Official World Golf ranking - wikipedia Official World Golf ranking The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of male professional golfers ( although there is no rule prohibiting women from being ranked ). It was introduced in 1986 and 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 : PGA Tour European Tour Asian Tour ( not a charter member of the Federation ) PGA Tour of Australasia Japan Golf Tour Sunshine Tour Points are also awarded for high finishes on other tours : Web.com Tour, the official developmental tour for the PGA Tour Challenge Tour, the official developmental tour for the European Tour PGA Tour Canada, which became a full member of the Federation in 2009 under its former name of the Canadian Professional Golf Tour OneAsia Tour, not a member of the Federation, but a joint venture between two charter members and two other tours that became full members in 2009 Korean Tour, from 2011 PGA Tour Latinoamérica, from 2012 Asian Development Tour, the official developmental tour for the Asian Tour, from 2013 PGA Tour China, from 2014 Alps Tour, from July 2015 Nordic Golf League, from July 2015 PGA EuroPro Tour, from July 2015 ProGolf Tour, from July 2015 MENA Golf Tour, from April 2016 Big Easy Tour, to be added 2018 Contents 1 History 2 Calculation of the rankings 2.1 Event ranking 2.2 Player rankings 2.3 Adjusted rankings 2.4 Ranking average 3 Importance of the rankings 4 Current rankings 5 Timeline of the `` number one '' ranking 6 Breakdown by nationality 7 Rankings archive 7.1 World Ranking of major championship winners 7.1. 1 Summary 7.2 Year - end world number 1 ranked golfers 7.3 Mark H. McCormack Award 7.4 Year - end world top 10 players 7.5 Single - season total ranking points leaders 8 World Money List 9 Players who have reached number two in the ranking but never number one 10 See also 11 Notes and references 12 External links 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, which found in the 1980s that its system of issuing invitations to The Open Championship 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, 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, 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 top six ranked golfers were : Bernhard Langer, Seve Ballesteros, Sandy Lyle, Tom Watson, Mark O'Meara and Greg Norman. 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. 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. At first only the Championship Committee of the Royal and Ancient used the rankings for official purposes, but the PGA Tour recognized them in 1990, and in 1997 all five of the then principal men 's golf tours did so. The rankings, which had previously been called the Sony Rankings, were renamed the Official World Golf Rankings at that time. They are run from offices in Virginia Water in Surrey, England. 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 ; a higher average yields a higher rank. 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 given a total rating value. This is then converted into an event ranking using a table. As examples, a total rating value of 10 converts to an event ranking of 8, a total rating value of 100 converts to an event ranking of 24, while a total rating 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, most tours have a `` flagship event '' that is guaranteed a higher ranking. Tour Minimum points Flagship event Minimum points PGA Tour 24 The Players Championship 80 European Tour 24 BMW PGA Championship 64 Japan Golf Tour 16 Japan Open 32 PGA Tour of Australasia 16 ( 6 ) Australian Open 32 Sunshine Tour 14 ( 6 / 4 ) Alfred Dunhill Championship ^ 32 Asian Tour 14 Indonesian Masters * 20 Web.com Tour 14 Web.com Tour Championship 20 Challenge Tour 12 Challenge Tour Grand Final 17 Korean Tour 9 n / a n / a PGA Tour Canada 6 n / a n / a OneAsia Tour 6 n / a n / a PGA Tour Latinoamérica 6 n / a n / a Asian Development Tour 6 n / a n / a PGA Tour China 6 n / a n / a Alps Tour 4 / 6 n / a n / a Nordic Golf League 4 / 6 n / a n / a PGA EuroPro Tour 4 / 6 n / a n / a ProGolf Tour 4 / 6 n / a n / a MENA Golf Tour 3 / 5 n / a n / a Big Easy Tour 3 / 5 n / a n / a ^ Previously the South African Open * Previously the Thailand Golf Championship Starting in 2012, several events that previously had not received any points, will now do so : Sunshine Tour `` Winter Series '' -- 6 points ( 72 - hole events ), 4 points ( 54 - hole events ), PGA Tour of Australasia `` State Based and Regional Tournaments '' -- 6 points. Starting in July 2015, the four third - tier European tours receive points : 6 points for 72 - hole events and 4 points for 54 - hole events. In April 2016, the Korean Tour 's minimum was increased from 6 to 9 points and the MENA Golf Tour was added. Starting in 2018, the Sunshine Tour Big Easy Tour will factor into the World Rankings, making it the 20th professional tour included in the OWGR. 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. The events with the highest `` Total Rating '' in 2016 are shown in the following table. Date Event World rating value Home tour rating value Total rating value Event ranking Field size Winner Rank 000000002017 - 07 - 31 - 0000 Jul 31 PGA Championship 848 75 923 100 ! 100 156 Jimmy Walker 15 000000002017 - 07 - 17 - 0000 Jul 17 The Open Championship 809 74 883 100 ! 100 156 Henrik Stenson 5 000000002017 - 06 - 19 - 0000 Jun 19 U.S. Open 764 75 839 100 ! 100 156 Dustin Johnson 000000002017 - 05 - 15 - 0000 May 15 The Players Championship 765 74 839 080 ! 80 144 Jason Day 000000002017 - 04 - 10 - 0000 Apr 10 Masters Tournament 724 74 798 100 ! 100 89 Danny Willett 9 000000002017 - 03 - 27 - 0000 Mar 27 WGC - Dell Match Play 708 71 779 076 ! 76 64 Jason Day 000000002017 - 03 - 06 - 0000 Mar 6 WGC - Cadillac Championship 695 72 767 076 ! 76 66 Adam Scott 6 000000002017 - 08 - 28 - 0000 Aug 28 The Barclays 665 73 738 074 ! 74 120 Patrick Reed 9 000000002017 - 09 - 05 - 0000 Sep 5 Deutsche Bank Championship 660 71 731 074 ! 74 97 Rory McIlroy 000000002017 - 09 - 11 - 0000 Sep 11 BMW Championship 602 61 663 070 ! 70 69 Dustin Johnson 000000002017 - 10 - 30 - 0000 Oct 30 WGC - HSBC Champions 585 53 638 070 ! 70 78 Hideki Matsuyama 6 000000002017 - 07 - 03 - 0000 Jul 3 WGC - Bridgestone Invitational 571 59 630 068 ! 68 61 Dustin Johnson 000000002017 - 06 - 05 - 0000 Jun 5 Memorial Tournament 531 53 584 066 ! 66 120 William McGirt 44 000000002017 - 02 - 21 - 0000 Feb 21 Northern Trust Open 444 44 488 060 ! 60 144 Bubba Watson 000000002017 - 03 - 20 - 0000 Mar 20 Arnold Palmer Invitational 418 34 452 058 ! 58 120 Jason Day 000000002017 - 09 - 25 - 0000 Sep 25 The Tour Championship 404 42 446 058 ! 58 30 Rory McIlroy 000000002017 - 02 - 28 - 0000 Feb 28 The Honda Classic 420 26 446 058 ! 58 144 Adam Scott 9 000000002017 - 05 - 08 - 0000 May 8 Wells Fargo Championship 396 40 436 058 ! 58 156 James Hahn 55 000000002017 - 02 - 01 - 0000 Feb 1 Farmers Insurance Open 353 42 395 054 ! 54 156 Brandt Snedeker 12 000000002017 - 02 - 14 - 0000 Feb 14 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am 346 39 385 054 ! 54 156 Vaughn Taylor 100 000000002017 - 04 - 03 - 0000 Apr 3 Shell Houston Open 346 38 384 054 ! 54 144 Jim Herman 68 000000002017 - 02 - 07 - 0000 Feb 7 Waste Management Phoenix Open 350 33 383 054 ! 54 132 Hideki Matsuyama 12 000000002017 - 01 - 24 - 0000 Jan 24 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship 317 58 375 052 ! 52 126 Rickie Fowler Rank refers to the player 's world ranking before the event. Based on the Total Rating, The Players Championship would have had an event ranking of 78. 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. 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. In 2010, a maximum number of tournaments was also introduced. 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. 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 ; see table below. In addition, rankings are the sole criterion for selection for the International Team in the Presidents Cup, while ranking points are one of the qualification criteria for the European Ryder Cup team. The rankings are also used to help select the field for various other tournaments. Tournament Automatic entries Masters Tournament Top 50 U.S. Open Top 60 The Open Championship Top 50 PGA Championship ( Top 100 ) WGC - Dell Match Play Top 64 ( sole criterion ) WGC - Cadillac Championship Top 50 WGC - Bridgestone Invitational Top 50 WGC - HSBC Champions Top 50 The Players Championship Top 50 Summer Olympics ( 2016 ) Top 60 Note : The PGA Championship does not have an official automatic entry based on the Official World Golf Ranking. However, the PGA of America invites additional players, and traditionally has invited those in the top 100 for the last several years. It makes note of its strong field by referencing the number of top 100 ranked golfers entered in its press releases. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, the top - 15 world - ranked players will be eligible, with a limit of four players from a given country. Beyond the top - 15, players will be eligible based on the world rankings, with a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top - 15. Within the 60 players participating, each of the five continents of the Olympic Movement with be guaranteed at least one player and the host nation will be guaranteed one player. Current rankings These are the top 10 ranked golfers and their average ranking points as of September 17, 2017. Rank Change Player Country Points Top 10 since Weeks Johnson, Dustin Dustin Johnson United States 12.03 000000002015 - 02 - 22 - 0000 February 22, 2015 132 Spieth, Jordan Jordan Spieth United States 10.41 000000002014 - 12 - 07 - 0000 December 7, 2014 145 Matsuyama, Hideki Hideki Matsuyama Japan 9.00 000000002016 - 10 - 23 - 0000 October 23, 2016 47 Thomas, Justin Justin Thomas United States 7.94 000000002017 - 08 - 13 - 0000 August 13, 2017 6 5 Rahm, Jon Jon Rahm Spain 7.70 000000002017 - 07 - 09 - 0000 July 9, 2017 11 6 Day, Jason Jason Day Australia 6.60 000000002014 - 02 - 23 - 0000 February 23, 2014 186 7 Fowler, Rickie Rickie Fowler United States 6.58 000000002017 - 08 - 06 - 0000 August 6, 2017 7 8 McIlroy, Rory Rory McIlroy Northern Ireland 6.57 000000002014 - 05 - 11 - 0000 May 11, 2014 175 9 Stenson, Henrik Henrik Stenson Sweden 6.46 000000002013 - 08 - 11 - 0000 August 11, 2013 214 10 García, Sergio Sergio García Spain 6.30 000000002017 - 04 - 09 - 0000 April 9, 2017 24 Top 10 since -- indicates the date at which the player entered or last re-entered the top 10. Weeks -- current number of consecutive weeks in the top 10. Since the major revision of the rating method in September 2001, the highest points average as well as the largest lead in points average were set by Tiger Woods on September 16, 2007. After winning the BMW Championship and The Tour Championship in consecutive weeks, he had an average of 24.36 and a lead of 14.73 points over Phil Mickelson. Tiger Woods holds the record for most weeks in the World Top 10, with 860. He is followed by Ernie Els ( 788 weeks ) and Phil Mickelson ( 774 weeks ). Woods had a record run of 736 consecutive weeks in the top - 10 from April 13, 1997 to May 15, 2011 and then had a further run of 124 consecutive weeks in the top - 10 from March 25, 2012 to August 3, 2014. Timeline of the `` number one '' ranking Main article : List of World Number One male golfers The first official ranking list was published prior to the Masters in April 1986, with Bernhard Langer the first world No. 1 ranked player, ahead of Seve Ballesteros, who had topped the unofficial McCormack 's World Golf Rankings at the end of the previous year. Ballesteros briefly held the No. 1 spot after Langer, before Greg Norman '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 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, 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 justifying the ranking system, Woosnam -- and not Faldo -- won the tournament. Twelve months later, Fred Couples 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, 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, and then Tiger Woods and Ernie Els 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 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 similarly had more points in total than the world number one Jason Day. Woods then finished 1998 narrowly ahead of Mark O'Meara even though the latter won two major titles that year while Woods won just once on the PGA Tour. In March 1999, David Duval became world No. 1 after winning The Players Championship, 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 won the PGA Championship 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 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 ( who had won four majors since 2004 but had yet to reach No. 1 in the rankings ), Lee Westwood ( who had yet to win a major but had finished second in both the Masters and Open Championships in 2010 ), and then Martin Kaymer ( 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, 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 ; 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 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. Following his second - place finish at the 2015 PGA Championship ( that followed earlier wins at the Masters and the U.S. Open ), Jordan Spieth became the 18th world No. 1 on August 16, 2015, describing it as `` as good a consolation prize as I 've ever had ''. 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, the 2015 PGA Championship 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 became the 20th player to reach number one in the rankings following his victory at the Genesis Open. Breakdown by nationality A breakdown of the year - end top - 100 by nationality. Country 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1986 United States 42 40 38 40 31 37 32 32 31 34 39 41 41 49 47 48 51 56 55 56 58 56 52 49 53 60 58 55 59 59 59 England 12 13 8 9 8 8 11 11 8 9 11 11 7 7 5 8 9 7 5 6 Japan 6 5 6 5 6 8 8 8 5 5 5 9 9 7 5 5 6 7 5 5 8 10 10 South Africa 5 5 7 7 6 8 6 8 9 7 6 5 5 5 5 5 South Korea 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Australia 7 8 6 9 10 9 10 10 12 11 12 11 7 9 5 5 6 9 8 7 8 8 9 11 11 12 12 9 8 7 Sweden 5 8 7 6 6 6 5 5 0 0 Thailand 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Spain 6 5 5 5 5 Denmark 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Northern Ireland 0 Argentina 0 0 0 0 0 0 Scotland 0 0 5 France 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Germany 0 Italy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Ireland 0 0 0 Wales 0 0 Austria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Netherlands 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 India 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Belgium 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 New Zealand 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Venezuela 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Portugal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Zimbabwe 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Canada 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Finland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Paraguay 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Fiji 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Colombia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 China 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Taiwan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Trinidad and Tobago 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Philippines 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Namibia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 A breakdown of the year - end top - 100 by eligibility for the major team competitions : Ryder Cup ( USA vs. Europe ) and Presidents Cup ( USA vs. non-European international team ). Team 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 * 1986 * United States 42 40 38 40 31 37 32 32 31 34 39 41 41 49 47 48 51 56 55 56 58 56 52 49 53 60 58 55 59 59 59 Europe 31 35 34 35 40 33 36 29 30 30 28 28 27 25 23 25 23 19 18 19 18 20 25 27 21 17 18 20 16 15 17 International 27 25 28 25 29 30 32 39 39 36 33 31 32 26 30 27 26 25 27 25 24 24 23 24 26 23 24 25 25 27 25 * Two men tied for 100th place. Note : The Presidents Cup was founded in 1994. Rankings archive 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. Year Masters Tournament U.S. Open The Open Championship PGA Championship 1986 Jack Nicklaus 33 Raymond Floyd c. 20 Greg Norman Bob Tway c. 25 Larry Mize 36 Scott Simpson 27 Nick Faldo 46 Larry Nelson 84 1988 Sandy Lyle Curtis Strange 5 Seve Ballesteros Jeff Sluman 71 1989 Nick Faldo 5 Curtis Strange Mark Calcavecchia 11 Payne Stewart 13 1990 Nick Faldo Hale Irwin 90 Nick Faldo Wayne Grady 55 1991 Ian Woosnam Payne Stewart 8 Ian Baker - Finch 25 John Daly 168 1992 Fred Couples Tom Kite 22 Nick Faldo Nick Price 15 1993 Bernhard Langer 5 Lee Janzen 34 Greg Norman Paul Azinger 6 1994 José María Olazábal 10 Ernie Els 11 Nick Price Nick Price 1995 Ben Crenshaw 33 Corey Pavin 9 John Daly 109 Steve Elkington 17 Nick Faldo 9 Steve Jones 99 Tom Lehman 13 Mark Brooks 44 1997 Tiger Woods 13 Ernie Els 8 Justin Leonard 19 Davis Love III 17 1998 Mark O'Meara 14 Lee Janzen 42 Mark O'Meara 12 Vijay Singh 18 1999 José María Olazábal 34 Payne Stewart 13 Paul Lawrie 159 Tiger Woods 2000 Vijay Singh 8 Tiger Woods Tiger Woods Tiger Woods 2001 Tiger Woods Retief Goosen 44 David Duval 7 David Toms 19 2002 Tiger Woods Tiger Woods Ernie Els Rich Beem 73 2003 Mike Weir 10 Jim Furyk 10 Ben Curtis 396 Shaun Micheel 169 Phil Mickelson 8 Retief Goosen 9 Todd Hamilton 56 Vijay Singh 2005 Tiger Woods Michael Campbell 80 Tiger Woods Phil Mickelson 2006 Phil Mickelson Geoff Ogilvy 17 Tiger Woods Tiger Woods 2007 Zach Johnson 56 Ángel Cabrera 41 Pádraig Harrington 10 Tiger Woods 2008 Trevor Immelman 29 Tiger Woods Pádraig Harrington 14 Pádraig Harrington 2009 Ángel Cabrera 69 Lucas Glover 71 Stewart Cink 33 Yang Yong - eun 110 Phil Mickelson Graeme McDowell 37 Louis Oosthuizen 54 Martin Kaymer 13 2011 Charl Schwartzel 29 Rory McIlroy 8 Darren Clarke 111 Keegan Bradley 108 2012 Bubba Watson 16 Webb Simpson 14 Ernie Els 40 Rory McIlroy 2013 Adam Scott 7 Justin Rose 5 Phil Mickelson 5 Jason Dufner 21 2014 Bubba Watson 12 Martin Kaymer 28 Rory McIlroy 8 Rory McIlroy 2015 Jordan Spieth Jordan Spieth Zach Johnson 25 Jason Day 5 2016 Danny Willett 12 Dustin Johnson 6 Henrik Stenson 6 Jimmy Walker 48 2017 Sergio García 11 Brooks Koepka 22 Jordan Spieth Justin Thomas 14 Summary Event Total World 1 - 10 World 11 - 50 World 51 - 100 World 101 - 200 World 201 + Masters Tournament 32 18 12 -- -- U.S. Open 32 14 14 -- -- Open Championship 32 16 10 PGA Championship 32 12 12 -- All majors 128 60 48 12 7 Year - end world number 1 ranked golfers 1986 Greg Norman 1987 Greg Norman ( 2 ) 1988 Seve Ballesteros 1989 Greg Norman ( 3 ) 1990 Greg Norman ( 4 ) 1991 Ian Woosnam 1992 Nick Faldo 1993 Nick Faldo ( 2 ) 1994 Nick Price 1995 Greg Norman ( 5 ) 1996 Greg Norman ( 6 ) 1997 Greg Norman ( 7 ) 1998 Tiger Woods 1999 Tiger Woods ( 2 ) 2000 Tiger Woods ( 3 ) 2001 Tiger Woods ( 4 ) 2002 Tiger Woods ( 5 ) 2003 Tiger Woods ( 6 ) 2004 Vijay Singh 2005 Tiger Woods ( 7 ) 2006 Tiger Woods ( 8 ) 2007 Tiger Woods ( 9 ) 2008 Tiger Woods ( 10 ) 2009 Tiger Woods ( 11 ) 2010 Lee Westwood 2011 Luke Donald 2012 Rory McIlroy 2013 Tiger Woods ( 12 ) 2014 Rory McIlroy ( 2 ) 2015 Jordan Spieth 2016 Jason Day Mark H. McCormack Award Awarded to the player with the most weeks at No. 1 during calendar year and named after Mark McCormack, originator of the ranking. 1998 Tiger Woods 1999 Tiger Woods ( 2 ) 2000 Tiger Woods ( 3 ) 2001 Tiger Woods ( 4 ) 2002 Tiger Woods ( 5 ) 2003 Tiger Woods ( 6 ) 2004 Tiger Woods ( 7 ) 2005 Tiger Woods ( 8 ) 2006 Tiger Woods ( 9 ) 2007 Tiger Woods ( 10 ) 2008 Tiger Woods ( 11 ) 2009 Tiger Woods ( 12 ) 2010 Tiger Woods ( 13 ) 2011 Luke Donald 2012 Rory McIlroy 2013 Tiger Woods ( 14 ) 2014 Rory McIlroy ( 2 ) 2015 Rory McIlroy ( 3 ) 2016 Jason Day 2017 Dustin Johnson Year - end World top 10 players See History section above for notes on changes to method of calculation. Rank 2016 Jason Day 10.91 Rory McIlroy 9.83 Dustin Johnson 9.53 Henrik Stenson 8.69 5 Jordan Spieth 8.04 6 Hideki Matsuyama 7.49 7 Adam Scott 6.55 8 Patrick Reed 5.40 9 Alexander Norén 5.35 10 Bubba Watson 5.19 Rank 2015 2014 2013 Jordan Spieth 11.51 Rory McIlroy 11.04 Tiger Woods 11.69 Jason Day 10.94 Henrik Stenson 8.13 Adam Scott 9.60 Rory McIlroy 10.75 Adam Scott 7.71 Henrik Stenson 9.16 Bubba Watson 7.95 Bubba Watson 7.27 Justin Rose 7.16 5 Henrik Stenson 7.34 Sergio García 6.70 Phil Mickelson 7.06 6 Rickie Fowler 7.13 Justin Rose 6.69 Rory McIlroy 6.50 7 Justin Rose 7.02 Jim Furyk 6.62 Matt Kuchar 6.15 8 Dustin Johnson 6.13 Jason Day 5.81 Steve Stricker 5.72 9 Jim Furyk 5.62 Jordan Spieth 5.75 Zach Johnson 5.45 10 Patrick Reed 4.66 Rickie Fowler 5.47 Sergio García 5.31 Rank 2012 2011 Rory McIlroy 13.22 Luke Donald 10.03 Lee Westwood 9.24 Luke Donald 8.62 Lee Westwood 8.06 Tiger Woods 7.88 Tiger Woods 8.53 Rory McIlroy 7.77 Martin Kaymer 7.26 Justin Rose 6.42 Martin Kaymer 6.55 Phil Mickelson 6.70 5 Adam Scott 6.21 Adam Scott 5.50 Jim Furyk 6.22 6 Louis Oosthuizen 6.14 Steve Stricker 5.33 Graeme McDowell 6.18 7 Lee Westwood 6.03 Dustin Johnson 5.27 Steve Stricker 6.11 8 Bubba Watson 5.29 Jason Day 5.07 Paul Casey 5.90 9 Jason Dufner 5.29 Charl Schwartzel 5.06 Luke Donald 5.65 10 Brandt Snedeker 5.23 Webb Simpson 5.03 Rory McIlroy 5.60 Rank 2009 2008 2007 Tiger Woods 14.67 Tiger Woods 11.97 Tiger Woods 19.62 Phil Mickelson 8.26 Sergio García 8.10 Phil Mickelson 8.72 Steve Stricker 6.67 Phil Mickelson 7.03 Jim Furyk 6.55 Lee Westwood 6.60 Pádraig Harrington 6.95 Ernie Els 6.51 5 Pádraig Harrington 5.55 Vijay Singh 6.65 Steve Stricker 6.45 6 Jim Furyk 5.53 Robert Karlsson 5.09 Justin Rose 6.00 7 Paul Casey 5.36 Camilo Villegas 4.90 Adam Scott 5.81 8 Henrik Stenson 5.33 Henrik Stenson 4.77 Pádraig Harrington 5.57 9 Rory McIlroy 4.86 Ernie Els 4.77 K.J. Choi 5.15 10 Kenny Perry 4.72 Lee Westwood 4.73 Vijay Singh 5.08 Rank 2006 2005 Tiger Woods 20.41 Tiger Woods 17.16 Vijay Singh 12.79 Jim Furyk 8.88 Vijay Singh 9.78 Tiger Woods 11.60 Phil Mickelson 7.17 Phil Mickelson 8.14 Ernie Els 10.98 Adam Scott 7.03 Retief Goosen 8.10 Retief Goosen 7.47 5 Ernie Els 6.05 Ernie Els 8.03 Phil Mickelson 7.00 6 Retief Goosen 5.61 Sergio García 7.23 Pádraig Harrington 5.55 7 Vijay Singh 5.58 Jim Furyk 5.80 Sergio García 5.40 8 Pádraig Harrington 5.46 Colin Montgomerie 4.78 Mike Weir 5.40 9 Luke Donald 5.25 Adam Scott 4.68 Davis Love III 5.38 10 Geoff Ogilvy 5.21 Chris DiMarco 4.58 Stewart Cink 4.65 Rank 2003 2002 2001 Tiger Woods 14.58 Tiger Woods 15.72 Tiger Woods 15.67 Vijay Singh 9.77 Phil Mickelson 7.72 Phil Mickelson 9.16 Ernie Els 8.41 Ernie Els 6.84 David Duval 7.98 Davis Love III 7.53 Sergio García 6.19 Ernie Els 6.99 5 Jim Furyk 6.81 Retief Goosen 6.16 Davis Love III 6.02 6 Mike Weir 6.54 David Toms 6.02 Sergio García 5.86 7 Retief Goosen 5.92 Pádraig Harrington 5.63 David Toms 5.83 8 Pádraig Harrington 5.28 Vijay Singh 5.53 Vijay Singh 5.60 9 David Toms 5.09 Davis Love III 4.82 Darren Clarke 5.03 10 Kenny Perry 5.08 Colin Montgomerie 4.39 Retief Goosen 4.95 Rank 2000 1999 1998 Tiger Woods 29.40 Tiger Woods 19.98 Tiger Woods 12.30 Ernie Els 11.65 David Duval 13.15 Mark O'Meara 10.43 David Duval 11.20 Colin Montgomerie 10.36 David Duval 9.67 Phil Mickelson 11.07 Davis Love III 9.48 Davis Love III 9.43 5 Lee Westwood 9.46 Ernie Els 8.64 Ernie Els 9.18 6 Colin Montgomerie 8.34 Lee Westwood 7.85 Nick Price 8.98 7 Davis Love III 7.88 Vijay Singh 7.82 Colin Montgomerie 8.91 8 Hal Sutton 7.71 Nick Price 7.20 Lee Westwood 8.65 9 Vijay Singh 7.17 Phil Mickelson 6.58 Vijay Singh 8.51 10 Tom Lehman 7.10 Mark O'Meara 6.52 Phil Mickelson 7.76 Rank 1997 1995 ( 1 ) Greg Norman 11.49 Greg Norman 10.78 Greg Norman 21.93 Tiger Woods 10.76 Tom Lehman 9.74 Nick Price 16.34 Nick Price 9.93 Colin Montgomerie 9.10 Bernhard Langer 15.64 Ernie Els 9.89 Ernie Els 8.60 Ernie Els 14.66 5 Davis Love III 9.09 Fred Couples 8.16 Colin Montgomerie 14.00 6 Phil Mickelson 8.73 Nick Faldo 7.98 Nick Faldo 13.94 7 Colin Montgomerie 8.58 Phil Mickelson 7.77 Corey Pavin 13.47 8 Masashi Ozaki 8.05 Masashi Ozaki 7.58 Fred Couples 11.02 9 Tom Lehman 8.02 Davis Love III 7.53 Masashi Ozaki 10.82 10 Mark O'Meara 7.98 Mark O'Meara 7.12 Steve Elkington 10.43 Rank 1994 ( 2 ) 1993 ( 3 ) 1992 ( 4 ) Nick Price 21.30 Nick Faldo 20.65 Nick Faldo 23.54 Greg Norman 20.68 Greg Norman 18.79 Fred Couples 16.27 Nick Faldo 16.78 Bernhard Langer 17.19 Ian Woosnam 13.14 Bernhard Langer 15.66 Nick Price 15.89 José María Olazábal 12.87 5 José María Olazábal 15.18 Fred Couples 14.93 Greg Norman 12.63 6 Fred Couples 13.74 Paul Azinger 14.59 Bernhard Langer 12.44 7 Ernie Els 13.57 Ian Woosnam 11.41 John Cook 11.68 8 Colin Montgomerie 12.38 Tom Kite 10.07 Nick Price 11.51 9 Masashi Ozaki 11.39 Davis Love III 9.61 Paul Azinger 10.83 10 Corey Pavin 10.87 Corey Pavin 9.59 Davis Love III 10.75 Rank 1991 ( 5 ) 1990 ( 6 ) 1989 ( 7 ) Ian Woosnam 17.11 Greg Norman 18.95 Greg Norman 17.76 Nick Faldo 15.34 Nick Faldo 18.54 Nick Faldo 16.25 José María Olazábal 15.32 José María Olazábal 17.22 Seve Ballesteros 15.03 Seve Ballesteros 13.70 Ian Woosnam 15.47 Curtis Strange 13.79 5 Greg Norman 13.11 Payne Stewart 12.75 Payne Stewart 12.82 6 Fred Couples 12.78 Paul Azinger 11.63 Tom Kite 12.41 7 Bernhard Langer 12.59 Seve Ballesteros 10.15 José María Olazábal 12.00 8 Payne Stewart 11.83 Tom Kite 10.10 Mark Calcavecchia 11.81 9 Paul Azinger 10.88 Mark McNulty 10.06 Ian Woosnam 11.56 10 Rodger Davis 8.90 Mark Calcavecchia 9.96 Paul Azinger 10.95 Rank 1988 ( 8 ) 1987 ( 9 ) 1986 ( 10 ) Seve Ballesteros 1458 Greg Norman 1231 Greg Norman 1507 Greg Norman 1365 Seve Ballesteros 1169 Bernhard Langer 1181 Sandy Lyle 1297 Bernhard Langer 1112 Seve Ballesteros 1175 Nick Faldo 1103 Sandy Lyle 879 Tsuneyuki Nakajima 899 5 Curtis Strange 1092 Curtis Strange 873 Andy Bean 694 6 Ben Crenshaw 898 Ian Woosnam 830 Bob Tway 687 7 Ian Woosnam 854 Payne Stewart 717 Hal Sutton 674 8 David Frost 843 Lanny Wadkins 697 Curtis Strange 653 9 Paul Azinger 825 Mark McNulty 673 Payne Stewart 652 10 Mark Calcavecchia 819 Ben Crenshaw 668 Mark O'Meara 639 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 ) : Year Player Points 1984 Tom Watson 376 1985 Bernhard Langer 368 1986 Greg Norman 582 Seve Ballesteros Ian Woosnam 326 1988 Seve Ballesteros 482 1989 Greg Norman 422 1990 José María Olazábal 466 1991 Seve Ballesteros 392 1992 Nick Faldo 596 1993 Greg Norman 492 1994 Ernie Els 554 1995 Greg Norman 430 Tom Lehman 370 1997 Ernie Els 394 1998 Mark O'Meara 408 1999 Tiger Woods 750 2000 Tiger Woods 948.22 2001 Tiger Woods 568.11 2002 Tiger Woods 684.00 2003 Vijay Singh 550.87 Vijay Singh 707.57 2005 Tiger Woods 772.44 2006 Tiger Woods 746.28 2007 Tiger Woods 689.60 2008 Tiger Woods 426.24 2009 Tiger Woods 604.54 Lee Westwood 374.21 2011 Luke Donald 533.49 2012 Rory McIlroy 596.99 2013 Tiger Woods 488.25 2014 Rory McIlroy 567.77 2015 Jordan Spieth 598.49 2016 Dustin Johnson 454.20 World money list Since 1996, the International Federation of PGA Tours has sanctioned a World Money List ( 11 ) which is the total official money earned by a player on all member tours. It is computed in United States dollars. The yearly leaders are listed below. Year Player Events Earnings ( $ ) 2012 Rory McIlroy 24 10,961,511 2011 Luke Donald 27 9,371,748 Luke Donald 28 5,867,601 2009 Tiger Woods 19 10,948,054 2008 Sergio García 26 6,979,959 2007 Tiger Woods 17 11,002,706 2006 Tiger Woods 19 11,141,827 2005 Tiger Woods 23 11,515,939 Vijay Singh 32 11,104,892 2003 Vijay Singh 28 7,639,461 2002 Tiger Woods 21 7,392,188 2001 Tiger Woods 21 6,213,229 2000 Tiger Woods 22 9,501,387 1999 Tiger Woods 23 6,981,836 1998 David Duval 24 2,680,489 1997 Tiger Woods 22 2,082,381 Masashi Ozaki 21 1,944,034 Players who have reached number two in the ranking but never number one 13 players have reached world No. 2 in the official rankings, but have never risen to world No. 1. Player Country First Weeks Ref Lyle, Sandy Sandy Lyle Scotland 000000001988 - 04 - 10 - 0000 April 10, 1988 23 Olazábal, José María José María Olazábal Spain 000000001991 - 03 - 17 - 0000 March 17, 1991 35 Montgomerie, Colin Colin Montgomerie Scotland 000000001996 - 03 - 17 - 0000 March 17, 1996 24 Pavin, Corey Corey Pavin United States 000000001996 - 06 - 02 - 0000 June 2, 1996 Love III, Davis Davis Love III United States 000000001998 - 07 - 19 - 0000 July 19, 1998 5 O'Meara, Mark Mark O'Meara United States 000000001998 - 09 - 06 - 0000 September 6, 1998 15 Mickelson, Phil Phil Mickelson United States 000000002001 - 02 - 11 - 0000 February 11, 2001 270 Furyk, Jim Jim Furyk United States 000000002006 - 09 - 10 - 0000 September 10, 2006 39 García, Sergio Sergio García Spain 000000002008 - 11 - 09 - 0000 November 9, 2008 18 Stricker, Steve Steve Stricker United States 000000002009 - 09 - 06 - 0000 September 6, 2009 12 Stenson, Henrik Henrik Stenson Sweden 000000002014 - 05 - 25 - 0000 May 25, 2014 24 Watson, Bubba Bubba Watson United States 000000002015 - 02 - 22 - 0000 February 22, 2015 Matsuyama, Hideki Hideki Matsuyama Japan 000000002017 - 06 - 18 - 0000 June 18, 2017 7 First -- first week the player reached number 2, Weeks -- total weeks at number 2. See also List of World Number One male golfers Women 's World Golf Rankings -- for female professional golfers World Amateur Golf Ranking -- for male and female amateur golfers Notes and references Jump up ^ `` Ranking Points Incentive For Asian Development Tour Hopefuls ''. January 29, 2013. Jump up ^ `` OWGR -- Press Release ''. November 20, 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` OWGR Board Announce Inclusion of New Tours ''. OWGR. July 15, 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` OWGR Board Announcement ''. OWGR. April 15, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` OWGR Board Announcement ''. OWGR. August 7, 2017. Jump up ^ Structure of Ranking Points and Rating Values from January 1 2012 Jump up ^ Thailand Golf Championship 2011 Jump up ^ `` Official World Golf Ranking Board Announces Adjustments To Ranking System ''. July 25, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Events -- 2016 ''. Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved December 27, 2016. Jump up ^ Official World Ranking Board Approves Introduction of Maximum Divisor July 15, 2009 Jump up ^ `` U.S. Open to expand world - ranking use ''. ESPN. Associated Press. February 5, 2011. Jump up ^ `` PGA Championship field to include 93 of top 100 players ''. PGA of America. August 2, 2005. Jump up ^ `` For Woods and Mickelson, Medinah means everything ''. PGA of America. Associated Press. August 13, 2006. Jump up ^ `` Kiawah 's got talent ''. PGA of America. August 2, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Olympic Games - Qualification System - IGF ''. International Golf Federation. Retrieved August 15, 2015. Jump up ^ Official World Golf Ranking Jump up ^ OWGR, Week 37, September 16, 2007 Jump up ^ `` Official World Golf Ranking - Top Tens ''. Golf Today. February 4, 2007. Jump up ^ `` 69 Players Who Have Reached the Top - 10 in World Ranking '' ( PDF ). Official World Golf Ranking. December 31, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Players who have reached the Top Ten in the Official World Golf Ranking since 1986 ''. European Tour Official Guide 09 ( 38th ed. ). PGA European Tour. 2009. p. 558. Jump up ^ `` Tiger Woods Wins Seventh Consecutive Mark H. McCormack Award ''. March 16, 2005. Jump up ^ `` Week ending April 10th 1988 '' ( pdf ). Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved January 5, 2017. Jump up ^ `` After week ending March 17th 1991 '' ( pdf ). Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved January 5, 2017. Jump up ^ `` March 17 1996 '' ( pdf ). Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved January 5, 2017. Jump up ^ `` June 02 1996 '' ( pdf ). Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved January 5, 2017. Jump up ^ `` July 19 1998 '' ( pdf ). Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved January 5, 2017. Jump up ^ `` September 06 1998 '' ( pdf ). Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved January 5, 2017. Jump up ^ `` February 11 2001 '' ( pdf ). Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved January 5, 2017. Jump up ^ `` September 10 2006 '' ( pdf ). Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved January 5, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Week ending 09 November 2008 '' ( pdf ). Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved January 5, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Week ending 06 September 2009 '' ( pdf ). Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved January 5, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Week 21 2014 Ending 25 May 2014 '' ( pdf ). Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved January 5, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Week 8 2015 Ending 22 February 2015 '' ( pdf ). Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved January 5, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Week 4 2017 Ending 18 June 2017 '' ( pdf ). Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved June 21, 2017. External links Official website World Number One golfers since 1986 Seve Ballesteros Fred Couples Jason Day Luke Donald David Duval Ernie Els Nick Faldo Dustin Johnson Martin Kaymer Bernhard Langer Tom Lehman Rory McIlroy Greg Norman Nick Price Adam Scott Vijay Singh Jordan Spieth Lee Westwood Tiger Woods Ian Woosnam Player in bold denotes current number one Official World Golf Ranking Sports world rankings Archery Badminton ( junior ) Beach soccer Baseball & softball Basketball Boxing Chess Cricket Test ODI T20I Curling Cycling ( road ) Darts PDC Floorball Football men women Golf men women Field hockey Ice hockey Korfball Netball Rugby league Rugby union Snooker Squash men women Table tennis Tennis men women team Volleyball beach Golf Overview History Glossary Outline Rules penalties playoffs etiquette Stroke play scoring handicap Match play four - ball alternate shot Golf course links teeing ground hazards Equipment golf clubs golf ball tee Technical Golf stroke mechanics Instruction Drive Golfers Professional golfer tours Male golfers Female golfers Men 's major winners Women 's major winners Senior major winners Olympic medalists Most wins Asian Tour Australasia Tour Challenge Tour European Tour European Senior Tour Japan Golf Tour Ladies European Tour LPGA Tour PGA Tour PGA Tour Champions Sunshine Tour Web.com Tour Majors Men Masters Tournament U.S. Open The Open Championship PGA Championship Women ANA Inspiration Women 's PGA Championship U.S. Women 's Open Women 's British Open The Evian Championship Senior The Tradition Senior PGA Championship Senior Players Championship U.S. Senior Open Senior Open Championship International events Multi-sport event Asian Games Inter-Allied Games Island Games Pacific Games Pan American Games Summer Olympics Summer Universiade Youth Olympic Games Team Curtis Cup EurAsia Cup International Crown Presidents Cup Ryder Cup Solheim Cup Walker Cup Rankings Men Women Amateur Countries Australia China India Ireland Philippines Russia Scotland Thailand United States Venues Driving range Lists of golf courses Canada Hawaii India North Dakota Philippines Portugal United Kingdom links courses designed by Jack Nicklaus Years 1353 -- 1850 1851 -- 1945 1945 -- 99 2000 -- 05 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Governing bodies International Golf Federation The R&A United States Golf Association Professional Golfers ' Association ( Great Britain and Ireland ) Professional Golfers ' Association of America LPGA PGA Tour PGA European Tour American Society of Golf Course Architects World Golf Teachers Federation Variations Skins game Shotgun start Speed golf Pitch and putt Indoor golf Miniature golf Long drive Park golf Snow golf Stableford scoring Urban golf Miscellaneous Awards Architects Caddie Greenskeeper World Golf Hall of Fame British Golf Museum USGA Museum Jack Nicklaus Museum Caddie Hall of Fame Evans Scholars Foundation Media Golf Channel personalities Golf Digest Golf Magazine Golf World Golfweek Links Travel + Leisure Golf Video games Commons WikiProject Portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Official_World_Golf_Ranking&oldid=801243373 '' Categories : Golf terminology Sports world rankings Golf rankings Hidden categories : Articles with hCards Dts templates with deprecated parameters Talk Contents About Wikipedia Cymraeg Deutsch Español Français Italiano Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Português Svenska 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 18 September 2017, at 15 : 21. 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Question: how many world ranking points for winning the masters
Answer: 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; a higher average yields a higher rank.