Sergio Has Shot At Number One This Weekend

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March 11, 2009

There’s a lot to like about this weekend’s WGC Championship at Doral. Every one of the top fifty will be present. Tiger will be playing in his second event—and his first regular event since his rehab.

But the biggest story may be that Sergio Garcia can take the number one spot away from Tiger Woods. All he has to do is finish first, with Tiger finishing 27th or worse.

I’m looking forward to it.

Posted By The Original Golf Blogger

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Comments

I appreciate the fact the Tiger Woods has not been adding points to his World Golf Ranking because of his surgery & recovery. His fall from an unassailable position is understandable. Still, it seems a travesty for a person with -0- major championships to have a chance to become #1.

At least Vijay Singh had a couple majors, money titles, etc… when he knocked Tiger Woods from the top spot. Sergio Garcia seems to have excelled at comming close without winning anything of significance other than the Players last year.

If Sergio ultimately becomes #1 without a major in his resume, my feeling is the WGR will be as important as the ranking system in tennis, which is laughable.

Posted by bkuehn1952 on 03/11
My major complaint about the World Golf Rankings is the two year window. Even though the points are depreciated as each week passes, it still allows someone who had a good year two years ago to ride that to the bitter end. If Tiger hasn’t played since June, he should not still be Number One. He is still the best player in the world in absolute terms, but in terms of Tournament performance over the last year, he’s not, because he hasn’t played in very many.

Posted by The Golf Blogger on 03/11
I agree with the Golf Blogger. The two year window doesn’t allow for a real determination of who is currently the #1 player. There was a similar problem with the LPGA rankings when Michelle Wie first turned pro and she was instantly ranked I think 2 in the world. I think their ranking system didn’t allow for enough of a window.

But beyond that, people need to acknowledge as well that Tiger usually plays the courses he’s won on before, thereby hedging his bet so to speak that he will not only continue to win but maintain his ranking. He doesn’t play a lot of events he’s never played before or courses he hasn’t played before.

The ATP Tennis ranking system seems to do a better job of identifying the #1 player. I don’t know how it all works but it does seem that the number 1 player, whoever it happens to be Federer or Nadal, is currently playing and playing well. And when Nadal did overtake Federer, he had beaten him at Wimbledon by then. No one could argue about the rankings at that point.

Posted by Miranda on 03/12
My complaint with the tennis rankings had more to do with the women’s side. I recall at one point that Kim Clijsters was #1, having never won a tennis major. She made all her ranking points by playing every tournament and winning a high number of lesser tournaments.

I had always assumed the World Golf Rankings measured who was the best overall player covering the 2 year time period, not who was the hottest player. Over the past 24 months, Tiger’s record stacks up very well to anyone you want to put against him. If one were to rank who is #1 based on recent performance, Mickelson and Ogilvey might be #1 and #2, assuming Phil hangs on in FL. Sergio just does not have the resume to be #1. Maybe the system gives too much weight to top 10’s and not enough to sealing the deal.

Posted by bkuehn1952 on 03/14