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Since an overhaul of the Official World Golf Ranking system came into effect last August, it has received plenty of detractors. One of the most vocal critics of the new system is former World No.1 Jon Rahm. The Spaniard slammed the OWGR changes as laughable last November, and his opinion of the system has not improved.
Rahm stormed to his third win in his last five tournaments after a late Collin Morikawa collapse in the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Nevertheless, despite arguably being in the form of his life, Rahm’s world ranking stubbornly refuses to move from the World No.5 position he has held since last October.
Following his dramatic win at the Plantation Course in Kapalua, Rahm was asked if he aspires to return to the top of the rankings. He said: “Oh, I definitely do, yeah. And had they not changed the world ranking points, I would have been pretty damn close right now. At this point I’m thinking will I pass Patrick Cantlay? Because since the playoffs, I have not missed a top seven. I’ve won three times, and I don’t even get close to him. So I’m trying to understand what’s going on. But in my mind, I feel like since August, I’ve been the best player in the world.”
The world ranking changes saw more emphasis added to the strength of field based on the number of players taking part in any tournament. Last week’s event had a limited field of just 38 players. That meant fewer OWGR points were awarded than in previous years despite Rahm having to overcome the challenges of 16 other players in the world’s top 20 to claim victory.
The situation is exacerbated by the puzzling omission of the “leap week,” which meant that no player’s world ranking declined between 26 December and 1 January, in contrast to previous years, when there were changes to players’ world rankings despite the lack of tournaments during the period.
Wow! Another victim of the new #OWGR system. The leap week (#53) has vanished!? After 37 years in which they carefully counted every week. That’s what happens if you complicate things too much.Try to explain this to @JonRahmpga who stays at #5 despite his win yesterday! Sad…January 9, 2023
Arguably, Rahm’s form highlights the flaws in the current system more than any other measure. Indeed, that trio of recent victories only tells part of the story of his recent dominance. Rahm was World No.2 following his win in the Mexico Open last May. That marked the first of 10 top-10 finishes in a run of 15…
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