World Amateur Golf Ranking

(Redirected from World Amateur Golf Rankings)

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 participating in certain professional events) and is updated each Wednesday. Rankings are based on the players' average performances in counting events over a rolling period. This period was 52 weeks initially but was gradually expanded during 2016 to 104 weeks,[1] similar to those of the Official World Golf Ranking.

Like the Official World Golf Ranking for male professional golfers, the amateur ranking was initiated by The R&A to provide a more reliable means of selecting an appropriate field for one of its tournaments. The professional ranking was initially used to help set the field for The Open Championship and the amateur ranking plays a role in selecting the field for The Amateur Championship, which was previously selected mainly on the basis of national handicap systems. Other tournament organisers will be able to use the rankings to select players if they so wish.

The first set of rankings featured over 1,000 players from 46 countries and was headed by the 2006 U.S. Amateur champion, Richie Ramsay of Scotland.

In February 2011, the United States Golf Association (USGA) endorsed the rankings and announced it would use them for an exemption category in all their men's amateur championships, including the U.S. Amateur, beginning in 2011.[2]

The women's rankings were started in February 2011.[3] Japan's Mitsuki Katahira was the first number one.[4] American Rose Zhang holds the record for most weeks at the top of the rankings with 142 weeks.

Only three male and two female golfers have ever held the No. 1-ranking as both an amateur and a professional. The first to do so was Rory McIlroy, who was 17 years, 9 months and 2 days when he became the No. 1 amateur and 22 years and 10 months when he first became the world No. 1 professional. Jordan Spieth was the second to accomplish this feat, he was 18 years, 10 months and 24 days when he topped the amateur rankings and 22 years and 20 days when he reached No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Jon Rahm, who was ranked no. 1 for 60 weeks, became professional world no. 1 in July 2020. Lydia Ko was the first player to accomplish this feat in the female ranking. She was only 14 years and 3 days and held the ranking for a record 130 consecutive weeks, and she was a mere 17 years, 9 months and 9 days when she first reached the pinnacle of the Women's World Golf Rankings (WWGR). Atthaya Thitikul held the amateur No. 1 for 12 weeks in 2019–2020 and topped the WWGR on 31 October 2022.

Chronology of men's world number ones

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# Player Country First week Last week Weeks Total weeks
1 Richie Ramsay   Scotland 23 Jan 2007 30 Jan 2007 2 2
2 Rory McIlroy   Northern Ireland 6 Feb 2007 6 Feb 2007 1 1
3 Jamie Moul   England 13 Feb 2007 30 May 2007 17
4 Jamie Lovemark   United States 6 Jun 2007 6 Jun 2007 1
Jamie Moul (2)   England 13 Jun 2007 13 Jun 2007 1 18
Jamie Lovemark (2)   United States 20 Jun 2007 3 Aug 2007 7 8
5 Rickie Fowler   United States 7 Aug 2007 21 Aug 2007 3
6 Colt Knost   United States 29 Aug 2007 24 Sep 2007 5 5
Rickie Fowler (2)   United States 5 Oct 2007 27 Feb 2008 22
7 Danny Willett   England 5 Mar 2008 21 May 2008 12 12
Rickie Fowler (3)   United States 28 May 2008 25 Jun 2008 5
8 Michael Thompson   United States 2 Jul 2008 2 Jul 2008 1 1
Rickie Fowler (4)   United States 9 Jul 2008 13 Aug 2008 6 36
9 Danny Lee   New Zealand 20 Aug 2008 15 Apr 2009 34 34
10 Scott Arnold   Australia 23 Apr 2009 20 May 2009 5 5
11 Morgan Hoffmann   United States 27 May 2009 10 Jun 2009 2 2
12 Nick Taylor   Canada 17 Jun 2009 28 Oct 2009 20 20
13 Victor Dubuisson   France 4 Nov 2009 23 Dec 2009 8 8
14 Matteo Manassero   Italy 30 Dec 2009 28 Apr 2010 18 18
15 Peter Uihlein   United States 5 May 2010 16 Jun 2010 7
16 Jin Jeong   South Korea 23 Jun 2010 30 Jun 2010 2
Peter Uihlein (2)   United States 7 Jul 2010 21 Jul 2010 3
Jin Jeong (2)   South Korea 28 Jul 2010 11 Aug 2010 3 5
Peter Uihlein (3)   United States 18 Aug 2010 22 Dec 2010 19
17 David Chung   United States 29 Dec 2010 5 Jan 2011 2 2
Peter Uihlein (4)   United States 12 Jan 2011 16 Mar 2011 10
18 Patrick Cantlay   United States 23 Mar 2011 23 Mar 2011 1
Peter Uihlein (5)   United States 30 Mar 2011 1 Jun 2011 10 49
Patrick Cantlay (2)   United States 8 Jun 2011 13 Jun 2012 54 55
19 Jordan Spieth   United States 20 Jun 2012 18 Jul 2012 5 5
20 Chris Williams   United States 25 Jul 2012 25 Jul 2012 1
21 Hideki Matsuyama   Japan 1 Aug 2012 1 Aug 2012 1 1
Chris Williams (2)   United States 8 Aug 2012 12 Jun 2013 45 46
22 Brady Watt   Australia 19 Jun 2013 19 Jun 2013 1 1
23 Pan Cheng-tsung   Chinese Taipei 26 Jun 2013 14 Aug 2013 8 8
24 Matt Fitzpatrick   England 21 Aug 2013 16 Oct 2013 9
25 Cory Whitsett   United States 23 Oct 2013 27 Nov 2013 6 6
Matt Fitzpatrick (2)   England 4 Dec 2013 19 Feb 2014 12 21
26 Patrick Rodgers   United States 26 Feb 2014 11 Jun 2014 16 16
27 Ollie Schniederjans   United States 18 Jun 2014 25 Mar 2015 41 41
28 Jon Rahm   Spain 1 Apr 2015 16 Sep 2015 25
29 Maverick McNealy   United States 23 Sep 2015 21 Oct 2015 5
Jon Rahm (2)   Spain 28 Oct 2015 22 Jun 2016 35 60
Maverick McNealy (2)   United States 29 Jun 2016 8 Mar 2017 37
30 Curtis Luck   Australia 15 Mar 2017 15 Mar 2017 1
Maverick McNealy (3)   United States 22 Mar 2017 22 Mar 2017 1
Curtis Luck (2)   Australia 29 Mar 2017 12 Apr 2017 3 4
Maverick McNealy (4)   United States 19 Apr 2017 10 May 2017 4 47
31 Joaquín Niemann   Chile 17 May 2017 11 Apr 2018 48 48
32 Braden Thornberry   United States 18 Apr 2018 25 Apr 2018 2
33 Collin Morikawa   United States 2 May 2018 16 May 2018 3 3
34 Doug Ghim   United States 23 May 2018 20 Jun 2018 5 5
Braden Thornberry (2)   United States 27 Jun 2018 10 Oct 2018 16 18
35 Justin Suh   United States 17 Oct 2018 10 Apr 2019 26 26
36 Viktor Hovland   Norway 17 Apr 2019 19 Jun 2019 10 10
37 Cole Hammer   United States 26 Jun 2019 21 Aug 2019 9
38 Takumi Kanaya   Japan 28 Aug 2019 28 Aug 2019 1
Cole Hammer (2)   United States 4 Sep 2019 18 Sep 2019 3 12
Takumi Kanaya (2)   Japan 25 Sep 2019 30 Sep 2020 54 55
39 Ricky Castillo   United States 7 Oct 2020 4 Nov 2020 5 5
40 Davis Thompson   United States 11 Nov 2020 11 Nov 2020 1
41 Kevin Yu   Chinese Taipei 18 Nov 2020 18 Nov 2020 1 1
42 Keita Nakajima   Japan 25 Nov 2020 17 Feb 2021 13
Davis Thompson (2)   United States 24 Feb 2021 7 Apr 2021 7 8
43 Pierceson Coody   United States 14 Apr 2021 14 Apr 2021 1 1
Keita Nakajima (2)   Japan 21 Apr 2021 14 Sep 2022 74 87^
44 Ludvig Åberg   Sweden 21 Sep 2022 21 Sep 2022 1
45 Taiga Semikawa   Japan 28 Sep 2022 26 Oct 2022 5 5
Ludvig Åberg (2)   Sweden 2 Nov 2022 8 Feb 2023 15
46 Gordon Sargent   United States 15 Feb 2023 22 Feb 2023 2
Ludvig Åberg (3)   Sweden 1 Mar 2023 15 Mar 2023 3
Gordon Sargent (2)   United States 22 Mar 2023 29 Mar 2023 2
Ludvig Åberg (4)   Sweden 5 Apr 2023 7 Jun 2023 10 29
Gordon Sargent (3)   United States 14 Jun 2023 13 Sep 2023 14
47 Christo Lamprecht   South Africa 20 Sep 2023 27 Sep 2023 2
Gordon Sargent (4)   United States 4 Oct 2023 4 Oct 2023 1
Christo Lamprecht (2)   South Africa 11 Oct 2023 18 Oct 2023 2
Gordon Sargent (5)   United States 25 Oct 2023 1 Nov 2023 2
Christo Lamprecht (3)   South Africa 8 Nov 2023 29 Nov 2023 4
Gordon Sargent (6)   United States 6 Dec 2023 17 Jan 2024 7
48 Nick Dunlap   United States 24 Jan 2024 31 Jan 2024 2 2
Christo Lamprecht (4)   South Africa 7 Feb 2024 7 Feb 2024 1
Gordon Sargent (7)   United States 14 Feb 2024 21 Feb 2024 2
Christo Lamprecht (5)   South Africa 28 Feb 2024 10 Apr 2024 7
Gordon Sargent (8)   United States 17 Apr 2024 17 Apr 2024 1
Christo Lamprecht (6)   South Africa 24 Apr 2024 29 May 2024 6 22
Gordon Sargent (9)   United States 5 Jun 2024 7 Aug 2024 10 41
49 Luke Clanton   United States 14 Aug 2024 20 Nov 2024 15 15
Key
^ Record

Chronology of women's world number ones

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# Player Country First week Last week Weeks Total weeks
1 Mitsuki Katahira   Japan 16 Feb 2011 2 Mar 2011 3
2 Cecilia Cho   New Zealand 9 Mar 2011 9 Mar 2011 1 1
Mitsuki Katahira (2)   Japan 16 Mar 2011 20 Apr 2011 6 9
3 Lydia Ko   New Zealand 27 Apr 2011 16 Oct 2013 130 130
4 Su-Hyun Oh   Australia 23 Oct 2013 23 Oct 2013 1
5 Alison Lee   United States 30 Oct 2013 20 Nov 2013 4
Su-Hyun Oh (2)   Australia 27 Nov 2013 27 Nov 2013 1 2
Alison Lee (2)   United States 4 Dec 2013 19 Feb 2014 12 16
6 Minjee Lee   Australia 26 Feb 2014 3 Sep 2014 28 28
7 Brooke Henderson   Canada 10 Sep 2014 17 Dec 2014 15 15
8 Céline Boutier   France 24 Dec 2014 1 Apr 2015 15 15
9 Andrea Lee   United States 8 Apr 2015 6 May 2015 5
10 Leona Maguire   Ireland 13 May 2015 4 May 2016 52
11 Hannah O'Sullivan   United States 11 May 2016 27 Jul 2016 12 12
Leona Maguire (2)   Ireland 3 Aug 2016 28 Feb 2018 83 135
12 Lilia Kha-Tu Vu   United States 7 Mar 2018 4 Jul 2018 18
13 Jennifer Kupcho   United States 11 Jul 2018 25 Jul 2018 3
Lilia Kha-Tu Vu (2)   United States 1 Aug 2018 1 Aug 2018 1
Jennifer Kupcho (2)   United States 8 Aug 2018 24 Oct 2018 12
Lilia Kha-Tu Vu (3)   United States 31 Oct 2018 16 Jan 2019 12 31
Jennifer Kupcho (3)   United States 23 Jan 2019 29 May 2019 19 34
Andrea Lee (2)   United States 5 Jun 2019 5 Jun 2019 1
14 Frida Kinhult   Sweden 12 Jun 2019 12 Jun 2019 1
Andrea Lee (3)   United States 19 Jun 2019 19 Jun 2019 1
15 Atthaya Thitikul   Thailand 26 Jun 2019 26 Jun 2019 1
Frida Kinhult (2)   Sweden 3 Jul 2019 7 Aug 2019 6 7
Andrea Lee (4)   United States 14 Aug 2019 16 Oct 2019 10 17
Atthaya Thitikul (2)   Thailand 23 Oct 2019 1 Jan 2020 11 12
16 Pauline Roussin-Bouchard   France 8 Jan 2020 26 Aug 2020 34 34
17 Yu-Chiang Hou   Chinese Taipei 2 Sep 2020 9 Sep 2020 2 2
18 Rose Zhang   United States 16 Sep 2020 31 May 2023 142 142^
19 Ingrid Lindblad   Sweden 7 Jun 2023 5 Jun 2024 53 53
20 Lottie Woad   England 12 Jun 2024 10 Jul 2024 5
21 Helen Briem   Germany 17 Jul 2024 24 Jul 2024 2 2
Lottie Woad (2)   England 31 Jul 2024 20 Nov 2024 17 22
Key
^ Record

Elite events

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Prior to 2020, events were ranked in eight categories: Elite, A, B, C, D, E, F or G. The Elite events are listed below. The calculation of the ranking changed in 2020 and there are no longer any categories.[5]

Women

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Notice Regarding 2016 Amendments". WAGR. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  2. ^ "The R&A, USGA Commence World Amateur Golf Ranking Partnership". USGA. 5 February 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2011.
  3. ^ "The R&A to launch Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking". The R&A. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  4. ^ "Harvey breaks Law, while Boineau wins at home". The R&A. 16 February 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  5. ^ "Power Method FAQs – Will there still be Elite events?". WAGR. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
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