OWGR Week 15

First Major Championship of the year and first tournament with significant OWGR implications.

Three different players can take wrestle the #1 spot from Tiger this week.

#2 Adam Scott needs a two way T3 or better to overtake Tiger.
#3 Henrik Stenson needs a two way T2 or better to overtake Tiger
#4 Jason Day needs to WIN to overtake Tiger.

If there is a trifecta finish of Day, Stenson, and Scott, this is what the Top 4 spots will look like

Day 9.14
Stenson 9.11
Scott 9.01
Woods 8.87

If Stenson or Scott fall a little short this week, they will overtake Tiger in the OWGR within the next few weeks as Tiger is losing points from attrition quicker than either Scott or Stenson.

Day needs to have a solo second to have a chance to get to #2 spot

If either #5 and #6 PMick and Sergio win, they can take the #2 spot (with poor finishes from Scott, Stenson and Day)

If #7-#13 (Justin, Kuch, Rory, Zach, Dustin, Bubba, Jordan) can win, they can get as high as #4.

Anyone down to #29 can climb into the top 10 with a win.

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Web-Com (Mexico) and Sunshine Tours (Zimbabwe) have rated events this week as well.

GPB wrote:
#2 Adam Scott needs a two way T3 or better to overtake Tiger. [/b]
#3 Henrik Stenson needs a two way T2 or better to overtake Tiger
#4 Jason Day needs to WIN to overtake Tiger.

Honestly don't see any of those scenarios happening but I stand to be proved wrong. As you point out though it's only a matter of time before someone takes the #1 spot

Well I hope someone takes the #1 ranking, rather than sitting on his arse like Westwood did when he got the #1 ranking.

I hate to explain that it is the just the MATH catching up because the fluidity of the rankings is relatively viscous.

Would Day be the worst number one if he gets there without winning the masters?

No he wouldn't. Day is a fantastic player and world #1 is a measure of points accrued, consistency etc, not how many tournaments you've won.

I meant in terms of points accrued. It is possible someone will get to number one at pretty close to 9 points in the coming months, could we see a sub 9 point number one this season if the top players don't start getting top finishes more often?

In that case, then yes, he possibly could be.
Tom Lehman for me was the actual worst ever number one.

Ok seems we have seen a number one with as low as 7.65

Lee Westwood - Week 17 2011 was number one with 7.65

And averaged 8.61 while number 1.

Over time there have been some changes in the way the rankings were compiled. Hence that makes comparison on the basis of absolute numbers a bit tricky

I don't deny the maths, but intuitively it sounds a bit farcial that Day could get to #1 after this week.

pedro wrote:I don't deny the maths, but intuitively it sounds a bit farcial that Day could get to #1 after this week.

As farcical as Westwood getting the #1 spot with 0 wins against World Class fields? (while sitting on his arse?)

At least Day would have won a Major and WGC event.

I wish people would get it out of their head that to get to number 1 you "ought" to have a major.

If that were the case you'd get a ton of points for winning a major and not much for the others and consequently you'd get a lot of golfers who played very well for one week high in the rankings.
The apparent "farce" is only because the top 10 are all comparitively close to one another in rankings points.

The rankings are designed to show who performs consistently best over a two year period. That's it.

I don't agree that it needs to be 2 years, 1 is enough, but that's how it works.

super_realist wrote:I wish people would get it out of their head that to get to number 1 you "ought" to have a major.

If that were the case you'd get a ton of points for winning a major and not much for the others and consequently you'd get a lot of golfers who played very well for one week high in the rankings.
The apparent "farce" is only because the top 10 are all comparitively close to one another in rankings points.

The rankings are designed to show who performs consistently best over a two year period. That's it.

I don't agree that it needs to be 2 years, 1 is enough, but that's how it works.

I agree, but I think the two years is ok - golf is that sort of sport whereby a slump can last a year or so, and if the period were shorter, then this would be compounded by falling out of the automatic invite zones. It seems a relatively fair and meaningful measure to me as evidenced by players losing form slipping slowly then cascading down, but when their form picks up, being able climb back up. Like all rankings, you can question the absolutely ranking given to a player, but their rate of climb or fall is actually a good measure of their current form.

Very well spoken, Bob (and super). I wholeheartedly agree. Only that razorsharp #50 mark sometimes penns out to be a bit of an artificial steep ravine between the Haves and the Have Nots.

The next mark will be Top 60 (May 26th) for Pinehurst.

I agree that Major win should not be required to have the #1 rankings.

But it should require at least some wins against World Class fields. And when Westwood got the #1 ranking, he had no wins against World Class fields in his resume.

Nedbank, Indo Masters, Nordic Masters, Memphis. Pffffffft.

I agree that Major win should not be required to have the #1 rankings.

But it should require at least some wins against World Class fields. And when Westwood got the #1 ranking, he had no wins against World Class fields in his resume.

Nedbank, Indo Masters, Nordic Masters, Memphis. Pffffffft.

He DID have Dubai and Portugal on his recent resume as well.

The rules are the same for everyone - no need to disparage anyone's success in reaching Number One. Looks academic as far as Day is concerned anyway.

The way Westwood played at the end of that season and how he crushed the field in Dubai and took the RTD crown was impressing. Otherwise I agree that most of his wins have been in mediocre fields.

kwinigolfer wrote:He DID have Dubai and Portugal on his recent resume as well.

The rules are the same for everyone - no need to disparage anyone's success in reaching Number One. Looks academic as far as Day is concerned anyway.

The 2009 Portugal Masters was not on his 2 year resume when he got the #1 ranking on Oct 31, 2011. And his Dubai win was 23 months prior.

His other wins was the Indonesian Masters, Ballantines, and Memphis.

I don't think there was anyone else ranked in the top 100 at the Indonesian Masters, and I doubt if there were more than 5 other players ranked in the top 30 at either Ballantines or Memphis

That would all be correct... but for the fact that he took the No 1 spot in Oct 2010, not 2011, so Dubai was less than 12 months prior and Portugal a shade over 12 months. By Oct 2011, Donald was comfortably No 1.

Yep, correct. My mistake. I was a year-off.

In general a player can rise to the top of the OWGR by virtue of a lot top 10 spots if the current leader(s) are not able to match that. And as we all know TW was not on top of his game in 2010. So at some point he inevitably had to fall down from #1 and the best of the rest had to take over.

In 2010 Westwood got to the #2 spot on the OWGR mainly because of his two 2nd places in the Masters and the Open supported by a 4th in the Players. All in 2010. TW simply happened to be unable to match that.

If a player keeps turning out on top of the #1 player in a bunch of important tournaments finally this player becomes #1 himself

A small comparison:
Masters 2010: Lee 2nd <> TW 4th
Players 2010: Lee 4th <> TW WD
The Open 2010: Lee 2nd <> TW T28
WGC HSBC 201: Lee 2nd <> TW T6

Westwood was able to hang on to his #1 spot for some weeks because of the points he gained in that somewhat epic battle he had with younger Molinari in the WGC in Sjanghai the week after he reached #1 status. A tournament he very closely lost but 40 something Ranking points gave him the needed cushion to maintain his top spot for some weeks. But hardly any big Ranking points after that and from then on it somehow went all down the mountain for Lee.

Thank you Ned, kouchi,

Not as good a field for Harbour Town as one might have hoped for, probably a high-40 something for the winner.

Only a matter of time before Scott takes number 1 and even if it isn't this weekend it will be soon....It will be well deserved considering how well he has been playing over the last few years, really stepped up his game in the majors.

If the Players 2 under or better win, they could get as high as:

Bubba:  #4
Senden: #19
Adam: #1
Jordan: #4
Bjorn: #11
Jonas: #18
Furyk: #6
Walker: #8
Couples: #38  (from approximately #521)

Congratz to Bubba on his 2nd Masters win.  Well deserved win.

And congratz to JBe Kruger and Carlos Ortiz on their wins in Zimbabwe (Sunshine Tour) and Mexico (Web.com).  They both moved well inside the top 200 with their wins.

This is what the rankings should look like after todays results.


1 ( 1 ) Tiger Woods 8.866
2 ( 2 ) Adam Scott 8.283
3 ( 3 ) Henrik Stenson 8.124
4 ( 12 ) Bubba Watson 7.302
5 ( 4 ) Jason Day 6.861
6 ( 7 ) Matt Kuchar 6.420
7 ( 6 ) Sergio Garcia 6.081
8 ( 5 ) Phil Mickelson 6.068
9 ( 13 ) Jordan Spieth 6.016
10 ( 9 ) Rory McIlroy 6.000
11 ( 8 ) Justin Rose 5.929
12 ( 10 ) Zach Johnson 5.670
13 ( 11 ) Dustin Johnson 5.399
14 ( 14 ) Graeme McDowell 4.563
15 ( 15 ) Steve Stricker 4.518
16 ( 16 ) Jason Dufner 4.367
17 ( 17 ) Charl Schwartzel 4.336
18 ( 18 ) Keegan Bradley 4.176
19 ( 23 ) Jimmy Walker 4.171
20 ( 19 ) Brandt Snedeker 4.147
21 ( 22 ) Jim Furyk 4.137
22 ( 21 ) Ian Poulter 4.080
23 ( 20 ) Victor Dubuisson 4.007
24 ( 24 ) Patrick Reed 3.905
25 ( 29 ) Thomas Bjorn 3.859
26 ( 25 ) Hideki Matsuyama 3.844
27 ( 26 ) Webb Simpson 3.823
28 ( 28 ) Jamie Donaldson 3.803
29 ( 27 ) Luke Donald 3.799
30 ( 30 ) Graham Delaet 3.450
31 ( 31 ) Bill Haas 3.395
32 ( 41 ) Miguel A Jimenez 3.266
33 ( 56 ) Jonas Blixt 3.227
34 ( 32 ) Hunter Mahan 3.225
35 ( 38 ) Rickie Fowler 3.200
36 ( 37 ) Lee Westwood 3.154
37 ( 33 ) Ryan Moore 2.969
38 ( 35 ) Louis Oosthuizen 2.955
39 ( 36 ) Stephen Gallacher 2.907
40 ( 34 ) Harris English 2.852
41 ( 39 ) Ernie Els 2.666
42 ( 40 ) Matt Jones 2.665
43 ( 43 ) Russell Henley 2.638
44 ( 45 ) Joost Luiten 2.617
45 ( 44 ) Gonzalo Fdez-Castano 2.615
46 ( 42 ) Matt Every 2.567
47 ( 46 ) Kevin Streelman 2.540
48 ( 49 ) Gary Woodland 2.512
49 ( 47 ) Nick Watney 2.511
50 ( 48 ) Billy Horschel 2.495
51 ( 50 ) Francesco Molinari 2.452
52 ( 51 ) Thongchai Jaidee 2.429
53 ( 54 ) Chris Kirk 2.428
54 ( 59 ) John Senden 2.428
55 ( 60 ) Kevin Stadler 2.422
56 ( 52 ) Richard Sterne 2.348
57 ( 53 ) Matteo Manassero 2.318
58 ( 55 ) Ryan Palmer 2.306
59 ( 57 ) Chesson Hadley 2.233
60 ( 58 ) George Coetzee 2.218

==========US Open Bubble Point

61 ( 65 ) Martin Kaymer 2.170
62 ( 61 ) Branden Grace 2.147
63 ( 62 ) Scott Stallings 2.130
64 ( 63 ) Mikko Ilonen 2.112
65 ( 64 ) Pablo Larrazabal 2.097
66 ( 66 ) David Lynn 1.987
67 ( 67 ) Thorbjorn Olesen 1.981
68 ( 68 ) Boo Weekley 1.920
69 ( 69 ) Marc Leishman 1.904
70 ( 70 ) Kevin Na 1.901
71 ( 71 ) Bernd Wiesberger 1.847
72 ( 72 ) Ross Fisher 1.847
73 ( 73 ) Peter Hanson 1.814
74 ( 80 ) Brendon de Jonge 1.795
75 ( 74 ) Chris Stroud 1.785
76 ( 75 ) Brooks Koepka 1.763
77 ( 76 ) Peter Uihlein 1.763
78 ( 77 ) Ryo Ishikawa 1.762
79 ( 78 ) Charles Howell-III 1.760
80 ( 79 ) Kiradech Aphibarnrat 1.743
81 ( 81 ) Scott Piercy 1.682
82 ( 82 ) Kim Hyung-sung 1.657
83 ( 83 ) Charley Hoffman 1.652
84 ( 84 ) Will Mackenzie 1.637
85 ( 85 ) Angel Cabrera 1.612
86 ( 86 ) Thomas Aiken 1.605
87 ( 87 ) Koumei Oda 1.584
88 ( 88 ) Roberto Castro 1.580
89 ( 89 ) Brett Rumford 1.565
90 ( 90 ) D.A. Points 1.559
91 ( 91 ) Fredrik Jacobson 1.559
92 ( 102 ) K.J. Choi 1.545
93 ( 92 ) Rafael Cabrera Bello 1.538
94 ( 93 ) Alejandro Canizares 1.534
95 ( 94 ) Jason Kokrak 1.517
96 ( 95 ) Chris Wood 1.510
97 ( 96 ) Darren Fichardt 1.508
98 ( 97 ) Daniel Summerhays 1.504
99 ( 98 ) Michael Thompson 1.490
100 ( 99 ) Paul Casey 1.485
101 ( 100 ) Robert Garrigus 1.481
102 ( 101 ) Shingo Katayama 1.480
103 ( 103 ) Pat Perez 1.466
104 ( 104 ) Martin Laird 1.432

 
GPB,
These rankings are increasingly/depressingly an accurate reflection on most British golfers' seasons so far, only McIlroy (very tenuously) hanging on to a top ten position now that Rose is withering.

on the plus side Kwini, 9C is about to drop off his #1 perch.

Next cutoff will be the players' in one or two weeks time. I reckon Luiten is safe. Don't know of any others that are ~50 and need the top 50 qualification spot

I'm not sure what the Harbour Town rating will be, but certainly not enhanced by Jason Day's withdrawal.

kwinigolfer wrote:I'm not sure what the Harbour Town rating will be, but certainly not enhanced by Jason Day's withdrawal.

I haven't looked at it, but Prince Dracula tweeted it was 50 after J-Day's WD. (52 before)

I think of all the courses I see on TV, I want to play Harbour Town the most. I may have mentioned this before.

Interestingly, the post Masters rankings show the effect of a major - Rory drops despite finishing better than he did last year because he's leapfrogged by high finishes/a win for Speith and Watson.

Bob,
I strongly recommend it, playable for golfers of all skill levels. Just a pleasure to play there.

The top 10 is beginning to look like the WTA top 10. People coming in and out all the time. We could see the #1 spot change hands half a dozen times in the next 12 months.

Bob_the_Job wrote:Interestingly, the post Masters rankings show the effect of a major - Rory drops despite finishing better than he did last year because he's leapfrogged by high finishes/a win for Speith and Watson.

There is less a tenth point difference between #7 Sergio and #11 Justin Rose. Sergio passed Mickelson despite missing the cut. I think Spieth is going to pass Mickelson no matter what happens this week. Even if misses the cut at Hilton Head.

Just a aberration of the Math of the rankings. There is a nearly 0.25 pt difference between #29 Luke and #30 Delaet. Another aberration.

Westwood finished 7th last week and only rose one spot because he got passed by Blixt, Fowler, and Jimenez. KJ Choi rose 6 spots in the rankings by finishing 34th.

Might put a bet on Jordan Spieth being #1 by year end. Probably rubbish odds though.

super_realist wrote:The top 10 is beginning to look like the WTA top 10. People coming in and out all the time. We could see the #1 spot change hands half a dozen times in the next 12 months.

Not a bad thing in my opinion - a reflection that the sport is not being dominated by an individual.

kwinigolfer wrote:Bob,
I strongly recommend it, playable for golfers of all skill levels. Just a pleasure to play there.

Time and money permitting, I intend to - it's on the bucket list.

Bob_the_Job wrote:

super_realist wrote:The top 10 is beginning to look like the WTA top 10. People coming in and out all the time. We could see the #1 spot change hands half a dozen times in the next 12 months.

Not a bad thing in my opinion - a reflection that the sport is not being dominated by an individual.

Indeed Bob, I don't think any sport is the better for having a dominating player.

Bob,
The whole Island is paradise as far as I'm concerned. Have been going down there almost every year since early 80's. Only played HT a couple of times (it's quite expensive, probably cheaper if you book from there), but there are a dozen or so other good courses there, and another dozen just inland.
Lovely beaches and plenty to do for the whole family. Will be there again in six or seven weeks!

kwinigolfer wrote:Bob,
The whole Island is paradise as far as I'm concerned. Have been going down there almost every year since early 80's. Only played HT a couple of times (it's quite expensive, probably cheaper if you book from there), but there are a dozen or so other good courses there, and another dozen just inland.
Lovely beaches and plenty to do for the whole family. Will be there again in six or seven weeks!

Yeah - that's not exactly helping with the envy issues. I visited the general area a few years ago (before I played golf) and liked it - it's got a sort of very chilled life by the beach (but not in the Californian sun worshiping body beautiful way) vibe going on. When I get to do it, I'll seek recommendations for other courses to make a proper trip of it.

I see that Westy is playing in Malaysia this week

Nothing like some "comfort food" to get him back to having relevancy in OWGR.

No one exploited weak events like Westwood to get atop the OWGR. Only three other Top 50 players (Frankie, Manny, King Louis) and no one inside the top 30.

GPB,
Yeah, like last week he competed in a limited field invitational run by a bunch of dimwitted Good Old Boys.
He didn't win, but he DID come 7th.

The criticism of Westwood's owgr ranking is quite absurd - you'll probably be on Dufner's case next week for competing in China.

The anti-Westwood sentiment against someone who travels the World just adds grist for the Anti-Bubba mill which is so ridiculously being ground elsewhere on this site.