Jon Rahm Calls New Official World Golf Ranking System 'Laughable'
Jon Rahm ripped the new world ranking system Wednesday, calling it “laughable" in a media session ahead of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
The Spanish star, ranked No. 5 in the world, was referencing a years-long change to the system that went into effect in August but has seen a severe reduction in points awarded to tours around the world while enhancing the PGA Tour.
He noted the discrepancy this week, where the PGA Tour’s RSM Classic—with no top 20 players in the field—will award more points than the season-ending DP World Tour event in Dubai, which includes No. 1-ranked Rory McIlroy and seven total players among the top 25 in the world.
Rahm also said he believes the new LIV Golf League should be awarded rankings points by the Official World Golf Ranking, the system that is used to rank players around the world and used by all of the major championships to help determine their fields.
“I’m going to be as blunt as I can," Rahm said. “I think the OWGR is laughable."
One of the reasons the DP World Tour Championship has less points is because the field has only 50 players.
Under the new system, smaller fields see a points reduction.
Previously, field strength was determined by counting only players in the field ranked among the top 200 in the world. Now, every played has a “strokes gained rating," a system that was developed with the help of Mark Broadie, who helped the various tours implement the “strokes gained" statistical system used to rate players among numerous categories.
This week’s winner at the PGA Tour event in Sea Island, Ga., is expected to receive 38 world ranking points while the winner in Dubai will get just 21.
Tournaments such as the Tour Championship, with 30 players, and Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge in two weeks, with 20 players, will see similar hits to their overall ranking.
“The fact that RSM does not have any of the top-20 in the world and has more points that this event, where we have seven of the top 25, is laughable," Rahm said. “I understand what they are trying to do with the depth of field but having the best players in the world automatically makes the tournament better. I don’t care what their system says. I think they made a mistake."
Broadie said in a recent interview that many of the differences seen now are related to every player in the field getting a rating and if there are more players in a field, the total number of points is going to add up to a higher number. He also pointed out that one reason PGA Tours events typically rate higher is because the fields have more depth.
Another factor: many tournaments around the world were “subsidized" with points minimums. That has now been eliminated, and why winners of, for example, Asian Tour events are receiving less points than in the past.
“A strength of field that only counted players in the top 200 is obviously not as accurate as it could be," Broadie said. “So when you have very few people in the top 200, the strength of field is even harder to determine. I believe they (the OWGR) realized it wasn’t giving accurate strength of field for weaker events."
Rahm said “depth of field doesn’t mean better tournament."
As it related to LIV Golf events, Rahm noted the 54-hole events with no cut still have some of the top players.
“I think a lot of people are against them having world ranking points," he said. “If your requirement is to have world ranking points as 72 holes and a cut, maybe you don’t award the 100 percent of the points since they are not fulfilling all of the requirements."
(Such tournaments would already be reduced because the field is only 48 players.)