March 2024 Update
Here is my analysis of the Great British & Irish (GB&I) men’s amateur golf rankings as at 31st March 2024 (Quarter 1 – 2024).
Historically I focussed my attention on the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking (SPWAR) and the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), comparing their rankings of our leading players. Sadly Fred Solomon, the founder and sole compiler of the SPWAR, passed away on 16th April 2023 so this approach came to an end last year.
Nowadays I review the Data Golf and Scoreboard U.S. College rankings, alongside WAGR, in these quarterly reviews.
As Quarter 1 is a quiet playing period in GB&I it is normal for a large number of our players to see their rankings decline at this time.
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My Player Of The Quarter
My Player of the Quarter award goes to Gregor GRAHAM (SCO) who enjoyed a very productive early season tour of South Africa with the Scottish Men’s Squad.
Here is a summary of Gregor’s Quarter 1 performances: –
Gauteng North Open (PN 170.7142) – 2nd
South African Stroke Play Championship (PN 259.4548) – 8th
South African Amateur Championship (PN 290.6836) – 1st
Golf RSA International Amateur (PN 284.6546) – 3rd
Spanish International Amateur (PN 513.9808) – 7th
Gregor, now ranked 248th on WAGR, improved his status by 205 places in the first three months of the year.
Gregor Graham (Photo: Golf RSA)
To see my previous Player of the Quarter winners please refer to Appendix 1 below.
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World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR)
The table below shows the Top 40 GB&I players in the WAGR as well as their ranking movement during the first three months of 2024.
Calum SCOTT (SCO), who is 38th, remains the No. 1 ranked GB&I player in the WAGR.
Max KENNEDY (IRL), Tyler WEAVER (ENG), Gregor GRAHAM (SCO), Joe SULLIVAN (ENG), Seán KEELING (IRL), Ben PARTRIDGE (ENG), Luke POULTER (ENG), Oscar CRAIG (ENG), Jack WHALEY (ENG), Charlie FORSTER (ENG), Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) and Jonathan BALE (ENG) have all taken positive steps on WAGR in 2024.
Oscar CRAIG (ENG), the step son of Tommy Fleetwood, has earned his #428 ranking via a number of high finishes over the last 15 months in events staged in U.A.E. He would appear to be over-ranked and currently benefitting from a low Divisor but is no doubt an interesting player to keep an eye on.
For more information on WAGR please see Appendix 2 below.
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Data Golf Amateur Ranking
The table below shows the Top 40 GB&I players in the Data Golf ranking at the end of March 2024.
Calum SCOTT (SCO), who is 39th, is still the No. 1 ranked GB&I player in the Data Golf ranking.
The Data Golf amateur rankings are determined by averaging the field strength-adjusted scores of each golfer, with recent rounds receiving more weight. The index listed on the ranking – the DG Index – is this weighted average (adjusted slightly for players with fewer rounds played), and should be interpreted as their expectation for a golfer’s next performance, in units of strokes-gained relative to an average golfer in the Division 1 NCAA Championship, which they estimate to be about 2.3 strokes worse per round than an average PGA Tour field. That is, an amateur golfer with a DG index of +3 would be expected to beat the D1 NCAA Championship field by 3 strokes per round, and a PGA Tour field by 0.7 strokes per round.
The data used to form this ranking includes all WAGR-sanctioned events, and any professional events that amateurs happen to play in. To be eligible for the amateur rankings, a golfer must be an amateur, and have played at least 20 rounds in the last 2 years and at least 1 round in the previous 12 months.
It is updated weekly but it often takes the team a few days to catch up with the corresponding WAGR release.
Click here to view the – Data Golf Amateur Ranking
Data Golf explain more about their approach and how the rankings compare to those of the WAGR in this article – Using The True Strokes-Gained Metric In Amateur Golf.
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U.S. College Rankings
Scoreboard powered by Clippd (formerly Spikemark)
The number of GB&I players listed by this new ranking has increased as more college events have been completed in the 2023/24 season.
Here is a list of the GB&I players featuring in the latest Spikemark Men’s Division I U.S. College Individual ranking which was released on 3rd April 2024:-
Tyler WEAVER (ENG), who is 37th, is the No. 1 ranked GB&I player in the latest Scoreboard ranking.
The Scoreboard ranking system was developed in collaboration with Professor Mark Broadie who is widely known for his development of the ‘Strokes Gained’ statistical approach and more recently the latest Official World Golf Rankings algorithm that is used in professional golf.
Clippd introduced their first ranking on 11th November 2023 covering the 2023/24 U.S. College Fall Season.
The new collegiate player and team rankings are a will be a reward-for-performance system that factors in both strength of field and finishing position (with a significant premium for winning). Strokes Gained will be used to determine an event’s strength of field. Strokes Gained (at a neutral course) is a mathematical system which uses average round scores, adjusted for course difficulty and strength of field and then considers all indirect connections between players and teams through other players and teams who have previously competed against each other. Each player and team will earn and carry a ‘Spikemark Skill’ based on their past performances and the aggregate of this will determine how many ranking points are attributed to an event. These ranking points will then be shared among the competing players and teams at each event, weighted in favour of their final finishing positions. The rankings will be based on average points in the season so that the number of events played does not become a determining factor.
Click here to view the – Clippd Website
Click here to view the – Scoreboard.Clippd.com Website
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In recent years the PGA Tour has sought to built a stronger bridge between U.S. college golf and the professional game over there. They have done this by introducing the PGA TOUR University Ranking and the PGA TOUR University Accelerated leaderboard.
PGA TOUR University Ranking
On 1st June 2020 the PGA TOUR introduced the PGA TOUR University Ranking List for NCAA Division I golfers entering their fourth year (senior) of collegiate play and covering their final two year’s results. The program was designed to help the leading U.S. College golfers transition on to the PGA TOUR and to encourage more students to complete their educations.
Enhancements to the scheme were subsequently announced on 14th November 2022, 8th May 2023 and 12th December 2023.
The Ranking is based on the World Amateur Golf Ranking and includes all NCAA Division I Men’s Golf events, official PGA TOUR events, select DP World Tour events and all Major Championship performances. No other performances are included in the analysis.
A player has to compete in a minimum of nine events, including the NCAA Division I Men’s Regional Championship, during their final senior year.
The 2022/23 Ranking was finalised on 31st May 2023 following the conclusion of the NCAA Division I Men’s National Championship stroke play stage at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. Ludvig ABERG (SWE) was the No. 1 player in the 2023 PGA TOUR University Ranking. He earned PGA TOUR membership for the remainder of the 2023 season and all of the 2024 season (subject to reshuffles).
The PGA TOUR University Ranking List is updated weekly during the collegiate season on the back of the WAGR release. The current list can be viewed here – PGA Tour University Ranking
Michael THORBJORNSEN (USA) leads Christo LAMPRECHT (RSA) in the 2023/24 list. There are no GB&I players in the current top 25 with Max KENNEDY (IRL), 29th, being the highest ranked.
The 2024 PGA TOUR University ranking will offer the following playing rewards: –
The #1 player – PGA Tour for 2024 and 2025
The #1-5 ranked players – Korn Ferry Tour (full) 2024 and Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School
The #6-10 ranked players – Korn Ferry Tour (conditional) 2024, PGA TOUR Americas 2024 and Second Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School
The #11-25 ranked players – PGA TOUR Americas 2024 and Second Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School
Q-School presented by Korn Ferry – where the top 5 finishers and ties earn PGA TOUR cards.
The players who finished 6th-10th earned conditional membership on the Korn Ferry Tour and are exempt on PGA TOUR Canada in 2023, and players finishing 11th-20th will be exempt on PGA TOUR Canada. Players finishing 6th-20th are also exempt into Second Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School.
From 2024 players finishing 21st – 24th and the No. 1 player in NCAA Division II (subject to them being a junior or senior) will also be eligible to earn PGA TOUR Americas membership.
PGA Tour University Trophy
It will be interesting to see if the PGA TOUR move across to the new Scoreboard Rankings in due course given their existing association with strokes gained guru Mark Broadie.
Since 2021 the DP World Tour’s Dubai Desert Classic, played at the Emirates Golf Club in January each year, has offered a sponsor’s exemption to the No. 1 player in the PGA Tour University Ranking at the end of the previous fall college golf season.
PGA TOUR University Accelerated
A new program aimed at catching high achieving freshmen, sophomores and juniors entitled ‘PGA TOUR University Accelerated’ was introduced in November 2022.
Players earn points based on their accomplishments in college, amateur and professional golf. If they amass 20 points by the end of their third year of NCAA eligibility – a very high threshold – they will earn PGA TOUR membership gaining eligiblity for all open, full-field events following the conclusion of that year’s NCAA Championship.
In May 2023 it was announced that a successful player’s PGA TOUR membership would also be extended to the following season (subject to reshuffles).
Accelerated points can be earned through the following achievements: –
On 18th October 2023 Gordon SARGENT (USA) became the first player to reach the 20 points mark. He reached the magic number when he represented USA at the World Amateur Team Championship in Abu Dhabi.
Gordon Sargent’s PGA Tour University Accelerated Points (Graphic: PGA Tour University)
On 18th April 2024 Sargent announced that he would be completing his senior year at Vanderbilt University in 2024/25.
Following the conclusion of the 2024 NCAA Division I National Championship in late May Sargent would have become eligible to accept PGA Tour membership, eligible for open, full field events throughout 2024 and 2025 (subject to reshuffles), should he have chosen to turn professional. He will now taken up his PGA Tour place in May 2025 after next year’s Division I National Championship.
Gordon Sargent Receives His PGA Tour Card In Abu Dhabi (Photo: PGA Tour)
As of 2nd February 2024 the top five players on the Accelerated register are: –
20 points – Gordon SARGENT (USA), Vanderbilt (Junior, 2025)
7 points – Aaron JARVIS (CAY), UNLV (Junior, 2025)
7 points – Ben JAMES (USA), Virginia (Sophomore, 2026)
7 points – David FORD (USA), North Carolina (Junior, 2025)
7 points – Jose BALLESTER (ESP), Arizona State (Junior, 2025)
5 points – Preston SUMMERHAYS (USA), Arizona State (Junior, 2025)
4 points – Calum SCOTT (SCO), Texas Tech (Junior, 2025)
The current 2024 list can be viewed in full here – PGA Tour University Accelerated
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Amateur Tournament Rankings
The WAGR‘s ‘Power Method’ provides clarity as to their approach to event ranking.
I have used its event ‘power numbers’ (PN) to create three 2024 WAGR event rankings – U.S. Collegiate (Min. PN 250.0000), International (Min. PN 50.0000) and GB&I (Min. PN 30.0000).
My lists below cover competitions staged in the year to date and are restricted to events that have featured GB&I players.
For comparison purposes the full 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 tables are all shown in Appendix 5 below.
The following tables continue to highlight the strength of U.S. collegiate golf which as more and more players choose to go down this route impacts the field strengths seen elsewhere.
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Turned Pro In 2024
George ASH (ENG), Marc BOUCHER (IRL) and Alfie FOX (ENG) all turned pro in Quarter 1 2024.
Please refer to the Turned Pro section of this website to view my rolling record of notable departures.
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Appendices
Appendix 1 – Previous Golf Bible Player Of The Quarter Results
December 2024 –
September 2024 –
June 2024 –
March 2024 – Gregor GRAHAM (SCO)
December 2023 – Joshua BERRY (ENG)
September 2023 – Kris KIM (ENG)
June 2023 – Alex MAGUIRE (IRL)
March 2023 – Max KENNEDY (IRL)
December 2022 – No award made due to the limited number of events played (Winter).
September 2022 – Hugh FOLEY (IRL)
June 2022 – Matthew MCCLEAN (IRL)
March 2022 – Rory FRANSSEN (SCO)
December 2021 – Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG)
September 2021 – John GOUGH (ENG)
June 2021 – Laird SHEPHERD (ENG)
March 2021 – Jack DYER (ENG)
December 2020 – Alex FITZPATRICK (ENG)
September 2020 – Joe LONG (ENG)
June 2020 – No award made due to the limited number of events played (COVID-19).
March 2020 – Ben SCHMIDT (ENG)
December 2019 – No award made due to the limited number of events played (Winter).
September 2019 – Sandy SCOTT (SCO)
June 2019 – Euan WALKER (SCO)
March 2019 – Conor PURCELL (IRL)
December 2018 – Jake BURNAGE (ENG)
September 2018 – Conor GOUGH (ENG)
June 2018 – Mitch WAITE (ENG)
March 2018 – Billy MCKENZIE (ENG)
December 2017 – Ben JONES (ENG)
September 2017 – Todd CLEMENTS (ENG)
June 2017 – Matthew JORDAN (ENG)
March 2017 – Jack DAVIDSON (WAL)
December 2016 – No award made due to the limited number of events played (Winter).
September 2016 – David BOOTE (WAL)
June 2016 – Scott GREGORY (ENG)
March 2016 – Jack HUME (IRL)
Appendix 2 – World Amateur Golf Ranking Updates
Recent WAGR announcements on their methodology can be viewed here: –
WAGR Criteria Updates for 2024 (24/11/23)
Changes to WAGR For 2023 (08/12/22)
Important WAGR Updates (28/10/21)
Understanding The Power Method (28/04/21)
Transition To The Power Method (24/12/19)
New WAGR Power Method From 2020 (20/11/19)
Notice Regarding 2019 Amendments (03/01/19)
Notice Regarding 2018 Amendments (01/06/18)
Two Year Ranking Examples (04/02/16)
Appendix 3 – Historic Ranking Notes
The WAGR is undoubtedly the most important amateur golf ranking because of the credibility given to it by both The R&A and the USGA and because it is used by many events to assist with entry eligibility.
Click here to view the – World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR)
However, I always believed that the SPWAR was superior to WAGR so the death of its founder, Fred Solomon, in April 2023 and the collapse of his ranking represented a huge loss to those that followed this area of the sport.
I discussed the reasons for this opinion in an article I originally wrote in February 2016 (and subsequently updated a few times) – ‘Why The SPWAR Is Better Than The WAGR’.
Please read my obituary of Fred Solomon here – Fred Solomon (1953-2023)
Appendix 4 – Historic Amateur Rankings
Since June 2023 I have maintained a record of the quarterly GB&I WAGR’s for our top 30 players.
Between December 2015 and March 2023 I used to compare the SPWAR and WAGR of our leading players and produce a ‘Combined’ ranking, aggregating and averaging out the two main amateur rankings.
These lists are shown below: –
Period: June 2023 – March 2024
Period: December 2015 – March 2023
Appendix 5 – 2020-2023 WAGR Event Rankings
Here are the 2020-2023 WAGR event rankings based on its allocated ‘power numbers’. There is one each for U.S. Collegiate, International and GB&I events. Each list is restricted to events that have featured GB&I players.
2023
2022
2021
2020
ME.
Copyright © 2014-2024, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.
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