During its 36-year existence, the Official World Golf Ranking formula has been altered more frequently than a Donald Trump alibi but, unlike the latter, seems finally to have reached a point where it is both authentic and defensible.
The latest iteration debuted this week, the product of a four-year review. The math isn’t much easier to grasp for most of us, but the principle underpinning it is this — a tournament’s available ranking points be determined by one factor, the quality of its competitors. Gone are the arbitrary devices used by global golf circuits to inflate their importance and prop up events that had long since lost luster. Going forward, the ranking will no longer be hostage to the marketing and machinations of its member tours.
