The past week was a big one for amateur golf as the North & South played out at Pinehurst Nos. 2 and 4. The North & South Women’s Amateur will follow beginning July 14 and with that, the summer amateur calendar – albeit modified – is off and running in the U.S.
With play beginning to restart, the R&A and USGA have issued a joint update on the status of the World Amateur Golf Ranking. After reviewing the number of elite amateur events planned for the coming weeks, the governing bodies have decided to restart the aging process within the rankings system on July 8.
A player’s position in the WAGR is based on events in a rolling 104-week window. The WAGR underwent an algorithm change at the start of the year designed to make the ranking a better indication of a player’s current form. Under the new method, only points from events within the most recent 52 weeks of a player’s record count at full value. From there, event points are reduced proportionately, approximately two percent, per week before their removal after 104 weeks.
The USGA and R&A announced a pause in the tournament aging process on April 9, but rankings updates were still published each week to reflect other changes.
The WAGR is particularly important for players this year. Note that the rankings as of June 24 were used to determine WAGR-based exemptions into the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur.
The top seven ranked male players in the WAGR (not otherwise qualified) as of Aug. 19 earn a spot in the U.S. Open. The top 20 women from the WAGR as of Nov. 4, 2020, who are not otherwise exempt within the top 100 of the ranking, will earn a spot in the U.S. Women’s Open.
Monday’s rankings announcement from the R&A and USGA also included new dates for determining the 2020 Mark H. McCormack Medal winners, an honor awarded to the top-ranked male and female player each year. The men’s medal-winner will be determined based on the Sept. 9 update (week 36) while the women’s medal-winner will be determined by Oct. 7 update (week 40).
