The Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) system will undergo an analytics-driven overhaul beginning in August 2022, it was announced Wednesday, according to Golf Digest's Sean Zak.
The new approach is based on eliminating biases within the current rankings.
"Through the use of assigned values in its strength-of-field calculation, which includes tour minimums, flagship tournaments, and the home tour rating, there was some level of bias in the system," said OWGR committee member Billy Schroder. "Which means that there was some level of performances that were either being undervalued or overvalued."
The exact formula is unknown at this point, but the new system will factor in three key criteria: Strokes Gained World Ranking, Performance Points, and Field Rating. Here's a rundown of what they all mean.
- Strokes Gained World Ranking: A number based on worldwide stroke-play scores across a two-year period. It will have a weighted emphasis on a player's most recent scores.
- Performance Points: Correlates directly to Strokes Gained World Ranking, and determines how much world ranking value a player brings to an event.
- Field Rating: The sum of performance points from an event's entire field of players. It will determine how many points are distributed to players at the conclusion of the event.
The OWGR format has been changed 17 times in its history. Jon Rahm is the current World No. 1, with Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, and Justin Thomas rounding out the top five.
