Back in August, a new Official World Golf Ranking System came into place (opens in new tab), with each player in the field contributing performance points, which are partially determined by that player’s Strokes Gained World Rating. The world rating is then calculated on round-by-round over a rolling two-year basis, taking into account the relative difficulty of every round. The total field rating is the sum of the performance points and is equal to the total ranking points to be distributed at the end of the tournament.
It’s safe to say not many players are fans of this new system, with the likes of Tiger Woods (opens in new tab) and Jon Rahm (opens in new tab) calling it “laughable” and “flawed”. Now, another player has waded into the argument, with Justin Thomas taking to Twitter to give his opinion on the matter, specifically around the awarding of points at the Hero World Challenge. (opens in new tab)
You’ve earned your right if you’re in this field, that’s just a fact. Anybody is open to going to q school to qualify for Korn ferry and try and get their cards just as I and others did. Tom made the most of his exemptions, so I agree to disagree thereDecember 3, 2022
In a tweet posted by @flushingitgolf, it read: “Spieth’s last again at the Hero and will get 2.0886 OWGR points for his effort. Players need to come 3rd in the Indonesian Masters this week to get that many. The new system is going to crush the chances of “international” players getting into majors and it’s completely unfair.”
In response, Thomas gave a straight up answer, with the two-time Major winner stating: “An event with 15ish (sorry not sure the exact number) of the top 20 in the world? It’s all about the quality of the field. The new system is hurting events like this more than it does that. Like anything in golf, play well enough in big events and you’ll be rewarded.”
The debate didn’t stop there though, as Flushing It responded to Thomas’ tweet, as the account commented: “Play well enough by just turning up and coming last? International tours are going to get crucified and there’s going to be no opportunity for these players unless they move to the States. Tom Kim would still be grinding on the Asian Tour now with the new system. Is that right?”
Thomas currently sits eighth in the World Rankings
(Image credit: Getty Images)
There have been plenty of examples of the OWGR affecting tournaments (opens in new tab). At the DP World Tour Championship, multiple…
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