The Official World Golf Ranking Governing Board announced Wednesday the group’s rankings will restart after June 14.
The PGA Tour is expected to resume June 11-14 with the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. The Korn Ferry Tour is also expected to resume the same week with the Korn Ferry Challenge at TPC Sawgrass. The rankings are expected to resume on a weekly basis following the tournaments.
Rory McIlroy sat as the top-ranked male golfer during the break while Jin Young Ko earned the No. 1 spot on the women’s side. McIlroy is currently No. 2 on the Golfweek/Sagarin Professional Ranking behind Webb Simpson, while Ko retained her top ranking. The Golfweek/Sagarin Ranking continued to run throughout the COVID-19 break.
During the break, McIlroy — who jumped to No. 1 on the OWGR in February —won TaylorMade Driving Relief, a charity match for COVID-19 relief, with partner Dustin Johnson. The pair defeated Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff.
The first event back on the European Tour schedule after the pause due to COVID-19 is the British Masters at Close House Golf Club in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. The LPGA is expected to restart mid-July with the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, a team event in Midland, Michigan, July 15-18. European Tour and LPGA players, among other pros impacted by later season restarts, will be able to compete for ranking points until their seasons resume.
The OWGR was frozen March 15 due to COVID-19 and resulting postponements of the professional golf calendar.
With competition on other eligible tours won’t restart at the same time, many players will not have the opportunity to compete for ranking points until a later date. The averaging formula used in the calculation of the Ranking will help to mitigate any resulting impact, be it positive or negative to a player’s ranking.
“The upcoming resumption of play in the United States marks the welcome beginning of the recovery of elite men’s golf from the effects of the pandemic,” OWGR Board Chairman Peter Dawson said. “Many of our sport’s top players will be competing and this merits today’s announcement of the reactivation of the Ranking. The safeguards in the OWGR system alongside the continued recognition of the frozen Ranking will help players globally, and the Board will continue to monitor developments in these difficult times.”
