Breaking the World Golf Ranking Status Quo

[JB]

Really good look by Rex Hoggard on the "Home Tour" points issues and other issues that are plaguing the world golf rankings.

For years, perhaps decades, the World Golf Ranking has prattled on virtually unchecked. For as long as most fifth-graders can remember, Tiger Woods was first in the ranking and for most that was good enough for them.

But then Woods stumbled, first to No. 2 and now all the way to third in the world, unseated by a non-major-winner and a German who has never played a full schedule in the United States.

For many, the final shoe dropped last weekend when the U.S. Golf Association made the ranking an even more important part of qualifying for the U.S. Open, dropping previous exemptions for finishes on various money lists for more openings via a player’s World Ranking.

Whether by design or a dearth of other options, the World Ranking has become the default litmus test for entry into the game’s biggest events from the majors to World Golf Championships. It is a blanket endorsement that ignores many of the problems, either real or perceived, with the current ranking.

“If you’re going to make so much ride on those top 50 or 60 spots you have to make it legit,” said Arron Oberholser, who has studied the World Ranking, warts and all, in much more depth than most of his Tour fraternity brothers.

From his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., Oberholser cuts straight to his concerns with the World Ranking; “Get rid of the ‘home tour’ bonus, get rid of appearance fees, get rid of the two-year rotation, up the purses in Europe and see where the guys want to play. If you want a legitimate ranking, that’s what you would have to do.”

For the non-MIT graduates, the “Home Tour” bonus increases an event’s overall strength of field, which determines how many World Ranking points are awarded, based on how many top-30 players from that circuit’s previous year’s money list are playing.

The previous year’s money winner is worth eight points, followed by No. 2 (7 points) and so on up to a maximum of 75 points or 75 percent of the total strength-of-field value.

The rule was established during the Nick Faldo-Greg Norman era as a result of skyrocketing purses on the American circuit. It was structured to protect the globe’s other circuits and give marquee players a reason to support the home tour, but has since become pro golf’s version of revenue sharing.

Last October, Bill Haas won the Viking Classic and earned 24 World Ranking points. A world away someone named Michio Matsumura won the Japan Golf Tour’s Tokai Classic and earned 18 points. It’s a snapshot that defies explanation based on the overall strength of the PGA Tour.

By clinging to the “home tour” rule officials have unnecessarily narrowed the global playing field and skewed the World Ranking.

“It’s like spotting a weaker ping-pong player seven points when you’re playing to 21,” Oberholser said.

“You know how deep your own Tour is, especially the guys who play on both sides of the pond. The European Tour is nowhere as deep (as the PGA Tour). The top 15 are just as good as our top 15, that’s proven every other year at the Ryder Cup. But in my opinion the European Tour gets weaker substantially after that.”

But the “home tour” rule is only part of the problem. The practice of appearance fees, which is not allowed on the PGA Tour, also works to undermine the current system.

Woods’ appearance this week is worth 32 points towards the Dubai Desert Classic’s strength-of-field total and Phil Mickelson’s start in Abu Dhabi last month came with 27 points. It’s pro golf freak-onomics – the more top players an organizer can attract the more important your event is perceived to be, at least in the eyes of the World Ranking.

Lucas Glover, who slipped to 65th in the World Ranking following last week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open and outside the WGC-Accenture Match Play bubble, decided to skip this week’s Tour stop at Pebble Beach. When asked if his man considered adding the Pro-Am to his schedule in order to make the field at Dove Mountain his manager confirmed a long-held assessment of the current ranking structure.

“He does everything with the Masters on his mind. He starts with Houston (Open) the week before and works his way back,” Glover’s manager with Crown Sports Mac Barnhardt said. “But if I was worried about World Ranking points I’d send him overseas, he’d get more points and an appearance fee.”

Barnhardt was simply echoing what has become an inconvenient truth for U.S.-based pros and a growing concern as the golf world continues to put more importance on a player’s ranking.

The system’s two-year rolling window is also a concern for Oberholser and others. Although points earned slowly expire, about 1 percent a week following an initial 13-week period, the system often seems out of date as evidenced by the fact that the current No. 1 (Westwood) has just two victories in his last 22 global starts.

Oberholser is quick to point out his concern with the ranking is neither an indictment of the European Tour nor a growing shift atop the ranking toward the Continent (Europe currently holds six of the top 10 spots in the ranking). Instead, his focus is on fixing a system that is increasingly becoming the benchmark of success in the pro game.

“The World Ranking will never be right unless everybody is playing on the same field every week,” Oberholser said. “Unless you get the same field week in and week out, the best 150 players in the world, you’re never going to know.

For now, that doesn’t seem likely. But what is just as clear is the status quo is no longer acceptable, not with so much riding on the math and the misplaced values of the World Ranking.

http://www.thegolfchannel.com/tour-insider/breaking-ranking-status-quo-41426/

 

[thedue]

Great read and no wonder so many of the great old venues are losing their share of top name players. How can they put so much infuses on an inferior world ranking system to set the field at the US Open?

 

[TC]

Super read, thanks for sharing that. I think there are some great points made in this article. It's becomming more and more apparent that this is an issue that needs to be addressed. I'd love to see the top 150 competing against one another week in and week out.

 

[Geezer]

Great read. Numerous very interesting and credible points.
I just feel it's my duty to say this: It's funny how this is now a problem.

For years, perhaps decades, the World Golf Ranking has prattled on virtually unchecked.

Yeah, for years... While there were mostly Americans at the top.

I'm not trying to stir any pots, I agree with alot of what is in the article, especially the core point that the ranking system needs to be fixed. But it's just funny, from my point of view, that it's really an issue now.

 

[JB]

Great read. Numerous very interesting and credible points.
I just feel it's my duty to say this: It's funny how this is now a problem.

Yeah, for years... While there were mostly Americans at the top.

I'm not trying to stir any pots, I agree with alot of what is in the article, especially the core point that the ranking system needs to be fixed. But it's just funny, from my point of view, that it's really an issue now.

I agree completely. It should have been fixed years ago. It took an El Tigre collapse to open the eyes I guess. Sometimes that is the only way to see a flawed system in my opinion.

 

[lcsmrtn]

Why can't they just recognize the PGA Tour as being more important. Let's face it, it holds 3 of the 4 majors ( and the Players) and arguably week in, week out it has the better fields (not top players, but overall depth of the field). I understand the desire for the Euro Tour to be important but it's not at the same level as the PGA Tour. Compare to every other major sports league. They all have their top flight league. NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB in the States and they have the Premier League in England. You can't have 2 top flight Tours and compare rankings.

 

[One-T]

I really enjoyed that. it just goes to show that there is a huge problem and it doesnt look like a change will occur. which is a shame.

 

[coolbreeze]

This is another example to me how the 2 tours need to start working together and almost have a world golf tour where we can see the best in the world week in and week out competing against each other. I think this is easily possible and I would also love to see the PGA Championship be a major that also goes to Europe every other year. With all the European and foreign players now on the PGA tour, it is a huge advantage to the American players that 3 of 4 majors are at home. I would like to see every other year, 2 majors in Europe 2 in the US. It will never happen it is just something I would like to see.

 

[RonInThornton]

Well, if they really want to fix it the way to do it would be to spread the majors out evenly, 2 in the states and 2 in europe. US Open and British Open always in their respective countries and the PGA and Masters rotating between europe and the states. PGA here the Masters there one year and visa versa the next

 

[JB]

Well, if they really want to fix it the way to do it would be to spread the majors out evenly, 2 in the states and 2 in europe. US Open and British Open always in their respective countries and the PGA and Masters rotating between europe and the states. PGA here the Masters there one year and visa versa the next

What happens to the other tours outside of those 2?

 

[RonInThornton]

What happens to the other tours outside of those 2?

One step at a time, first lets fix the Euro/PGA tours then move on to fix the rest. I'm only one man after all

 

[All4's]

Well, if they really want to fix it the way to do it would be to spread the majors out evenly, 2 in the states and 2 in europe. US Open and British Open always in their respective countries and the PGA and Masters rotating between europe and the states. PGA here the Masters there one year and visa versa the next

I think that is cutting the nose off to spite the face. Moving The Master's, the highest drawing event of the entire golf year, to improve a points system that has little visibility outside of dedicated fans seems highly illogical and not good for the game.

I know that suggestion is just brainstorming, so no offense intended. I was just shocked to read moving The Master's as a suggestion. That seems like flooding the river to make sure the bridge wasn't built too tall.

I don't have a good suggestion for dealing with appearance fees. On the one hand they help improve fields in other countries where most top players would never go without the fee being paid. On the other hand it is taking away from traditional tournaments in the US who are barred from using fees and end up with weaker fields because of it. If the Euro Tour is really as good as it appears to be, then it is plausible to let the top players from that tour travel those events for the World Ranking Points instead of the fees. That is not a perfect solution but better than siluting the PGA Tour for the sake of "growing the game".

 

[SethO]

this is kind of a resurrection, but Zach Johnson just posted an interesting tweet and I actually search before I start a new thread.

http://www.johndeereclassic.com/press_release.html?id=101

World Rankings That Make You Say, "Hmmm..."

(March 29, 2012) - Steve Stricker isn't the only PGA Tour player ranked lower by the Official World Golf Rankings than he is by the Sagarin rankings. But while Sagarin ranks Stricker as No. 1 in the world and OWGR has him fifth, the disparity is far greater for other well-known players. At first blush, the divide seems to favor international players over Americans, but not always.

Take, for example, Zach Johnson. The 2007 Masters champion and John Deere Classic executive board member is ranked 16th by Sagarin and 45th by OWGR, a huge difference of 29 spots. Charles Howell III is ranked No. 66 by OWGR; Sagarin has him 14th, a 52-spot difference! Both Johnson and Howell are Americans.

The ranking is significant for Howell, because players inside the OWGR top 50 are qualified for some of the game's more lucrative tournaments. And it could be significant for Zach should he fall out of the OWGR top 50.

Meanwhile, Martin Kaymer of Germany is ranked No. 4 by OWGR while Sagarin has him at No. 21. After a big year in 2010, when Kaymer won the PGA Championship and finished top 10 at the U.S. and British opens, he had a so-so year in 2011 playing regularly on the PGA Tour, except for a big win at the season-ending WGC event in China.

South Africa's Charl Swartzel, who's set to defend his Masters title next week, is ranked No. 7 by OWGR; Sagarin has him 11th. England's Justin Rose is No. 8 in the OWGR but No. 35 in Sagarin. Northern Ireland's Graham McDowell - in a slump since his 2010 U.S. Open win until his runner-up finish at Bay Hill last week - is ranked No. 13 by OWGR; Sagarin has him 66th.

Then there's the case of South Korean rookie Sang-Moon Bae, a PGA Tour qualifying school graduate. Bae has played in nine PGA Tour events in his career and never played on the Nationwide Tour; nevertheless Bae is ranked No. 28 in the world by OWGR. That ranking - acquired by virtue of his international playing record - qualified him to play in two World Golf Championship events, which are reserved for the OWGR top 75. Bae's best finish so far this year was a tie for second at Transitions and a tie for fifth at the WGC Match Play. In six of nine events the 25-year-old finished between T-29 and 71st place. Sagarin ranks Bae 95th in the world.

Not all international players are favored by OWGR. Sergio Garcia, for example, is ranked No. 21 by OWGR but No. 7 by Sagarin.

And not all Americans are rated higher by Sagarin, which ranks Dustin Johnson No. 20 while OWGR ranks him 12th.

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[BogbeastUK]

I quite like the idea of having some form of World tour, with the best in the world playing each other regularly in courses in the US, Europe, Asia, etc. That way we'd be able to see how they all play on different courses, different weather conditions, etc. Of course there would still be the problem of getting the ranking system correct to make sure that you've got the right people on the tour, and the logistics of getting people to the courses.

I think it would be great to see more American players on courses outside of the US, and more players from the rest of the world playing on the American courses.