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The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
ers. 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 in these tournaments are included in the rankings. In 2025, 24 tours factored into the world rankings. As well as being of general interest, the rankings have an additional importance, in that they are used as one of the qualifying criteria for entry into a number of leading tournaments. The chair of the OWGR is former world number twelve and
2008 Masters Tournament The 2008 Masters Tournament was the 72nd Masters Tournament, held April 10–13 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Trevor Immelman won his first Men's major golf championships, major title, three strokes ahead of runner-up Tiger Wo ...
champion
Trevor Immelman Trevor John Immelman (born 16 December 1979) is a South African retired professional golfer and television commentator who has played on the PGA Tour, European Tour and Sunshine Tour. He won his sole major championship at the 2008 Masters Tourn ...
.


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 The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is one of the oldest golf clubs in the world. It is a private members-only club based in St Andrews in Scotland. It was previously known colloquially as "The R&A", but in 2004, a new organisation kn ...
, which found in the 1980s that its system of issuing invitations to
The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
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 Mark Hume McCormack (November 6, 1930 â€“ May 16, 2003) was an American lawyer, sports agent and writer. He was the founder and chairman of International Management Group, now IMG (company), IMG, an international management organization ser ...
, who was the first chairman of the International Advisory Committee which oversees the rankings. The system used to calculate the rankings was developed from
McCormack's World Golf Rankings The McCormack rankings were unofficial world golf rankings published in Mark McCormack's ''World of Professional Golf Annual'' from 1968 to 1985, and were a forerunner of the current Official World Golf Ranking. Unlike their replacement they were ...
, 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). The first ranking list was published prior to the 1986
Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week in April, the Masters is the ...
. The top six ranked golfers were:
Bernhard Langer Bernhard Langer (; born 27 August 1957) is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1986, he became the sport's first number one ranked playe ...
,
Seve Ballesteros Severiano Ballesteros Sota (; 9 April 1957 â€“ 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won 90 inte ...
,
Sandy Lyle Alexander Walter Barr "Sandy" Lyle (born 9 February 1958) is a Scottish professional golfer. He has won two major championships during his career. Along with Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam, he became one of Britain's top golfers during the 1980s. ...
, Tom Watson,
Mark O'Meara Mark Francis O'Meara (born January 13, 1957) is an American retired professional golfer. He was a tournament winner on the PGA Tour and around the world from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. He spent nearly 200 weeks in the top-10 of the Offici ...
and
Greg Norman Gregory John Norman (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian former professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as List of World Number One male golfers, world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 88 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA ...
. Thus, the top three were all European, but there were 31 Americans in the top 50 (compared with 17 at the end of 2010). The method of calculation of the rankings has changed considerably over the years. Initially, the rankings were calculated over a three-year period, with the current year's points multiplied by four (three in 1986), the previous year's points by two and the third year's points by one. Rankings were based on the total points and points awarded were restricted to integer values. All tournaments recognised by the world's professional tours, and some leading invitational events, were graded into categories ranging from major championship (whose winners would receive 50 points) to "other tournaments" (whose winners would receive a minimum of 8). In all events, other finishers received points on a diminishing scale that began with runners-up receiving 60% of the winners' points, and the number of players in the field receiving points would be the same as the points awarded to the winner. In a major, for example, all players finishing 30th to 40th would receive 2 points, and all players finishing 50th or higher, 1 point. Beginning in April 1989, the rankings were changed to be based on the average points per event played instead of simply total points earned, subject to a minimum divisor of 60 (20 events per year). This was in order to more accurately reflect the status of some (particularly older) players, who played in far fewer events than their younger contemporaries but demonstrated in major championships that their ranking was artificially low. Tom Watson, for example, finished in the top 15 of eight major championships between 1987 and 1989, yet had a "total points" ranking of just 40th; his ranking became a more realistic 20th when based on "average points". A new system for determining the "weight" of each tournament was also introduced, based on the strength of the tournament's field in terms of their pre-tournament world rankings. Major championships were guaranteed to remain at 50 points for the winners, and all other events could attain a maximum of 40 points for the winner if all of the world's top 100 were present. In practice most PGA Tour events awarded around 25 points to the winner, European Tour events around 18 and JPGA Tour events around 12. In 1996, the three-year period was reduced to two years, with the current year now counting double and the minimum number of events reduced from 60 to 40. Points were extended to more of the field, beginning in 2000, and were no longer restricted to integer values. Beginning in September 2001, the tapering system was changed so that instead of the points for each result being doubled if they occurred in the most recent 12 months, one eighth of the initial "multiplied up" value was deducted every 13 weeks. This change effectively meant that players could now be more simply described as being awarded 100 points (not 50) for winning a major. Beginning in 2007, the system holds the points from each event at full value for 13 weeks and then reduces them in equal weekly increments over the remainder of the two-year period. In 2010, a maximum number of tournaments was introduced as well as the minimum of 40. The maximum number was initially set to 60 from January 2010 and was reduced by 2 every six months until it reached 52 in January 2012. This means that since 2012 only the player's 52 most recent tournaments (within the two-year period) are used to calculate his ranking average. At first only the Championship Committee of the Royal and Ancient used the rankings for official purposes, but the
PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
recognized them in 1990, and in 1997 during the Open Championship, all five of the then principal men's golf
tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...
and the four major championships endorsed the ranking. The rankings, which had previously been called the Sony Ranking, were renamed the Official World Golf Ranking at that time.


Organization

Since 2004 the rankings have been produced by a company called "Official World Golf Ranking" which took over the ranking system from
IMG img or IMG is an abbreviation for image. img or IMG may also refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics *IMG (file format), file that stores a complete and uncompressed copy of the contents of a storage device * IMG, a prefix for camera ima ...
. The company is a
company limited by guarantee A company limited by guarantee (CLG) is a type of company where the liability of members in the event the company is wound up is limited to a (typically very small) amount listed in the company's articles or constitution. Most have no share ca ...
incorporated in the United Kingdom with its registered office at the European Tour Building at Wentworth. The company has seven members: The PGA of America, the International Federation of PGA Tours, the USGA, the PGA Tour, Augusta National, the R&A and the PGA European Tour, who each contribute to the running of the company; £50,000 each in 2020. There is a chairman and seven directors, one appointed by each member, who make up the Governing board. There is also a Technical committee. One of the objects of the company is "to devise, maintain, review, update, administer and promote the recognition of a system that fairly ranks the relative performances of male professional golfers participating in the leading golf tournaments throughout the world, taking into account all relevant factors including, amongst other matters, the date of the tournament, the prestige of the tournament, the standard of the other participants and the value of the tournament prize fund."


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 Professional golf tours are the means by which otherwise unconnected professional golf tournaments are organized into a regular schedule. There are separate tours for men and women; most are based in a specific geographical region, although some to ...
: *
PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
*
European Tour The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...
(currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons) *
Asian Tour The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf professional golf tours, tour in Asia except for Japan (which has its own Japan Golf Tour). It is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. Official money events on ...
(from 2000; not a charter member of the Federation) *
PGA Tour of Australasia The PGA Tour of Australasia, currently titled as the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia for sponsorship reasons, is a professional golf tour for men, owned and operated by the PGA of Australia. Official events on the tour count for World Golf ...
*
Japan Golf Tour The Japan Golf Tour () is a prominent professional golf tour. It was founded in 1973 and as of 2006, it offered the third-highest annual prize fund out of the regular (that is not for seniors) men's professional tours after the PGA Tour and the ...
*
Sunshine Tour The Sunshine Tour is a men's professional golf tour based in Southern and East Africa. For much of its early history it was known either as the Southern Africa Tour or Sunshine Circuit; through sponsorship deals, it has also been known as the F ...
Points are also awarded for high finishes on other tours: *
Korn Ferry Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. ...
, the official developmental tour for the PGA Tour *
Challenge Tour The Challenge Tour, currently titled as the HotelPlanner Tour for sponsorship reasons and also sometimes referred to as the European Challenge Tour, is the second-tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European To ...
, the official developmental tour for the European Tour *
PGA Tour Americas PGA Tour Americas is a golf tour that began play in 2024. The tour replaces the previous PGA Tour Canada and the PGA Tour Latinoamérica, and will consist of a Latin America swing from February to May, and a North America swing from June to Sep ...
, a newly combined tertiary development tour as of 2024 that is a merger of: **
PGA Tour Canada PGA Tour Canada, commonly referred to as the Canadian Tour, was a men's professional golf tour headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The United States–based PGA Tour took over operation of the tour on November 1, 2012, at which time it was renamed ...
, originally the Canadian Professional Golf Tour when it became a full member of the Federation in 2009 and two one-off tours caused by 2020-21 pandemic restrictions: ***
LocaliQ Series The LocaliQ Series, stylized as the LOCALiQ Series, was a one-off professional golf tour played in 2020, organized by the PGA Tour. The series was announced following the cancellation of much of the PGA Tour's global development tours due to the ...
, in 2020, replaced both the PGA Tour Canada and Latinoamérica. ***
Forme Tour The Forme Tour was a men's professional golf tour played in the United States. The tour was created by the PGA Tour in 2021 in response to COVID-19 pandemic related restrictions on travel between the United States and Canada, in order to provide ...
, in 2021, was for
PGA Tour Canada PGA Tour Canada, commonly referred to as the Canadian Tour, was a men's professional golf tour headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The United States–based PGA Tour took over operation of the tour on November 1, 2012, at which time it was renamed ...
members unable to travel because of geographic restrictions. **
PGA Tour Latinoamérica PGA Tour Latinoamérica was a third level professional golf tour formed in 2012 and operated by the PGA Tour. It was formed in concert with the now also defunct Tour de las Américas. Executives from the Tour de las Américas became employees of ...
, originally
Tour de las Américas The Tour de las Américas (TLA) was the principal men's professional golf tour throughout Latin America and the Caribbean from 2000 through to 2012 when it was superseded by the PGA Tour Latinoamérica. History Top level tournament golf in Lat ...
when it became a full member in 2011 *
Korean Tour The Korean Tour is a men's professional golf tour run by the Korea Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) of South Korea. In 2011, it had total prize money of about United States dollar, US$14 million. Professional golf in Korea dates back to ...
, from 2011 *
Asian Development Tour The Asian Development Tour, founded in 2010, is a professional golf tour. It is the development tour for the Asian Tour. Players who fail to earn Asian Tour cards through qualifying school may play on the tour. Currently, the top ten players on th ...
, the official developmental tour for the Asian Tour, from 2013 *
Alps Tour The Alps Tour is a developmental professional golf tour for men which is sanctioned by the national golf associations of France, Italy, Austria and Switzerland. Established in 2001, it is a third level tour, the highest level of men's golf in Eur ...
, from July 2015 *
Nordic Golf League The Nordic Golf League is one of the third-tier men's professional golf tours, recognised by the European Tour, also known as the Satellite Tours. The top five players on the Order of Merit at the end of each season earn status to play on the seco ...
, from July 2015 *
Pro Golf Tour The Pro Golf Tour, formerly the EPD Tour (European Professional Development Tour), is a developmental professional golf tour based in Germany. It is a third-level tour, the highest level of men's golf in Europe being the European Tour, and the s ...
, from July 2015 *
MENA Golf Tour The MENA Tour is a golf tour in the Middle East and North Africa. It was founded in 2011 by the Dubai-based Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation. It was previously affiliated to The R&A and the Arab Golf Federation. The previous iteration of the tour w ...
, from April 2016 *
Big Easy Tour The Big Easy Tour, currently titled as the Betway Big Easy Tour, is a developmental golf tour based in South Africa, founded in 2011. It is a developmental tour for the Sunshine Tour. The top 12 players earn Sunshine Tour cards, with those 11th†...
, from 2018 *
China Tour The China Tour is a China-based men's professional golf tour run by the China Golf Association. History From 2014 to 2016 the tour was organised in conjunction with the PGA Tour China. In 2017 the two tours split and ran a separate schedule ...
, from
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
*
All Thailand Golf Tour The All Thailand Golf Tour (or simply as ATGT) is the main professional golf tour in Thailand. All Thailand Golf Tour office is headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand. Originally the TPC Tour, it adopted the name All Thailand Golf Tour in 2008. The t ...
, from 2019 *
Professional Golf Tour of India The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) is a professional golf tour for men based in India. The tour was formed in 2006, as the successor to the Indian PGA Golf Tour, which ran from 1997 to 2006. The PGTI serves as a feeder tour for higher l ...
, from 2019 * Japan Challenge Tour (known as the Abema TV Tour for sponsorship reasons), from 2019 *
Gira de Golf Profesional Mexicana The Gira de Golf Profesional Mexicana (GGPM, English: Professional Golf Tour of Mexico) is a professional golf tours, professional golf tour for men based in Mexico. The tour was formed in 2017. GGPM events are 54-hole tournaments with 36 hole cu ...
, from 2023 * Clutch Pro Tour, added April 2024 * Tartan Pro Tour, added May 2024 * PGA Tour of Taiwan, added January 2025 Starting in 2012, some events received points that had not previously received any. These were the Sunshine Tour "Winter Series" and the PGA Tour of Australasia "State Based and Regional Tournaments". Previous tours: *
Asia Golf Circuit The Asia Golf Circuit was the principal men's professional golf tour in Southeast Asia from the early 1960s through to the mid-late 1990s. The tour was founded in 1961 as the Far East Circuit. The first series of five tournaments was held in 196 ...
, from 1986 until 1997. *
OneAsia Tour The OneAsia Tour was a men's professional golf tour based in the Asia-Pacific region. The tour was founded in 2009 as a joint venture between the PGA Tour of Australasia, the China Golf Association, the Korean Golf Association and the Korean P ...
, added in 2009 but was dropped in 2018. *
PGA EuroPro Tour The PGA EuroPro Tour was a men's developmental professional golf tour. It was created in 2002 by the merger of two development tours, the EuroPro Tour and the PGA MasterCard Tour, as the Professional Golfers' Association and Barry Hearn's Matchr ...
, from July 2015 through 2022 *
PGA Tour China PGA Tour China was a third level professional golf tour formed in 2014 and operated by the PGA Tour. After a hiatus in 2017, the tour resumed in 2018. After canceling its entire 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tour effectively ceas ...
, from 2014 through 2019 In July 2022, Official World Golf Ranking announced that it had received an application from
LIV Golf LIV Golf ( ) is a professional men's golf tour. The name "LIV" refers to the Roman numerals for 54, the number of holes played at LIV events. The first LIV Golf Invitational Series event started on 9 June 2022, at the Centurion Club near St Alba ...
for it to be included in the ranking system. LIV Golf's application for OWGR status was denied October 2023. Other ranking systems do include LIV Golf.


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.


Event 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". 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. The maximum possible world rating value is 925 but this would only happen if all the top 200 golfers were playing. A "home tour rating value" is calculated. The leading 30 golfers from the previous year's "home tour" are given rating values. Most tours use earnings lists for their top 30, but the PGA Tour currently uses the FedEx points list calculated after the playoffs. Major championships and WGC events use the current world top 30 list. The home tour No. 1 is allocated 8 down to those from 16 to 30 who are allocated a rating value of 1 each. The maximum home tour rating value is 75 if all the top 30 players from the home tour are competing. The total home tour rating value is limited to 75% of the world rating value. The world rating value and home tour rating value are added together to give a "Strength of Field" value. This is then converted into an event ranking using a table. As examples, a strength of field value of 10 converts to an event ranking of 8, a strength of field value of 100 converts to an event ranking of 24, while a strength of field value of 500 converts to an event ranking of 62. Major championships have a fixed event ranking of 100 points. For each tour, there is a minimum ranking for each event. In addition, some tours have a "flagship event" that is guaranteed a higher ranking. 72-hole tournaments which are reduced to 54 holes retain full points, but if a tournament is reduced to 36 holes, its points allocation is reduced by 25%. 54-hole tournaments reduced to 36 holes retain full points.


Player rankings

Having calculated the ranking of the event, the ranking points of the players for that event can be calculated. The winner's ranking points are the same as the ranking of the event, so that major winners get 100 ranking points. The second place golfer gets 60% of this amount, 40% for 3rd, 30% for 4th, 24% for 5th, down to 14% for 10th, 7% for 20th, 3.5% for 40th to 1.5% for 60th. Players tied for a position share the points for those positions so that if, for example, two players tie for second place they would each receive 50%, the average of 60% and 40%. A player's ranking points for an event must be at least 1.2. Players who would get less than this using the above formula get no ranking points. For example, if an event has a ranking of 10 only the leading 12 players (and ties) receive any ranking points since the player in 12th place gets 12% of the event ranking (i.e. 1.2). The player in 13th position gets no points. Where there is a tie for the final scoring place, those players are guaranteed to receive at least 1.2 points. Using the above example, if there were two or more players tied for 12th place, each would receive 1.2 points. The only exceptions to this system are in the major championships where all players who make the cut get a minimum of 1.5 ranking points. Since 2019, the PGA Tour has used its season-ending
Tour Championship The Tour Championship (stylized as the TOUR Championship) is a golf tournament that is part of the PGA Tour. It has historically been one of the final events of the PGA Tour season; prior to 2007, its field consisted exclusively of the top 30 ...
strictly to determine the final distribution of its
FedEx Cup The FedEx Cup is the championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction in 2007 marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Since its inception, the competition has been sponsored by FedEx. In 2022, the PGA Tour ...
bonus pool. The 30 players are seeded according to their ranking in the FedEx Cup standings, with all players starting at a specified score with respect to par and the player leading the field after four rounds winning the FedEx Cup and receiving credit for an official PGA Tour win. The person with the lowest score over the event's four rounds receives no recognition from the tour. The OWGR ignores the PGA Tour's treatment of this event, awarding ranking points based solely on each player's performance during the Tour Championship itself.


Adjusted rankings

For the first 13 weeks after an event the player receives the full ranking points earned in that event. However, from then onwards they are reduced in equal weekly increments over the remainder of a two-year period. This gives priority to recent form. Each week the ranking points are reduced by a factor of 1/92 (approximately 1.09%) so that in week 14 only 98.91% of the ranking points are credited, continuing until week 104 when only 1.09% is credited. From week 105 the ranking points are completely lost.


Ranking average

The player's adjusted points for all events in the two-year period are then added together, and this total is divided by the number of events to give the average ranking. However, players are subject to both a minimum and maximum number of events over the two-year period. If a player competes in fewer than 40 tournaments over the two-year period his adjusted points total is divided by 40 and not the actual number of events he has played in. There is also a maximum of 52 tournaments, which means that only the player's 52 most recent tournaments (within the two-year period) are used. The resulting averages for all players are put into descending order to produce the ranking table. This means that the player who has obtained most cumulative success does not necessarily come top of the rankings: it is ''average'' performance levels that are important, and some golfers play substantially more tournaments than others. New rankings are released every Monday.


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 The World Golf Championships (WGC) were a group of annual professional golf tournaments played from 1999 through 2023 created by the International Federation of PGA Tours as a means of gathering the best players in the world together more freque ...
; see table below. In addition, rankings are the main criterion for selection for the International Team in the
Presidents Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world except Europe as that continent competes against the United States in a similar but ...
, while ranking points are one of the qualification criteria for the European
Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...
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, the Sony Ranking, was published prior to the Masters in April 1986, with
Bernhard Langer Bernhard Langer (; born 27 August 1957) is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1986, he became the sport's first number one ranked playe ...
the first world No. 1 ranked player, ahead of
Seve Ballesteros Severiano Ballesteros Sota (; 9 April 1957 â€“ 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won 90 inte ...
, who had topped the unofficial
McCormack's World Golf Rankings The McCormack rankings were unofficial world golf rankings published in Mark McCormack's ''World of Professional Golf Annual'' from 1968 to 1985, and were a forerunner of the current Official World Golf Ranking. Unlike their replacement they were ...
at the end of the previous year. Ballesteros briefly held the No. 1 spot after Langer, before
Greg Norman Gregory John Norman (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian former professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as List of World Number One male golfers, world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 88 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA ...
'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 Sir Nicholas Alexander Faldo (born 18 July 1957) is an English retired professional golfer and television commentator. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his dedication to the game, and was ranked No. ...
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. In April 1991, a quirk in the way the rankings treated results from previous years meant that
Ian Woosnam Ian Harold Woosnam (born 2 March 1958) is a Welsh professional golfer. Nicknamed "Woosie", Woosnam was one of the "Big Five" generation of European golfers, all born within 12 months of one another, all of whom have won majors, and made Europe ...
, who had never won a major, took the No. 1 spot from Faldo on the eve of the latter's attempt to win the Masters for a third year in succession; as if to justify his new ranking, Woosnam — and not Faldo — won the tournament. Twelve months later,
Fred Couples Frederick Steven Couples (born October 3, 1959) is an American professional golfer who has competed on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. A former World No. 1, he has won 64 professional tournaments, most notably the Masters Tournament ...
similarly took over the No. 1 ranking shortly before the 1992 Masters, then also went on to make that tournament his first major victory. Faldo's Open victory in 1992 lifted him back to the No. 1 position, and he held that spot until replaced by
Nick Price Nicholas Raymond Leige Price (born 28 January 1957) is a Zimbabwean former professional golfer who has won three major championships in his career: the PGA Championship twice (in 1992 and 1994) and The Open Championship in 1994. In the mid-1 ...
, who in 1994 became the first African ranked No. 1 after his back-to-back major victories that summer. By 1996, Greg Norman had regained the top spot and ended 1996 and 1997 narrowly ahead of first
Tom Lehman Thomas Edward Lehman (born March 7, 1959) is an American professional golfer. A former #1 ranked golfer, his tournament wins include one major title, the 1996 Open Championship; and he is the only golfer in history to have been awarded the Pla ...
, and then
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
and
Ernie Els Theodore Ernest Els (; born 17 October 1969) is a South African professional golfer. A former , he is nicknamed "the Big Easy" due to his physical stature along with his fluid golf swing. Among his more than 70 career victories are four major ...
in the rankings, despite his rivals enjoying major victories in those years while he won none. Lehman, Els and Woods would all briefly become No. 1 during 1997, Lehman for a week – to date, the only player to hold the No. 1 ranking for just one week. In 1996,
Colin Montgomerie Colin Stuart Montgomerie (born 23 June 1963) is a Scottish professional golfer. He has won a record eight European Tour PGA European Tour#Order of Merit winners, Order of Merit titles, including a streak of seven consecutive ones from 1993 to 1 ...
also led the rankings in total points earned over the two-year period (but never on average points per event); in 1997 Els was top of a similar "total points" list. Those were the last occasions on which a player led on "total" points but not average points until 2016, when
Dustin Johnson Dustin Hunter Johnson (born June 22, 1984) is an American professional golfer. He has won two Men's major golf championships, major championships, the 2016 U.S. Open (golf), 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club with a 4-under-par score of 276 ...
similarly had more points in total than the world number one
Jason Day Jason Anthony Day (born 12 November 1987) is an Australian professional golfer. Day had early success as a professional, earning PGA Tour membership in his teens and winning an event in his third season, the HP Byron Nelson Championship. In 20 ...
. Woods then finished 1998 narrowly ahead of
Mark O'Meara Mark Francis O'Meara (born January 13, 1957) is an American retired professional golfer. He was a tournament winner on the PGA Tour and around the world from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. He spent nearly 200 weeks in the top-10 of the Offici ...
even though the latter won two major titles that year while Woods won just once on the PGA Tour. In March 1999,
David Duval David Robert Duval (born November 9, 1971) is an American professional golfer and former World No. 1 Golfer who competed on the PGA Tour and currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. Duval won 13 PGA Tour tournaments between 1997 and 2001; inc ...
became world No. 1 after winning
The Players Championship The Players Championship (commonly known as simply The Players, stylized by the PGA Tour as THE PLAYERS Championship) is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour. Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, it began in 1974. The ...
, his sixth victory in a twelve-month period that came before his first major victory (which would follow two years later at the Open Championship). In 2000, Tiger Woods had an unprecedented season of success that saw him earn 948 world ranking points in a single calendar year, so many points that even had his 1999 points (which represented the previous single-season record) been totally discounted from the calculation, Woods would still have had a points average easily high enough to lead the rankings – and Woods would still have led at the end of 2001 even had he earned no further points that year. Tiger Woods dominated the No. 1 spot for the following five years, but when
Vijay Singh Vijay Singh ( ; born 22 February 1963) is a Fijians, Fijian professional golfer. In 1982, Singh turned professional and played on the local Asia Golf Circuit. However, his early career met with controversy, as he was accused of numerous rules ...
won the
PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. The PGA is one of the four men's major golf champi ...
in 2004 and with it took the No. 1 ranking, that change highlighted the fact that Woods had not won a major for over two years, and also the extraordinary success Singh had recently on tour had that had allowed him to overtake the American. Woods responded by winning the very next major, the 2005 Masters, and with it regained the No. 1 spot, which he would then retain for a further five years. Following knee surgery in the summer of 2008, Woods missed the entire second half of the year, while
Pádraig Harrington Pádraig Peter Harrington (born 31 August 1971) is an Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour, PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. He has won three men's major golf championships, major championships: The Open Championship in 2 ...
won two major championships, to add to the Open Championship he won in 2007. Despite earning no further ranking points during his absence, Woods remained No. 1 on the ranking system in December 2008. During 2010, there was much debate as to whether Woods' continued retention of the No. 1 ranking (which he held up until the end of October) was justified given his relatively poor form—Woods finished fourth in two major championships in 2010, but failed to finish in the top ten of any other events he entered. During the 2010 season, several of his rivals for the No. 1 spot - including Masters champion
Phil Mickelson Philip Alfred Mickelson (born June 16, 1970) is an American professional golfer who currently plays in the LIV Golf League. He has won 45 events on the PGA Tour, including six Men's major golf championships, major championships: three Masters ...
(who had won four majors since 2004 but had yet to reach No. 1 in the rankings),
Lee Westwood Lee John Westwood (born 24 April 1973) is an English professional golfer. He is one of the few golfers who has won tournaments on five continents – Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and Oceania – including victories on the European Tour an ...
(who had yet to win a major but had finished second in both the Masters and Open Championships in 2010), and then
Martin Kaymer Martin Kaymer ( ; born 28 December 1984) is a German professional golfer who currently plays on the LIV Golf League. A winner of two major championships, he was also the No. 1 ranked golfer in the Official World Golf Ranking for eight weeks in ...
(who had won the PGA Championship among four worldwide wins)— each missed opportunities to win particular events that would have taken them above Woods, before Westwood finally became world No. 1 on October 31. During 2011, the possession of the No. 1 ranking would be the subject of much discussion among European golf commentators as it passed from Westwood to Kaymer, back to Westwood and then in May to
Luke Donald Luke Campbell Donald Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 7 December 1977) is an English professional golfer and former List of World Number One male golfers, world number one. He plays mainly on the U.S.-based PGA Tour but is also a member of ...
, who took No. 1 spot by defeating Westwood in a playoff for the BMW PGA Championship. Donald, in becoming the fifteenth world No. 1, also became the first ever to reach No. 1 before having won or finished runner-up in a major championship in his career. Donald's position at the top of the rankings was justified by his consistency through the rest of the 2011 season – becoming the first golfer ever to win the money title on both the European and PGA Tours in the same season. In March 2012, Donald lost the No. 1 position to
Rory McIlroy Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a Northern Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He is a former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking and has spent over 100 weeks in that position du ...
; the pair then exchanged the No. 1 position a further four times in the following two months, so the volatility of the No. 1 ranking again became a source of comment. At the end of 2012, McIlroy had opened up a clear lead at the top of the rankings, following his second major victory at the PGA Championship and emulating Donald in leading the money lists on both sides of the Atlantic. However, by the end of March 2013, a resurgent Tiger Woods had returned to the top of the rankings, after adding three PGA Tour wins in 2013 to his three victories from 2012 while McIlroy struggled with his form following equipment changes. Woods then suffered a back injury that sidelined him for the early part of 2014, and in his absence, Adam Scott, winner of the 2013 Masters, became the 17th world No. 1 on May 18, despite not winning an event in 2014 to that date; he would win the following week to secure his No. 1 position and avoid following
Tom Lehman Thomas Edward Lehman (born March 7, 1959) is an American professional golfer. A former #1 ranked golfer, his tournament wins include one major title, the 1996 Open Championship; and he is the only golfer in history to have been awarded the Pla ...
as a one-week No. 1. He held the No. 1 position until August 3, when McIlroy regained the top spot by following his Open Championship victory with another at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. On August 16, 2015, following
Jordan Spieth Jordan Alexander Spieth (; born July 27, 1993) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour and former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking. He is a three-time major winner and the 2015 FedEx Cup champion. Spieth's first m ...
's second-place finish at the
2015 PGA Championship The 2015 PGA Championship was the 97th PGA Championship, held August 13–16 on the Straits Course of Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin (the course is physically in Haven but holds a Kohler mailing address due to its Kohler Company ownership ...
(that followed earlier wins at the Masters and the U.S. Open), Spieth became the 18th world No. 1. Over the following three weeks, the No. 1 spot passed back and forth between McIlroy and Spieth, due to the way each player's average points (which were almost identical) fluctuated (as their point weightings and events played divisors changed), until, on September 20, both were overtaken by
Jason Day Jason Anthony Day (born 12 November 1987) is an Australian professional golfer. Day had early success as a professional, earning PGA Tour membership in his teens and winning an event in his third season, the HP Byron Nelson Championship. In 20 ...
, the
2015 PGA Championship The 2015 PGA Championship was the 97th PGA Championship, held August 13–16 on the Straits Course of Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin (the course is physically in Haven but holds a Kohler mailing address due to its Kohler Company ownership ...
winner, who became the 19th world No. 1 with victory in the BMW Championship, his fifth of the season. A week later, Spieth regained the No. 1 spot from Day after winning the Tour Championship (and with it, the FedEx Cup), and concluded 2015 as world No. 1, but Day's continued good form took him back to number one after winning the WGC Matchplay in March 2016. On February 19, 2017,
Dustin Johnson Dustin Hunter Johnson (born June 22, 1984) is an American professional golfer. He has won two Men's major golf championships, major championships, the 2016 U.S. Open (golf), 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club with a 4-under-par score of 276 ...
became the 20th player to reach number one in the rankings following his victory at the
Genesis Open Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...
. He would remain number one for over a year before being overtaken in May 2018 by
Justin Thomas Justin Louis Thomas (born April 29, 1993) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and is a former List of World Number One male golfers, world number one. In 2017, Thomas experienced a breakout year, winning five PGA Tour e ...
, who had won the PGA championship and four other events in 2017. Johnson regained top spot but was overtaken again in September 2018 by
Justin Rose Justin Peter Rose (born 30 July 1980) is an English professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and PGA Tour. He is a former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, first reaching that position in 2018. Rose came to prominen ...
, who had finished second at the Open and again in two FedEx Cup playoff events. Rose became the 22nd player to reach number one, and the fourth Englishman. Johnson regained the number one position from Rose but was replaced by a new number one for a third time in 2018 on October 21, when
Brooks Koepka Brooks Koepka ( ; born May 3, 1990) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the LIV Golf League. He formerly played on the PGA Tour and has won five major championships, the PGA Championship three times (2018, 2019, 2023) and ...
added victory in the
CJ Cup The CJ Cup was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour. The tournament was played for the first time in October 2017 at the start of the 2018 PGA Tour, 2017–18 season, and was sponsored by CJ Group. The first three editions were played ...
to his two 2018 major titles. Koepka remained number one on the ranking at the end of 2018, even though Rose had amassed a higher total of ranking points (from more events entered). Dustin Johnson regained the number one position early in 2019 with victory at the
WGC-Mexico Championship The WGC Championship was a professional golf tournament that was held between 1999 and 2021. It was one of the three or four annual World Golf Championships until the number of WGC events was reduced to two following the 2021 season. Under sp ...
, but Koepka returned to number one when he retained his
PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. The PGA is one of the four men's major golf champi ...
title in May 2019. Koepka remained number one at the end of 2019, although FedEx Cup winner Rory McIlroy had (like Rose the year before) amassed more ranking points in total than him. On February 9, 2020, McIlroy regained the number one position as his higher 2019 points total became reflected in the weighted average. Following the resumption of golf on the PGA Tour after suspension due to the 2020
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
,
Jon Rahm Jon Rahm Rodríguez (born 10 November 1994) is a Spanish professional golfer. He was number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for a then record 60 weeks and later became world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, first achiev ...
became the 24th player to top the world rankings, and the second Spaniard, on July 19 after his victory at the
Memorial Tournament The Memorial Tournament (branded as the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, Inc., Workday for sponsorship reasons, and also referred to as simply the Memorial) is a PGA Tour golf tournament founded in 1976 by Jack Nicklaus. It is played on ...
, his fourth worldwide win in twelve months. Rahm became the second player after Luke Donald to become world number one before having won or been runner-up in a major championship. The following month Dustin Johnson regained the number one position following his victory in the Northern Trust event and remained number one at the end of 2020, strengthening his hold on the position by winning his first Masters Tournament in November. Rahm regained the number one position following his victory in the U.S. Open in June 2021. In March 2022,
Scottie Scheffler Scott Alexander Scheffler (born June 21, 1996) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He is currently ranked world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has held that position for over 100 weeks. He has won th ...
became the 25th player to reach number one after winning the
WGC Match Play The WGC Match Play, titled in later years as the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play for sponsorship reasons, was a professional men's golf tournament that had been held since 1999. It was the only one of the World Golf Championships to have been co ...
, his third victory of the 2022 season. Scheffler became the third player to become world number one before winning or finishing runner-up in a major. Emulating Ian Woosnam in 1991, Scheffler then promptly won his first major in his very first start as world number one, the 2022 Masters Tournament.


Rankings archive


Year-end world number 1 ranked golfers

*1986
Greg Norman Gregory John Norman (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian former professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as List of World Number One male golfers, world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 88 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA ...
*1987 Norman (2) *1988
Seve Ballesteros Severiano Ballesteros Sota (; 9 April 1957 â€“ 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won 90 inte ...
*1989 Norman (3) *1990 Norman (4) *1991
Ian Woosnam Ian Harold Woosnam (born 2 March 1958) is a Welsh professional golfer. Nicknamed "Woosie", Woosnam was one of the "Big Five" generation of European golfers, all born within 12 months of one another, all of whom have won majors, and made Europe ...
*1992
Nick Faldo Sir Nicholas Alexander Faldo (born 18 July 1957) is an English retired professional golfer and television commentator. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his dedication to the game, and was ranked No. ...
*1993 Faldo (2) *1994
Nick Price Nicholas Raymond Leige Price (born 28 January 1957) is a Zimbabwean former professional golfer who has won three major championships in his career: the PGA Championship twice (in 1992 and 1994) and The Open Championship in 1994. In the mid-1 ...
*1995 Norman (5) *1996 Norman (6) *1997 Norman (7) *1998
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
*1999 Woods (2) *2000 Woods (3) *2001 Woods (4) *2002 Woods (5) *2003 Woods (6) *2004
Vijay Singh Vijay Singh ( ; born 22 February 1963) is a Fijians, Fijian professional golfer. In 1982, Singh turned professional and played on the local Asia Golf Circuit. However, his early career met with controversy, as he was accused of numerous rules ...
*2005 Woods (7) *2006 Woods (8) *2007 Woods (9) *2008 Woods (10) *2009 Woods (11) *2010
Lee Westwood Lee John Westwood (born 24 April 1973) is an English professional golfer. He is one of the few golfers who has won tournaments on five continents – Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and Oceania – including victories on the European Tour an ...
*2011
Luke Donald Luke Campbell Donald Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 7 December 1977) is an English professional golfer and former List of World Number One male golfers, world number one. He plays mainly on the U.S.-based PGA Tour but is also a member of ...
*2012
Rory McIlroy Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a Northern Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He is a former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking and has spent over 100 weeks in that position du ...
*2013 Woods (12) *2014 McIlroy (2) *2015
Jordan Spieth Jordan Alexander Spieth (; born July 27, 1993) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour and former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking. He is a three-time major winner and the 2015 FedEx Cup champion. Spieth's first m ...
*2016
Jason Day Jason Anthony Day (born 12 November 1987) is an Australian professional golfer. Day had early success as a professional, earning PGA Tour membership in his teens and winning an event in his third season, the HP Byron Nelson Championship. In 20 ...
*2017
Dustin Johnson Dustin Hunter Johnson (born June 22, 1984) is an American professional golfer. He has won two Men's major golf championships, major championships, the 2016 U.S. Open (golf), 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club with a 4-under-par score of 276 ...
*2018
Brooks Koepka Brooks Koepka ( ; born May 3, 1990) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the LIV Golf League. He formerly played on the PGA Tour and has won five major championships, the PGA Championship three times (2018, 2019, 2023) and ...
*2019 Koepka (2) *2020 Johnson (2) *2021
Jon Rahm Jon Rahm Rodríguez (born 10 November 1994) is a Spanish professional golfer. He was number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for a then record 60 weeks and later became world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, first achiev ...
*2022 McIlroy (3) *2023
Scottie Scheffler Scott Alexander Scheffler (born June 21, 1996) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He is currently ranked world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has held that position for over 100 weeks. He has won th ...
*2024 Scheffler (2)


Mark H. McCormack Award

Awarded to the player with the most weeks at No. 1 during calendar year and named after
Mark McCormack Mark Hume McCormack (November 6, 1930 â€“ May 16, 2003) was an American lawyer, sports agent and writer. He was the founder and chairman of International Management Group, now IMG (company), IMG, an international management organization ser ...
, originator of the ranking. *1998
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
*1999
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
(2) *2000
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
(3) *2001
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
(4) *2002
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
(5) *2003
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
(6) *2004
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
(7) *2005
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
(8) *2006
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
(9) *2007
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
(10) *2008
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
(11) *2009
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
(12) *2010
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
(13) *2011
Luke Donald Luke Campbell Donald Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 7 December 1977) is an English professional golfer and former List of World Number One male golfers, world number one. He plays mainly on the U.S.-based PGA Tour but is also a member of ...
*2012
Rory McIlroy Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a Northern Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He is a former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking and has spent over 100 weeks in that position du ...
*2013
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
(14) *2014
Rory McIlroy Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a Northern Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He is a former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking and has spent over 100 weeks in that position du ...
(2) *2015
Rory McIlroy Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a Northern Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He is a former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking and has spent over 100 weeks in that position du ...
(3) *2016
Jason Day Jason Anthony Day (born 12 November 1987) is an Australian professional golfer. Day had early success as a professional, earning PGA Tour membership in his teens and winning an event in his third season, the HP Byron Nelson Championship. In 20 ...
*2017
Dustin Johnson Dustin Hunter Johnson (born June 22, 1984) is an American professional golfer. He has won two Men's major golf championships, major championships, the 2016 U.S. Open (golf), 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club with a 4-under-par score of 276 ...
*2018
Dustin Johnson Dustin Hunter Johnson (born June 22, 1984) is an American professional golfer. He has won two Men's major golf championships, major championships, the 2016 U.S. Open (golf), 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club with a 4-under-par score of 276 ...
(2) *2019
Brooks Koepka Brooks Koepka ( ; born May 3, 1990) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the LIV Golf League. He formerly played on the PGA Tour and has won five major championships, the PGA Championship three times (2018, 2019, 2023) and ...
*2020
Dustin Johnson Dustin Hunter Johnson (born June 22, 1984) is an American professional golfer. He has won two Men's major golf championships, major championships, the 2016 U.S. Open (golf), 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club with a 4-under-par score of 276 ...
(3) *2021
Jon Rahm Jon Rahm Rodríguez (born 10 November 1994) is a Spanish professional golfer. He was number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for a then record 60 weeks and later became world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, first achiev ...
*2022
Scottie Scheffler Scott Alexander Scheffler (born June 21, 1996) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He is currently ranked world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has held that position for over 100 weeks. He has won th ...
*2023
Scottie Scheffler Scott Alexander Scheffler (born June 21, 1996) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He is currently ranked world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has held that position for over 100 weeks. He has won th ...
(2) *2024
Scottie Scheffler Scott Alexander Scheffler (born June 21, 1996) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He is currently ranked world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has held that position for over 100 weeks. He has won th ...
(3)


Single-season total ranking points leaders

Although not recognized by any official award, these golfers have won the most World Ranking Points during the years for which the rankings have been calculated (points totals prior to 1996 are scaled to the current standard, i.e. major wins are worth 100 points): *1983
Seve Ballesteros Severiano Ballesteros Sota (; 9 April 1957 â€“ 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won 90 inte ...
422 *1984 Tom Watson 376 *1985
Bernhard Langer Bernhard Langer (; born 27 August 1957) is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1986, he became the sport's first number one ranked playe ...
368 *1986
Greg Norman Gregory John Norman (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian former professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as List of World Number One male golfers, world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 88 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA ...
582 *1987
Seve Ballesteros Severiano Ballesteros Sota (; 9 April 1957 â€“ 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won 90 inte ...

and
Ian Woosnam Ian Harold Woosnam (born 2 March 1958) is a Welsh professional golfer. Nicknamed "Woosie", Woosnam was one of the "Big Five" generation of European golfers, all born within 12 months of one another, all of whom have won majors, and made Europe ...
326 *1988
Seve Ballesteros Severiano Ballesteros Sota (; 9 April 1957 â€“ 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won 90 inte ...
482 *1989
Greg Norman Gregory John Norman (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian former professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as List of World Number One male golfers, world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 88 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA ...
422 *1990
José María Olazábal José María Olazábal Manterola (, ; born 5 February 1966) is a Spanish Basques, Basque professional golfer from the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country, who has enjoyed success on both the European Tour and the PGA Tour, and has wo ...
466 *1991
Seve Ballesteros Severiano Ballesteros Sota (; 9 April 1957 â€“ 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won 90 inte ...
392 *1992
Nick Faldo Sir Nicholas Alexander Faldo (born 18 July 1957) is an English retired professional golfer and television commentator. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his dedication to the game, and was ranked No. ...
596 *1993
Greg Norman Gregory John Norman (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian former professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as List of World Number One male golfers, world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 88 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA ...
492 *1994
Ernie Els Theodore Ernest Els (; born 17 October 1969) is a South African professional golfer. A former , he is nicknamed "the Big Easy" due to his physical stature along with his fluid golf swing. Among his more than 70 career victories are four major ...
554 *1995
Greg Norman Gregory John Norman (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian former professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as List of World Number One male golfers, world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 88 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA ...
430 *1996
Tom Lehman Thomas Edward Lehman (born March 7, 1959) is an American professional golfer. A former #1 ranked golfer, his tournament wins include one major title, the 1996 Open Championship; and he is the only golfer in history to have been awarded the Pla ...
370 *1997
Ernie Els Theodore Ernest Els (; born 17 October 1969) is a South African professional golfer. A former , he is nicknamed "the Big Easy" due to his physical stature along with his fluid golf swing. Among his more than 70 career victories are four major ...
394 *1998
Mark O'Meara Mark Francis O'Meara (born January 13, 1957) is an American retired professional golfer. He was a tournament winner on the PGA Tour and around the world from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. He spent nearly 200 weeks in the top-10 of the Offici ...
408 *1999
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
750 *2000
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
948.22 *2001
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
568.11 *2002
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
684.00 *2003
Vijay Singh Vijay Singh ( ; born 22 February 1963) is a Fijians, Fijian professional golfer. In 1982, Singh turned professional and played on the local Asia Golf Circuit. However, his early career met with controversy, as he was accused of numerous rules ...
550.87 *2004
Vijay Singh Vijay Singh ( ; born 22 February 1963) is a Fijians, Fijian professional golfer. In 1982, Singh turned professional and played on the local Asia Golf Circuit. However, his early career met with controversy, as he was accused of numerous rules ...
707.57 *2005
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
772.44 *2006
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
746.28 *2007
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
689.60 *2008
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
426.24 *2009
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
604.54 *2010
Lee Westwood Lee John Westwood (born 24 April 1973) is an English professional golfer. He is one of the few golfers who has won tournaments on five continents – Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and Oceania – including victories on the European Tour an ...
374.21 *2011
Luke Donald Luke Campbell Donald Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 7 December 1977) is an English professional golfer and former List of World Number One male golfers, world number one. He plays mainly on the U.S.-based PGA Tour but is also a member of ...
533.49 *2012
Rory McIlroy Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a Northern Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He is a former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking and has spent over 100 weeks in that position du ...
596.99 *2013
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
488.25 *2014
Rory McIlroy Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a Northern Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He is a former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking and has spent over 100 weeks in that position du ...
567.77 *2015
Jordan Spieth Jordan Alexander Spieth (; born July 27, 1993) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour and former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking. He is a three-time major winner and the 2015 FedEx Cup champion. Spieth's first m ...
630.50 *2016
Dustin Johnson Dustin Hunter Johnson (born June 22, 1984) is an American professional golfer. He has won two Men's major golf championships, major championships, the 2016 U.S. Open (golf), 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club with a 4-under-par score of 276 ...
454.20 *2017
Jordan Spieth Jordan Alexander Spieth (; born July 27, 1993) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour and former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking. He is a three-time major winner and the 2015 FedEx Cup champion. Spieth's first m ...
450.43 *2018
Bryson DeChambeau Bryson James Aldrich DeChambeau (born September 16, 1993) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the LIV Golf League. He formerly played on the PGA Tour, and has won two major championships, the 2020 and 2024 U.S. Open. A ...
392.43 *2019
Rory McIlroy Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a Northern Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He is a former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking and has spent over 100 weeks in that position du ...
496.25 *2020
Dustin Johnson Dustin Hunter Johnson (born June 22, 1984) is an American professional golfer. He has won two Men's major golf championships, major championships, the 2016 U.S. Open (golf), 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club with a 4-under-par score of 276 ...
463.54 *2021
Collin Morikawa Collin Morikawa (born February 6, 1997) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He began his PGA Tour career with 22 consecutive made cuts, second only to Tiger Woods' 25-cut streak. Morikawa has six PGA Tour wins – inclu ...
418.14 *2022
Scottie Scheffler Scott Alexander Scheffler (born June 21, 1996) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He is currently ranked world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has held that position for over 100 weeks. He has won th ...
480.89 *2023
Scottie Scheffler Scott Alexander Scheffler (born June 21, 1996) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He is currently ranked world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has held that position for over 100 weeks. He has won th ...
457.958 *2024
Scottie Scheffler Scott Alexander Scheffler (born June 21, 1996) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He is currently ranked world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has held that position for over 100 weeks. He has won th ...
727.455


World Ranking of major championship winners

The table shows the World Rankings of the winners of each major championship in the week before their victory. ''Note: 2020 events were played in a different order due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Summary


See also

*
List of world number one male golfers The following is a list of golfers who have been top of the Official World Golf Ranking (originally known as the Sony Ranking), since the rankings started on April 6, 1986. As of June 15, 2025, Scottie Scheffler is the number one ranked golfer. ...
*
List of male golfers who have been in the world top 10 This is a list of golfers who have appeared in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). The rankings started on 6 April 1986 and are updated each week. 124 golfers have reached the top 10. Tiger Woods holds the record for the most wee ...
*
Women's World Golf Rankings The Women's World Golf Rankings, also known for sponsorship reasons as the Rolex Rankings, were introduced in February 2006. They are sanctioned by 12 women's golf tours and the organisations behind them: Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPG ...
– for female professional golfers *
World Amateur Golf Ranking The World Amateur Golf Ranking for men was introduced by The R&A, the governing body of the sport of golf outside the United States and Mexico, on 23 January 2007. It is based on the results of over 2,600 amateur tournaments per year (and amateurs ...
– for male and female amateur golfers


Notes and references


External links

* {{Golf Golf terminology
Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
Golf rankings