The old phrase “what a difference a year” makes certainly applies to a good number of pro golfers.
When it comes to the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings for men’s professional golf, there some good and some not so good in terms of where players ranked a year ago as compared to now.
For Will Zalatoris, he was one of the big sliders the wrong direction. Not his fault, really, as he underwent back surgery and missed a lot of action.
Meanwhile, rising star Ludvig Aberg is more like a shooting star, as he has rocketed into the top 10 of the December 2023 rankings.
Here’s a closer look at some of the biggest movers in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings from a year ago. How they work:
Jeff Sagarin’s rating system is based on a mathematical formula that uses a player’s won-lost-tied record against other players when they play on the same course on the same day, and the stroke differential between those players, then links all players to one another based on common opponents. The ratings give an indication of who is playing well over the past 52 weeks.
Also, players must have played in at least 10 events to be ranked.
Editor’s note: We’ve included the Official World Golf Ranking for the sake of comparison.
Scottie Scheffler speaks with the media ahead of a practice round round at the 2023 Hero World Challenge at Albany Golf Course in Nassau, Bahamas. (Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images,)
December 2022
- Rory McIlroy
- Jon Rahm
- Patrick Cantlay
- Scottie Scheffler
- Xander Schauffele
December 2023
- Scottie Scheffler
- Xander Schauffele
- Viktor Hovland
- Rory McIlroy
- Jon Rahm
The top five was mostly a re-order, with Scheffler and McIlroy trading the Nos. 1 and 4 spots and Rahm and Schauffele swapping the Nos. 2 and 5 slots. Hovland has jumped into the top 5 (from No. 10) a year ago, with Cantlay sliding back just one spot to No. 6.
Ludvig Aberg and his caddie walk the 18th fairway during the second round of the 2023 RSM Classic on the Seaside Course at Sea Island Resort in St Simons Island, Georgia. (Photo: Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
End of 2022: Unranked.
End of 2023: No. 7.
Aberg was playing college golf at Texas Tech a year ago this time and was not ranked in the Sags, having not played in at least 10 events. There were a total of 961 golfers who were qualified at that time.
One Ryder Cup and two wins – one on the DP World Tour, one on the PGA Tour – later, to go along with a finish no worse than 13th in five Fall…
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