World Golf Ranking: History, records, and every No.1

There have been 25 men's golf World No.1s since the ranking was introduced in 1986.

Everything you need to know about the Official World Golf Ranking, including all of the milestones and every player to have been No.1.

Since the introduction of the men’s Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) in 1986, 25 different players have reached the pinnacle, from ten different countries.

Scottie Scheffler became the latest new player to achieve the feat with his victory at the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play and spent 13 weeks at the helm before Rory McIlroy returned to the summit for the ninth time and a 107th weeks after his victory at the CJ Cup in October 2022.

Both players still have a long way to go if they want to break fellow American Tiger Woods’ record. The 15-time Major champion has spent more than 13 years combined at the helm during his incredible career.

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Before the start of the official ranking, Mark McCormack produced unofficial end-of-year rankings in his World of Professional Golf annual from 1968 to 1985. It listed Jack Nicklaus as No.1 from 1968 to 1977, Tom Watson from 1978 to 1982, and Seve Ballesteros from 1983 to 1985.

Let’s take a closer look at the history of the official world rankings.

When was the Official World Golf Ranking introduced?

The Official World Golf Ranking started on April 6, 1986.

How are the World Golf Rankings calculated?

That’s a good question – and has a long answer after the system changed in August 2022.

Eligible tournaments from the leading professional Eligible Golf Tours around the world are included in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), as well as the Major Championships, World Golf Championships, Olympic Golf Competition, and the World Cup of Golf. Team events are not eligible for inclusion.

Any players competing in these tournaments will receive ranking points subject to their respective finishing position.

The OWGR System is run over a two-year “rolling” (104-week) period and ranking Points are derived from each tournament’s Total Field Rating. Every player in a tournament field contributes performance points as determined by the player’s individual Strokes Gained World Rating. The sum of these Performance Points determines the Total Field Rating.

Ranking Points are maintained at full value for a 13-week period to place additional emphasis on recent performances and are then reduced in equal decrements for the remaining 91 weeks of the two-year Ranking period.

Each player is then ranked according to their average points per tournament, which is determined by dividing a player’s total number of points by the number of tournaments they have played over that two-year period.

There is a minimum divisor of 40, and a maximum divisor of a player’s last 52 tournaments applied to the tournaments that the player concerned has played over the two-year ranking period.

Ranking points are awarded to all players who make the cut and complete an event, subject to their finishing position in the tournament.

Points awarded will be fractionally greater than the Total Field Rating when more than the projected number of players make the cut and complete the tournament.

Points awarded will be fractionally less than the Total Field Rating when players who have made the cut are disqualified, retire, or withdraw from the later rounds causing the number of players completing the tournament to be less than the projected number of players to make the cut.

The four Majors: the Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, U.S. Open Championship, and The Open Championship, are rated separately and awarded 100 First-Place Points, while the Players Championship is also rated separately with the winner awarded 80 points.

If a tournament is ever cut to 36 holes because of inclement weather or other reasons then the points breakdown is reduced by 75%. If it is reduced to 54 holes then the points remain the same. A tournament will not be reduced below its historic minimum points level.

In mixed tournaments, where me and men and women play the same course(s) but from different tees, for one prize fund on one leader board, only the men’s individual results will be eligible for inclusion.

World ranking points can also be granted to limited field tournaments (events with fewer than 30 players) and special tournaments (sanctioned by an Eligible Golf Tour but does not count towards the Eligible Golf Tour’s end-of-season ranking list), but must be individually reviewed by the Technical Committee and approved for inclusion by the Governing Board.

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What is the new Strokes Gained World Rating?

A player’s Strokes Gained World Rating is based on a player’s actual scores in stroke-play events and adjusted for the relative difficulty of each round played over a rolling two-year period. 

To place more emphasis on recent performances, a similar weighting system as that applied to World Ranking Points is utilised (i.e., a 13-week period of full weight, thereafter, reduced in equal decrements).

Scores from completed 18-hole round stroke-play events are eligible for inclusion in the Strokes Gained World Rating.

Each Strokes Gained World Rating has a corresponding value of Performance Points determined by the Performance Curve. Players with 10 or fewer recorded scores are assigned a value of 0.01 Performance Points. Players with fewer than 50 recorded scores can each contribute a maximum of 10% of the tournament Field Rating.

Each player’s scores from stroke-play events over two years are used in a series of simulated events to determine the average Ranking Points expected per each Strokes Gained World Rating, which is then plotted to create the Performance Curve.

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Who was golf’s first men’s World No.1?

Bernhard Langer. The German spent three weeks at the helm from April 6 to April 26, 1986, before he was overhauled by Spain’s Seve Ballesteros for the first of his five spells at the top.

Which golfers have been men’s World No.1?

Listed in order of first time they topped the rankings. Number of occasions at No.1 and total weeks in parentheses

Bernhard Langer (1 spell, 3 weeks)

Seve Ballesteros (5 spells, 61 weeks)

Greg Norman (11 spells, 331 weeks)

Nick Faldo (4 spells, 97 weeks)

Ian Woosnam (1 spell, 50 weeks)

Fred Couples (2 spells, 16 weeks)

Nick Price (1 spell, 44 weeks)

Tom Lehman (1 spell, 1 week)

Tiger Woods (11 spells 683 weeks)

Ernie Els (3 spells, 9 weeks)

David Duval (2 spells, 15 weeks)

Vijay Singh (3 spells, 32 weeks)

Lee Westwood (2 spells, 22 weeks)

Martin Kaymer (1 spell, 8 weeks)

Luke Donald (4 spells, 56 weeks)

Rory McIlroy (9 spells, 107 weeks)

Adam Scott (1 spell, 11 weeks)

Jordan Spieth (4 spells, 26 weeks)

Jason Day (3 spells, 51 weeks)

Dustin Johnson (7 spells, 135 weeks)

Justin Thomas (2 spells, 5 weeks)

Justin Rose (5 spells, 13 weeks)

Brooks Koepka (4 spells, 47 weeks)

Jon Rahm (4 spells, 43 weeks)

Scottie Scheffler (1 spell, 13 weeks)

Which golfer has spent the most time at World No.1?

Tiger Woods. The 15-time Major champion has had 11 spells at the world’s helm, spending an incredible 683 weeks at the top in total. Woods’ longest spell as No.1 came between June 12, 2005, and October 30, 2010 – a whopping 281 weeks. Unsurprisingly, that is the current record and, in our opinion, will never be broken.

No other golfer has ever spent more than 100 consecutive weeks at the top. Greg Norman is the closest with 96. The Australian spent a combined 331 weeks as No.1 across 11 spells.

Woods has also spent 906 weeks inside the world’s top 10, followed by Ernie Els (788) and Phil Mickelson (775).

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Which golfer has spent the least amount of time as World No.1?

American Tom Lehman was the eighth man to top the rankings when he replaced Greg Norman on April 20, 1997, but spent just one week at the helm before the Australian returned to the top.

Which golfer reached World No.1 the fastest?

It’s that man, Tiger Woods, again. Tiger took just 21 (yes, you read that right, 21) professional starts to top the rankings. Jordan Spieth needed just 77, and Scottie Scheffler, golf’s newest World No.1, took 92. Impressive.

Which golfer has been World No.1 the most times?

Greg Norman and Tiger Woods have both topped the Official World Golf Rankings on 11 different occasions.

Norman first became No.1 on September 14, 1986, with his last spell beginning on September 7, 1997.

Woods first reached the summit in 1997 with his most recent spell coming on March 25, 2013, and lasting until May 17, 2014.

Rory McIlroy has been World No.1 on eight separate occasions. He reached No.1 for the first time on March 4, 2012, and most recently took the top spot on February 9, 2020.

Dustin Johnson has been at the helm seven times, first achieving the coveted No.1 spot on February 19, 2017, and most recently on July 11, 2021.

Who is the youngest golfer to reach World No.1?

As if he doesn’t hold enough records, it’s Tiger. Woods was just 21 years and 167 days old when he topped the rankings in 1997.

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Who is the oldest?

Vijay Singh. The Fijian was 42 years and 93 days old.

Has anyone been World No.1 without also winning a Major in their career?

Yes, three players.

England’s Luke Donald spent a total of 56 weeks at the top of the world rankings and has yet to win one of golf’s big four titles, while fellow countryman Lee Westwood was No.1 for 22 weeks and is still seeking his first Grand Slam win.

It’s a little harsh to include Scottie Scheffler in this list as he’s only just reached No.1 and is at the start of his career, but he is yet to lift a Major. We wouldn’t be surprised if that changed in 2022.

How many countries have had players at World No.1?

Players from ten different countries have reached the pinnacle. The United States leads the way with nine players who, as of March 29^th,2022, have spent a combined 928 weeks at the top. Fred Couples was the first American to reach No.1, Tiger Woods has spent the longest in the coveted spot, and Scottie Scheffler is the latest to achieve the feat.

Australia is second with 394 weeks across three players. Greg Norman was the first and longest, with Jason Day the most recent.

England is third with 188 weeks from four plays. Nick Faldo was the first and longest, with Justin Rose the most recent.

Then comes Northern Ireland, with all 106 weeks achieved by four-time Major champion Rory McIlroy.

Spain is fifth, with Seve Ballesteros and Jon Rahm combining for 104 weeks at the top, followed by Wales, with Ian Woosnam spending 50 weeks as No.1.

Then comes Zimbabwe (Nick Price, 44 weeks), and Fiji (Vijay Singh, 32 weeks), ahead of Germany, with Bernhard Langer and Martin Kaymer achieving 11 weeks between them.

South Africa completes the list – four-time Major winner Ernie Els topping the list for nine weeks in total.

How many golfers have spent an entire calendar year as world no.1?

Just three. Nick Faldo managed it in 1993, with Greg Norman maintaining the top spot in 1996. Tiger Woods achieved the feat eight times – 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009.

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Has Phil Mickelson ever been World No.1?

Incredibly, no he hasn’t. When it comes to the world rankings ‘Lefty’ has very much been the bridesmaid to Tiger’s bride. Mickelson, who has won six Majors, 45 PGA Tour events, and 11 European Tour events, has spent a whopping 270 weeks as World No.2 without ever achieving the top spot. To put that into context, Jim Furyk is next on the list with just 39 weeks at No.2.

Fortunately for Mickelson, he does hold the record as the oldest Major winner thanks to his 2021 US PGA Championship win.

Have the world rankings ever been stopped?

Yes, they were paused during the Covid-19 pandemic. Rankings were frozen on March 15, 2020, with Rory McIlroy at the top, and restarted on June 14, 2020. McIlroy’s total weeks at number one do not include this 12 week period.

Do the world rankings help us decide who is the greatest golfer of all time?

Because the official world rankings weren’t introduced until 1986 it’s impossible and incorrect to use these alone as the basis for the answer.

There is little doubt in most golf fans’ minds that it is either Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus.

Woods has 683 weeks at the top of the world, 15 Major titles, 82 PGA Tour wins, and 41 European Tour/DP World Tour wins.

Mark McCormack’s unofficial rankings had Jack Nicklaus as World No.1 for nine years (468 weeks), with the Golden Bear winning 18 Majors, 73 PGA Tour events, and nine European Tour/DP World Tour titles.

Woods has been the PGA Tour’s leading money winner 10 times, PGA Player of the Year 11 times, and PGA Tour Player of the Year 11 times. He was also PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 1996.

Nicklaus topped the money chart on eight occasions and lifted the PGA Player of the Year trophy five times.

Both Woods and Nicklaus are members of the World Golf Hall of Fame having been inducted in 2021 and 1974 respectively.

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