The Official World Golf Ranking is awfully important in the world of professional golf. Since its creation in 1986, the ranking has grown tremendously in influence, including determining a good chunk of many fields, including all four major championships.
Each week, Golf News Net will post an Official World Golf Ranking update, listing the top 50 golfers in the world, their change for the week, those that dropped out of the top 50 and the players with the biggest moves in the overall ranking in the last seven days.
- 2014 Official World Golf Ranking - Week 1
- 2014 Official World Golf Ranking - Week 2
- 2014 Official World Golf Ranking - Week 3
- 2014 Official World Golf Ranking - Week 4
- 2014 Official World Golf Ranking - Week 5
- 2014 Official World Golf Ranking - Week 6
- 2014 Official World Golf Ranking - Week 7
How is the Official World Golf Ranking calculated?
The Official World Golf Ranking measures the performance of players over a rolling, 2-year (or 104-week) time span. Players are ranked on the basis of the average number of world ranking points they earn divided by the number of tournaments played in that 104-week period. (The Official World Golf Ranking formula dictates that a player will be considered to have played a minimum number of 40 tournaments in the 2-year span, even if they play less. The maximum number is considered to be 52.)
Players are awarded points based on two factors: (1) where they finish in a tournament and (2) the strength of the field, as measured by the world ranking formula. For every player ranked inside the top 200 in the Official World Golf Ranking in a field, points are awarded to determine the field strength. The higher the ranking of a player, the more points they count for toward a field. The total field strength determines (a) how many players earn points and (b) the distribution of those points. Each of the participating tours has a minimum field strength for every tournament on their schedule. The major championships all are treated the same, offering 100 world ranking points to the winner.
