Tiger Woods returned to competitive golf with his participation at the 2023 Hero World Challenge. Before entering the tournament, he was placed 1328th on the Official World Golf Rankings, and after his 18th place finish, he jumped to 898th rank, which was met with widespread confusion and criticism. Soon after this, the governing board of the OWGR announced drastic changes in its points system. Now, a new points distribution system will be there for a tournament with a field of 80 players or less. Also, players who record multi-win within 52 weeks will be rewarded with bonus points.
Dan Rapaport, a popular golf personality, recently took to his X (formerly Twitter) handle to drop a comment on the same. He stated that the OWGR board made important changes soon after Tiger Woods jumped 450 places on the World Rankings. He wrote,
“Three weeks after Tiger jumped 450 spots for finishing 18th out of 20 at the Hero they make this change…”
Three weeks after Tiger jumped 450 spots for finishing 18th out of 20 at the Hero they make this change… https://t.co/whsZEOV7B0
— Dan Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) December 21, 2023
The OWGR Chairman Peter Dawson said that they made the changes on the basis of the “extensive analysis following the changes implemented in August 2022”. Henceforth, it rules out all the possibility of these changes being the result of Tiger Woods’ return to competitive golf. However, some fans and experts feel that the changes were made to get the legendary golfer more points in fewer tournaments he plays in the near future.
As per the new points distribution curve, the OWGR will reward a greater percentage of World Rankings points to the players who finish on the top in any tournament with a field of 80 players or less. Except for the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs and the DP World Tour Championship, no points will be awarded to the players finishing in the bottom 15 percent of the table.
Another notable change was in the events that follow a match-play format. Players losing first-round matches or losing all the available matches in the pool format will receive no Official World Golf Rankings points. They also announced that players will receive 60 percent bonus points for their second win and a 70 percent bonus for their third or more wins in a 52-week period. Also, the bonus will be capped at four points.
These changes will be implemented from January 1, 2024, and the OWGR governing board will monitor changes and make necessary adjustments over time.
Exploring Tiger Woods’ Ranking Progression in 2023 on the OWGR
Tiger Woods was placed 1294th on the Official World Golf Rankings when he participated in his first tournament in 2023, the Genesis Invitational. His T45 finish in the tournament earned him 1.88156 points and helped him jump to 985th rank.
His next participation came at the Augusta National Golf Club in the 2023 Masters Tournament. He was ranked 1001st on the OWGR and due to his withdrawal from the tournament after two rounds. The 15-time major champion earned null points. Although he did make four places jump to 997th rank.
Due to his inactivity in the professional golf circuit, Tiger Woods constantly slipped in the Official World Golf Rankings. He made his return after recovering from his ankle injury at the 2023 Hero World Challenge. His rankings rose from 1328 to 898 which marked a 430 place jump. Currently, he is ranked 901st in the World.
With speculation regarding the changes on an all time high, it is to see ho these changes will affect players and how they rank going forward.
