Chasing No. 1

By Bill Kwon

Who's No. 1?

Tiger Woods' latest stay atop the World Golf Rankings was two weeks. He was replaced by Vijay Singh, above, this week. Advertiser library photos

By now, you must be like me — wondering how come Vijay Singh can reclaim his No. 1 ranking from Tiger Woods despite blowing two tournaments in a row.

Hitting his approach shot into the water at the final hole for a double bogey cost Singh a chance to win the Bay Hill Invitational last Sunday. The week before, he missed a 30-inch putt depriving him a victory in the Honda Classic.

Still, Singh can say he's No. 1.

Obviously, finishing second in both tournaments got him back on top.

But what gives with the way the Official World Golf Ranking is decided? Was it a computer malfunction? Did the powers in charge follow college football's Bowl Championship Series system?

Similar to the BCS, the Official World Golf Ranking is one that few people understand, much less agree with.

Curious about the procedure used, I had to go to the Official World Golf Ranking Web site to decipher the mechanics of the system that determines who's No. 1. The PGA Tour Media Guide also helped.

Still, there isn't enough space in this column to explain it all.

Endorsed by the four major championships — Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and the PGA Championship — and the five worldwide professional tours that make up the International Federation of PGA Tours, the official ranking is determined from the results of their events based on the players' finishing positions.

Points are awarded according to a tournament's strength of field based on the number and ranking of the top players competing. In addition, some strength-of-field weighting is given to a tournament that includes a significant percentage of the top 30 on the host tour's official money list from the prior year.

The four majors and this week's Players Championship are rated separately to reflect the high quality of their fields. The Volvo PGA Championship of the European Tour, as well as the Australian, Japanese and South African open championships, also are allocated higher minimum point levels to reflect their status.

The points for each player then are accumulated for a two-year "rolling" period based on a minimum of 40 tournaments played, with the points awarded in the most recent 13-week period doubled. A new wrinkle was added in September 2001, to devalue a player's points by one-eighth at the end of each 13-week segment. It has helped to give more weight to their more current performances.

The Official World Golf Ranking, overseen by the International Management Group and the PGA Tour, is released every Monday, following the completion of the previous week's tournament from around the world.

Got that?

Els

We've already seen Tiger replace Vijay for two weeks as No. 1. And, using the arcane system we've just described, Els can take over as the next No. 1 if he wins the Players Championship and Singh and Woods finish out of the top three.

Or it could be Vijay and Tiger trading places again. It could be a yearlong affair. Woods can reclaim No. 1 if he finishes at least seventh and ahead of Singh — if Els doesn't win this week.

The Big Three are among only 12 players who have held the No. 1 ranking since Bernard Langer began the official line of succession in 1986.

Woods holds the record with 336 weeks atop of rankings. Greg Norman is next at 331.

Considered golf's fifth major, the Players Championship will have its strongest field ever with all of the world's top 50 golfers entered and 83 of the top 100 in the rankings.

So, besides the $1.44 million top prize on the line, there's that the No. 1 ranking is up for grabs again.

Can Singh hold on to the position he previously held for 26 weeks when he ended Woods' incredible 264-week reign last September and again last week? Or will Woods resume what every golf fan feels is his rightful position as the world's No. 1 player?

You don't need any fancy tabulating to know that when it comes to golf, the only No. 1 is Tiger Woods.

Bill Kwon can be reached at bkwon@aloha.net.