Golf World - April 30, 2012

in;2010;would;be;78;places;apart;in;the;Broadie-Rendleman
skill;rank.;The;difference;is;based;largely;on;the;theoreti-
cally;much;higher-ranked;Watney’s;better;scores;in;10;of
the;12;tournaments;where;the;two;were;in;the;same;field.
With;all;aspects;of;golf;becoming;more;precise;as;global
competition;increases,;it;is;not;surprising;that;the;OWGR
is;coming;under;its;greatest;scrutiny.;Since;the;late;Mark
McCormack,;the;original;sports;agent,;founder;of;Inter-
national;Management;Group;and;perhaps;the;most;in-
fluential;stakeholder;in;professional;golf;for;more;than
four;decades,;first;came;up;with;the;method;in;the;late
1960s,;the;world;of;golf;has;changed;dramatically.;Many
more;players;now;play;on;multiple;tours,;making;a;meth-
odology;based;on;a;pre-weighting;of;those;tours;open
to;charges;of;randomness;and;even;political;favoritism.
Broadie;and;Rendleman;are;essentially;saying;it;is;time;to
graduate;from;the;subjectivity;of;human;judgment;to;the
objectivity;of;statistical;science.
Although;McCormack;was;a;visionary,;he;wasn’t;a;math-
ematician.;He;prefaced;his;then-revolutionary;idea;of;a;world
ranking;almost;as;if;he;were;leading;a;lively;after-dinner;dis-
cussion;“over;a;Canadian;and;soda,”;which;is;as;he;described
it;in;his;Golf;Annual;in;1969.;Further;referring;to;his;enter-
prise;as;an;“answer;to;the;great;bar,;pub,;tavern;and;grill-
room;question,”;he;announced;his;decision;with;a;certain;en-
thusiasm.;“I;have;it;all;now,”;he;wrote,;“the;gall,;the;system,
and;the;conviction,;and,;so;I;am;now;prepared;to;defend;this
first;statistical;presentation;of;who;is;the;best,;regardless
of;where;they;play,;how;much;money;they;win,;what;their
stroke;averages;are,;and;all;normal;ways;of;judging;golfers.
“The;problem,”;he;wrote,;“is;both;difficult;and;stimulat-
ing,;which;is;why;it;causes;arguments.”
The;arguments;have;become;more;intense;as;the;stakes
have;risen.;The;OWGR;has;become;the;foundation;for;de-
termining;what;players;are;deemed;worthy;of;exemptions
to;the;majors,;exclusive;World;Golf;Championships;events
and;limited-field;invitationals.;Players;in;the;top;50;in;the
World;Ranking;have;a;potential;for;earnings;that;those
outside;the;top;50;simply;don’t.

Martin;Laird,;who;has;hovered near that financial cut line at times;in;his;career,;said;he;paid;at-tention;to;those;numbers.;“That top;50;in;the;world;rankings;is huge,;you;get;in;all;the;majors and World Golf Championships events.;That’s;where;you;want;to be.”;(It’s;even;more;true;than;he probably;knows.;This;year;play-ers ranked 31 to 50 at the end;of;2011;have;earned;an average;of;47;percent;more dollars;through;the;Masters than;those;ranked;51;to;70.)

The;ranking;also;serves;as the;fuel;for;the;game’s;ma-jor;and;minor;tours;to;jus-tify;their;existence,;promote their;home;players;and,;not insignificantly, provide the marketability that attracts sponsors.

Even;McCormack;recognized;the;difficulty;of;his;task
early on. His tone in subsequent years reflected more
tongue-in-cheek;boast;than;a;defense;of;anything;scientific.
In;the;1971;edition,;he;called;it;“this;book’s;annual;conver-
sation;piece,;the;guaranteed,;A- 1,;acme,;spendiferous;[sic],
see-it-now-in-technicolor,;Mark;H.;McCormack;system;for
evaluating;who;can;really;play;this;game.”
The;ranking;was;formally;accepted;as;the;Sony;Rank-
ing;in;April;1986;and;has;been;tweaked;many;times;since.
In;the;process;it;has;steadily;gained;in;credibility,;the;big
moment;coming;in;1997;when;the;five;major;tours;formally
endorsed;the;OWGR;at;a;meeting;in;Turnberry,;Scotland.

In;the;current;version;of;the;ranking;system,;points;are distributed;in;cascading;fashion;for;victories;and;subse-quent;runner-up;positions;in;different;degrees;for;different levels;of;events.;Those;arbitrarily;determined;levels;might award;points;to;all;of;those;making;the;cut;at;say,;the;U.S. Open,;but;only;the;top;four;finishers;at;the;Indo;Zambia Bank;Zambia;Open.;Points;are;increased;by;the;number and;rankings-based;quality;of;the;players;in;the;field,;and certain;events;on;certain;tours;are;given;“flagship”;status to;secure;even;more;bonus;points,;reflecting;their;further importance.;Points;diminish;in;value;over;the;course;of;a rotating;two-year;cycle.

While;the;OWGR;value;of;all;events;today;is;primarily a;function;of;the;strength;of;the;field,;there;are;a;signifi-cant;number;of;events;that;receive;a;mandatory;minimum value.;Those;minimum;values;start;at;the;top;with;major winners;earning;100;points;and;trickle;down;to;even;the Sunshine Tour Winter Series 54-hole event champions earning;a;minimum;of;four;points.