Ten players have been world No.2 without reaching the summit, most notably Phil Mickelson who has spent 270 cumulative weeks there – more than five years – between the years of 2001 and 2013.

The five-time major winner’s nearest rival to that spot is Jim Furyk, who has spent a mere 38 weeks at No.2, while two-time Masters winner Jose Maria Olazabal is third on 35 weeks.

Note: This pie chart doesn’t include Sandy Lyle, who was world No.2 during 1998.