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Big changes are coming to the way the game’s best players are ranked.
The governing board of the Official World Golf Ranking has announced that the system will, going forward, incorporate modern statistical techniques which will allow all eligible players and events to be more accurately evaluated relative to each other.
Over the last three years, OWGR has coordinated an independent analysis of the ranking and its system to ensure it is meeting its key objectives of publishing a transparent, credible and accurate ranking based on the relative performances of participating players.
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The results of this analysis have led to the changes announced today, including distribution of ranking points to all players making the cut to provide greater differentiation of performances.
There will be also be a new Field Rating calculation based on a statistical evaluation of every player in the field, rather than just those in the field among the current top-200 of the ranking.
This will include Strokes Gained (SG) World Rating based on players’ actual scores in strokeplay events, adjusted to account for the relative difficulty of each round played over a rolling two-year period.
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Major Championships will continue to award 100 first place points, while The PLAYERS Championship will award 80. All other tournaments will award points according to the strength and depth of their fields, with a maximum of 80 first place points.
“The Official World Golf Ranking owes a massive debt of gratitude to founders Mark H. McCormack and Tony Greer, whose vision has done so much to shape the competitive landscape of men’s professional golf over the past 35 years”, said OWGR chairman Peter Dawson.
“Since 1986, the tours eligible for inclusion have grown in number from six to 23 and the rankings have been continuously modified to accommodate this expansion and to improve accuracy.
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“We are confident the further enhancements announced today will best position OWGR for the years ahead.”
The new system is to go live from August 14, 2022, at which point all future eligible tournaments will utilise the updated system.
There will be no recalculation of past events, meaning the impact of the new methodology will be gradual.
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