4 days ago
How The Universal Golf Rankings are shaking up the world of men's professional golf
Over the past couple of years, particularly in this newsletter and across the broader golf conversation, we have regularly featured articles on global golf rankings, with a focus on men's professional golf.
This week, we're taking a deep dive into the Universal Golf Rankings, known as TUGR.
With the introduction of LIV Golf, the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) system has come under heavy scrutiny, to put it kindly. Many argue it no longer fairly reflects the current state of the professional game. TUGR was launched as a direct response to the OWGR's omission of LIV Golf players competing in the LIV Golf League.
Much of the noise has focused on the OWGR, while other aspects of the game, particularly the women's tours, are already well-covered by the LPGA, LET, and other global circuits, ensuring inclusion for all players and tours.
TUGR was introduced in 2023 to promote a level playing field, built on the pillars of: accuracy, fairness, inclusivity, simplicity, transparency, and trust.
Its rankings are based on an 18-month cycle, using a methodology that compares players directly against each other, purely on performance, not based on points, course difficulty, or score relative to par. This is the key difference from the OWGR and aligns more closely with the modern "Strokes Gained" systems used globally.
The published results are always interesting and open to scrutiny, as has been the case since the launch of the OWGR in 1986. Of course, objective analysis can always be debated subjectively.
Can one ranking system ever truly be accepted by the world of professional men's golf?
Only time will tell, but ultimately, accuracy and trust will be the deciding factors for fans, players, and governing bodies.
It's worth noting, though unsurprising, that LIV Golf has officially adopted TUGR rankings as a qualifying method for player entry into its annual LIV Golf Promotions tournament.
Here is the current TUGR Top 10 (OWGR ranking in parentheses):
1. Scottie Scheffler (1), 2. Jon Rahm (71), 3. Rory McIlroy (2), 4. Bryson DeChambeau (16), 5. Tommy Fleetwood (15), 6. Joaquin Niemann (98), 7. Collin Morikawa (6), 8. Russell Henley (5), 9. Xander Schauffele (3), 10. Justin Thomas (4).
Just a personal opinion: we're not entirely sure even Jon Rahm would agree that he's played better than Rory McIlroy over the past 18 months.
These are fascinating times for the sport, as traditional golf authorities are being challenged at the very core of the game. Will the industry unite under a single system, or allow third-party rankings like TUGR to prove their credibility?
Market forces may ultimately determine the "survival of the fittest" — or perhaps multiple rankings will become the new normal.
TUGR has also invested in a Global Junior Rankings system to support junior players, parents, and coaches, with a focus on golf scholarship admissions and comparative analytics.
We'll explore that TUGR Junior component in next week's edition.
