The World Amateur Golf Ranking for men was introduced by The R&A, the governing body of the sport of golf outside the United States and Mexico, on 23 January 2007. It is based on the results of over 2,600 amateur tournaments per year (and amateurs participating in certain professional events) and is updated each Wednesday. Rankings are based on the players' average performances in counting events over a rolling period. This period was 52 weeks initially but was gradually expanded during 2016 to 104 weeks, [1] similar to those of the Official World Golf Ranking.
Like the Official World Golf Ranking for male professional golfers, the amateur ranking was initiated by The R&A to provide a more reliable means of selecting an appropriate field for one of its tournaments. The professional ranking was initially used to help set the field for The Open Championship and the amateur ranking plays a role in selecting the field for The Amateur Championship, which was previously selected mainly on the basis of national handicap systems. Other tournament organisers will be able to use the rankings to select players if they so wish.
The first set of rankings featured over 1,000 players from 46 countries and was headed by the 2006 U.S. Amateur champion, Richie Ramsay of Scotland.
In February 2011, the United States Golf Association (USGA) endorsed the rankings and announced it would use them for an exemption category in all their men's amateur championships, including the U.S. Amateur, beginning in 2011. [2]
The women's rankings were started in February 2011. [3] Japan's Mitsuki Katahira was the first number one. [4] American Rose Zhang holds the record for most weeks at the top of the rankings with 142 weeks.
Only three male and two female golfers have ever held the No. 1-ranking as both an amateur and a professional. The first to do so was Rory McIlroy, who was 17 years, 9 months and 2 days when he became the No. 1 amateur and 22 years and 10 months when he first became the world No. 1 professional. Jordan Spieth was the second to accomplish this feat, he was 18 years, 10 months and 24 days when he topped the amateur rankings and 22 years and 20 days when he reached No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Jon Rahm, who was ranked no. 1 for 60 weeks, became professional world no. 1 in July 2020. Lydia Ko was the first player to accomplish this feat in the female ranking. She was only 14 years and 3 days and held the ranking for a record 130 consecutive weeks, and she was a mere 17 years, 9 months and 9 days when she first reached the pinnacle of the Women's World Golf Rankings (WWGR). Atthaya Thitikul held the amateur No. 1 for 12 weeks in 2019–2020 and topped the WWGR on 31 October 2022.
Chronology of men's world number ones
| # | Player | Country | First week | Last week | Weeks | Total weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richie Ramsay | 
Scotland |
23 Jan 2007 | 30 Jan 2007 | 2 | 2 |
| 2 | Rory McIlroy | 
Northern Ireland |
6 Feb 2007 | 6 Feb 2007 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Jamie Moul | 
England |
13 Feb 2007 | 30 May 2007 | 17 | – |
| 4 | Jamie Lovemark | 
United States |
6 Jun 2007 | 6 Jun 2007 | 1 | – |
| Jamie Moul (2) |
England |
13 Jun 2007 | 13 Jun 2007 | 1 | 18 | |
| Jamie Lovemark (2) |
United States |
20 Jun 2007 | 3 Aug 2007 | 7 | 8 | |
| 5 | Rickie Fowler |
United States |
7 Aug 2007 | 21 Aug 2007 | 3 | – |
| 6 | Colt Knost |
United States |
29 Aug 2007 | 24 Sep 2007 | 5 | 5 |
| Rickie Fowler (2) |
United States |
5 Oct 2007 | 27 Feb 2008 | 22 | – | |
| 7 | Danny Willett |
England |
5 Mar 2008 | 21 May 2008 | 12 | 12 |
| Rickie Fowler (3) |
United States |
28 May 2008 | 25 Jun 2008 | 5 | – | |
| 8 | Michael Thompson |
United States |
2 Jul 2008 | 2 Jul 2008 | 1 | 1 |
| Rickie Fowler (4) |
United States |
9 Jul 2008 | 13 Aug 2008 | 6 | 36 | |
| 9 | Danny Lee | 
New Zealand |
20 Aug 2008 | 15 Apr 2009 | 34 | 34 |
| 10 | Scott Arnold | 
Australia |
23 Apr 2009 | 20 May 2009 | 5 | 5 |
| 11 | Morgan Hoffmann |
United States |
27 May 2009 | 10 Jun 2009 | 2 | 2 |
| 12 | Nick Taylor | 
Canada |
17 Jun 2009 | 28 Oct 2009 | 20 | 20 |
| 13 | Victor Dubuisson | 
France |
4 Nov 2009 | 23 Dec 2009 | 8 | 8 |
| 14 | Matteo Manassero | 
Italy |
30 Dec 2009 | 28 Apr 2010 | 18 | 18 |
| 15 | Peter Uihlein |
United States |
5 May 2010 | 16 Jun 2010 | 7 | – |
| 16 | Jin Jeong | 
South Korea |
23 Jun 2010 | 30 Jun 2010 | 2 | – |
| Peter Uihlein (2) |
United States |
7 Jul 2010 | 21 Jul 2010 | 3 | – | |
| Jin Jeong (2) |
South Korea |
28 Jul 2010 | 11 Aug 2010 | 3 | 5 | |
| Peter Uihlein (3) |
United States |
18 Aug 2010 | 22 Dec 2010 | 19 | – | |
| 17 | David Chung |
United States |
29 Dec 2010 | 5 Jan 2011 | 2 | 2 |
| Peter Uihlein (4) |
United States |
12 Jan 2011 | 16 Mar 2011 | 10 | – | |
| 18 | Patrick Cantlay |
United States |
23 Mar 2011 | 23 Mar 2011 | 1 | – |
| Peter Uihlein (5) |
United States |
30 Mar 2011 | 1 Jun 2011 | 10 | 49 | |
| Patrick Cantlay (2) |
United States |
8 Jun 2011 | 13 Jun 2012 | 54 | 55 | |
| 19 | Jordan Spieth |
United States |
20 Jun 2012 | 18 Jul 2012 | 5 | 5 |
| 20 | Chris Williams |
United States |
25 Jul 2012 | 25 Jul 2012 | 1 | – |
| 21 | Hideki Matsuyama | 
Japan |
1 Aug 2012 | 1 Aug 2012 | 1 | 1 |
| Chris Williams (2) |
United States |
8 Aug 2012 | 12 Jun 2013 | 45 | 46 | |
| 22 | Brady Watt |
Australia |
19 Jun 2013 | 19 Jun 2013 | 1 | 1 |
| 23 | Pan Cheng-tsung | 
Chinese Taipei |
26 Jun 2013 | 14 Aug 2013 | 8 | 8 |
| 24 | Matt Fitzpatrick |
England |
21 Aug 2013 | 16 Oct 2013 | 9 | – |
| 25 | Cory Whitsett |
United States |
23 Oct 2013 | 27 Nov 2013 | 6 | 6 |
| Matt Fitzpatrick (2) |
England |
4 Dec 2013 | 19 Feb 2014 | 12 | 21 | |
| 26 | Patrick Rodgers |
United States |
26 Feb 2014 | 11 Jun 2014 | 16 | 16 |
| 27 | Ollie Schniederjans |
United States |
18 Jun 2014 | 25 Mar 2015 | 41 | 41 |
| 28 | Jon Rahm | 
Spain |
1 Apr 2015 | 16 Sep 2015 | 25 | – |
| 29 | Maverick McNealy |
United States |
23 Sep 2015 | 21 Oct 2015 | 5 | – |
| Jon Rahm (2) |
Spain |
28 Oct 2015 | 22 Jun 2016 | 35 | 60 | |
| Maverick McNealy (2) |
United States |
29 Jun 2016 | 8 Mar 2017 | 37 | – | |
| 30 | Curtis Luck |
Australia |
15 Mar 2017 | 15 Mar 2017 | 1 | – |
| Maverick McNealy (3) |
United States |
22 Mar 2017 | 22 Mar 2017 | 1 | – | |
| Curtis Luck (2) |
Australia |
29 Mar 2017 | 12 Apr 2017 | 3 | 4 | |
| Maverick McNealy (4) |
United States |
19 Apr 2017 | 10 May 2017 | 4 | 47 | |
| 31 | Joaquín Niemann | 
Chile |
17 May 2017 | 11 Apr 2018 | 48 | 48 |
| 32 | Braden Thornberry |
United States |
18 Apr 2018 | 25 Apr 2018 | 2 | – |
| 33 | Collin Morikawa |
United States |
2 May 2018 | 16 May 2018 | 3 | 3 |
| 34 | Doug Ghim |
United States |
23 May 2018 | 20 Jun 2018 | 5 | 5 |
| Braden Thornberry (2) |
United States |
27 Jun 2018 | 10 Oct 2018 | 16 | 18 | |
| 35 | Justin Suh |
United States |
17 Oct 2018 | 10 Apr 2019 | 26 | 26 |
| 36 | Viktor Hovland | 
Norway |
17 Apr 2019 | 19 Jun 2019 | 10 | 10 |
| 37 | Cole Hammer |
United States |
26 Jun 2019 | 21 Aug 2019 | 9 | – |
| 38 | Takumi Kanaya |
Japan |
28 Aug 2019 | 28 Aug 2019 | 1 | – |
| Cole Hammer (2) |
United States |
4 Sep 2019 | 18 Sep 2019 | 3 | 12 | |
| Takumi Kanaya (2) |
Japan |
25 Sep 2019 | 30 Sep 2020 | 54 | 55 | |
| 39 | Ricky Castillo |
United States |
7 Oct 2020 | 4 Nov 2020 | 5 | 5 |
| 40 | Davis Thompson |
United States |
11 Nov 2020 | 11 Nov 2020 | 1 | – |
| 41 | Kevin Yu |
Chinese Taipei |
18 Nov 2020 | 18 Nov 2020 | 1 | 1 |
| 42 | Keita Nakajima |
Japan |
25 Nov 2020 | 17 Feb 2021 | 13 | – |
| Davis Thompson (2) |
United States |
24 Feb 2021 | 7 Apr 2021 | 7 | 8 | |
| 43 | Pierceson Coody |
United States |
14 Apr 2021 | 14 Apr 2021 | 1 | 1 |
| Keita Nakajima (2) |
Japan |
21 Apr 2021 | 14 Sep 2022 | 74 | 87^ | |
| 44 | Ludvig Åberg | 
Sweden |
21 Sep 2022 | 21 Sep 2022 | 1 | – |
| 45 | Taiga Semikawa |
Japan |
28 Sep 2022 | 26 Oct 2022 | 5 | 5 |
| Ludvig Åberg (2) |
Sweden |
2 Nov 2022 | 8 Feb 2023 | 15 | – | |
| 46 | Gordon Sargent |
United States |
15 Feb 2023 | 22 Feb 2023 | 2 | – |
| Ludvig Åberg (3) |
Sweden |
1 Mar 2023 | 15 Mar 2023 | 3 | – | |
| Gordon Sargent (2) |
United States |
22 Mar 2023 | 29 Mar 2023 | 2 | – | |
| Ludvig Åberg (4) |
Sweden |
5 Apr 2023 | 7 Jun 2023 | 10 | 29 | |
| Gordon Sargent (3) |
United States |
14 Jun 2023 | 13 Sep 2023 | 14 | – | |
| 47 | Christo Lamprecht | 
South Africa |
20 Sep 2023 | 27 Sep 2023 | 2 | – |
| Gordon Sargent (4) |
United States |
4 Oct 2023 | 4 Oct 2023 | 1 | – | |
| Christo Lamprecht (2) |
South Africa |
11 Oct 2023 | 18 Oct 2023 | 2 | – | |
| Gordon Sargent (5) |
United States |
25 Oct 2023 | 1 Nov 2023 | 2 | – | |
| Christo Lamprecht (3) |
South Africa |
8 Nov 2023 | 29 Nov 2023 | 4 | – | |
| Gordon Sargent (6) |
United States |
6 Dec 2023 | 17 Jan 2024 | 7 | – | |
| 48 | Nick Dunlap |
United States |
24 Jan 2024 | 31 Jan 2024 | 2 | 2 |
| Christo Lamprecht (4) |
South Africa |
7 Feb 2024 | 7 Feb 2024 | 1 | – | |
| Gordon Sargent (7) |
United States |
14 Feb 2024 | 21 Feb 2024 | 2 | – | |
| Christo Lamprecht (5) |
South Africa |
28 Feb 2024 | 10 Apr 2024 | 7 | 16 | |
| Gordon Sargent (8) |
United States |
17 Apr 2024 | 17 Apr 2024 | 1 | 31 |
- Key
| ^ | Record |
Chronology of women's world number ones
| # | Player | Country | First week | Last week | Weeks | Total weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mitsuki Katahira |
Japan |
16 Feb 2011 | 2 Mar 2011 | 3 | – |
| 2 | Cecilia Cho |
New Zealand |
9 Mar 2011 | 9 Mar 2011 | 1 | 1 |
| Mitsuki Katahira (2) |
Japan |
16 Mar 2011 | 20 Apr 2011 | 6 | 9 | |
| 3 | Lydia Ko |
New Zealand |
27 Apr 2011 | 16 Oct 2013 | 130 | 130 |
| 4 | Su-Hyun Oh |
Australia |
23 Oct 2013 | 23 Oct 2013 | 1 | – |
| 5 | Alison Lee |
United States |
30 Oct 2013 | 20 Nov 2013 | 4 | – |
| Su-Hyun Oh (2) |
Australia |
27 Nov 2013 | 27 Nov 2013 | 1 | 2 | |
| Alison Lee (2) |
United States |
4 Dec 2013 | 19 Feb 2014 | 12 | 16 | |
| 6 | Minjee Lee |
Australia |
26 Feb 2014 | 3 Sep 2014 | 28 | 28 |
| 7 | Brooke Henderson |
Canada |
10 Sep 2014 | 17 Dec 2014 | 15 | 15 |
| 8 | Céline Boutier |
France |
24 Dec 2014 | 1 Apr 2015 | 15 | 15 |
| 9 | Andrea Lee |
United States |
8 Apr 2015 | 6 May 2015 | 5 | – |
| 10 | Leona Maguire | 
Ireland |
13 May 2015 | 4 May 2016 | 52 | – |
| 11 | Hannah O'Sullivan |
United States |
11 May 2016 | 27 Jul 2016 | 12 | 12 |
| Leona Maguire (2) |
Ireland |
3 Aug 2016 | 28 Feb 2018 | 83 | 135 | |
| 12 | Lilia Kha-Tu Vu |
United States |
7 Mar 2018 | 4 Jul 2018 | 18 | – |
| 13 | Jennifer Kupcho |
United States |
11 Jul 2018 | 25 Jul 2018 | 3 | – |
| Lilia Kha-Tu Vu (2) |
United States |
1 Aug 2018 | 1 Aug 2018 | 1 | – | |
| Jennifer Kupcho (2) |
United States |
8 Aug 2018 | 24 Oct 2018 | 12 | – | |
| Lilia Kha-Tu Vu (3) |
United States |
31 Oct 2018 | 16 Jan 2019 | 12 | 31 | |
| Jennifer Kupcho (3) |
United States |
23 Jan 2019 | 29 May 2019 | 19 | 34 | |
| Andrea Lee (2) |
United States |
5 Jun 2019 | 5 Jun 2019 | 1 | – | |
| 14 | Frida Kinhult |
Sweden |
12 Jun 2019 | 12 Jun 2019 | 1 | – |
| Andrea Lee (3) |
United States |
19 Jun 2019 | 19 Jun 2019 | 1 | – | |
| 15 | Atthaya Thitikul | 
Thailand |
26 Jun 2019 | 26 Jun 2019 | 1 | – |
| Frida Kinhult (2) |
Sweden |
3 Jul 2019 | 7 Aug 2019 | 6 | 7 | |
| Andrea Lee (4) |
United States |
14 Aug 2019 | 16 Oct 2019 | 10 | 17 | |
| Atthaya Thitikul (2) |
Thailand |
23 Oct 2019 | 1 Jan 2020 | 11 | 12 | |
| 16 | Pauline Roussin-Bouchard |
France |
8 Jan 2020 | 26 Aug 2020 | 34 | 34 |
| 17 | Yu-Chiang Hou |
Chinese Taipei |
2 Sep 2020 | 9 Sep 2020 | 2 | 2 |
| 18 | Rose Zhang |
United States |
16 Sep 2020 | 31 May 2023 | 142 | 142^ |
| 19 | Ingrid Lindblad |
Sweden |
7 Jun 2023 | 17 Apr 2024 | 46 | 46 |
- Key
| ^ | Record |
Elite events
Prior to 2020, events were ranked in eight categories: Elite, A, B, C, D, E, F or G. The Elite events are listed below. The calculation of the ranking changed in 2020 and there are no longer any categories. [5]
Men
- The Amateur Championship
- European Amateur
- U.S. Amateur
- Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship
- Eisenhower Trophy
- NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships (beginning in 2016) [1]
Women
- The Women's Amateur Championship
- European Ladies Amateur Championship
- U.S. Women's Amateur
- NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships
- Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific (beginning in 2018)
- Espirito Santo Trophy
References
- ^ a b "Notice Regarding 2016 Amendments". WAGR. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
- ^ "The R&A, USGA Commence World Amateur Golf Ranking Partnership". USGA. 5 February 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2011.
- ^ "The R&A to launch Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking". The R&A. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
- ^ "Harvey breaks Law, while Boineau wins at home". The R&A. 16 February 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
- ^ "Power Method FAQs – Will there still be Elite events?". WAGR. Retrieved 29 January 2020.