Could Luke Donald Really Be the World's Number One Player?

[boogielicious]

Good point Eric.  World golf rankings are a statistical tool used to fairly determine entries in majors, tournament and tour exemptions, etc.  The media uses it differently as a prestige award and lately, as a "you're better than Tiger" badge.  Does it win any award or money like the FedEx cup?  Do you get a yellow jersey to wear during the year like the Tour de France so everyone in the tournament knows your number one?  No, although that might be cool.

It is a good tool for showing the current performance of a player.  It weighs performance by strength of field and gives more weight to Majors.  Luke Donald is a wonderful golfer with a tremendous short game and has been very consistent lately.  If he gets to number one on his great short game, then he deserves it.  Sure will make Mizuno happy.

[bplewis24]

I'm all for a guy repping Mizuno to be the #1 player in the world :-)

[J_Bone]

I think its great! I hope he pulls it off.

[01Golfer]

tiger woods is still the best golfer in the wolrd by far. Let us be honest. Anyone that manages to play bad golf around Augusta national park in the masters and nearly win is in a different world from the rest of us. I am south african and a huge fan of charl but lets be fair him, day ad scott played out of their socks to beat tiger, and tiger left 10 plus shots out on the course easily.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by 01Golfer

tiger woods is still the best golfer in the wolrd by far. Let us be honest. Anyone that manages to play bad golf around Augusta national park in the masters and nearly win is in a different world from the rest of us. I am south african and a huge fan of charl but lets be fair him, day ad scott played out of their socks to beat tiger, and tiger left 10 plus shots out on the course easily.

Good points. Also, Mario Lemieux is still the best hockey player in the world. By far!!

[allin]

Originally Posted by iacas

I don't see a problem with the OWGR. I also don't really care much about #1. It's only really relevant when Tiger loses it - a few months ago due to not winning or playing much, and then the time before that when Vijay Singh took it by winning like 27 tournaments in one year. :-)

The OWGR matters a lot more at various other points - top 50 get into majors, for example - and those kinds of things are never talked about. They must be pretty good, then...

Your response about number one touches on the real issue.  Since it affects all these other golfers, and invites to important events if it the ratings system doesn't properly weight performance than that is the relevant issue whether for number one or number 50.  I do think wins and wins in majors should carry extra weight.  Beyond that though with the PGA tour not nearly as dominant as it once was and with the European tour nearing parity, at least in the first 50, and other tours such as the Asian improving it is very difficult to rank performance except when most of the top players are there.  This means the majors plus another 6-10 events which attract strong international fields should have a stronger weight.  I know the current process does measure strength of field, put does it give enough weight to these top events, especially a win in one.  How much bonus for WGC events, the players championship, etc is proper.  There is a balance between making everything but the majors meaningless.  I feel like majors should carry like a twenty percent bonus and maybe 10 for other near major events for winning.

[Shindig]

From the thread progress, it looks like I may have been right about people reaching #1 before winning a major (although it seems Westwood is the only person so far to reach that rank that didn't grab one pretty quickly thereafter).

Originally Posted by allin

Your response about number one touches on the real issue.  Since it affects all these other golfers, and invites to important events if it the ratings system doesn't properly weight performance than that is the relevant issue whether for number one or number 50.  I do think wins and wins in majors should carry extra weight.  Beyond that though with the PGA tour not nearly as dominant as it once was and with the European tour nearing parity, at least in the first 50, and other tours such as the Asian improving it is very difficult to rank performance except when most of the top players are there.  This means the majors plus another 6-10 events which attract strong international fields should have a stronger weight.  I know the current process does measure strength of field, put does it give enough weight to these top events, especially a win in one.  How much bonus for WGC events, the players championship, etc is proper.  There is a balance between making everything but the majors meaningless.  I feel like majors should carry like a twenty percent bonus and maybe 10 for other near major events for winning.

The majors already carry extra weight, as more ranking points are available at them.  The Masters had 100, the two WGCs had 76 and 74, respectively.  The highest other one was the L.A. Open at 62.  Those are pretty big gaps in points available.

[allin]

Originally Posted by Shindig

From the thread progress, it looks like I may have been right about people reaching #1 before winning a major (although it seems Westwood is the only person so far to reach that rank that didn't grab one pretty quickly thereafter).

The majors already carry extra weight, as more ranking points are available at them.  The Masters had 100, the two WGCs had 76 and 74, respectively.  The highest other one was the L.A. Open at 62.  Those are pretty big gaps in points available.

I know, I was just raising the issue of how much the bonus should be?  I also was pointing out that too big a bump could devalue regular events, tennis for example seems to suffer from this.

[Shindig]

Originally Posted by allin

I know, I was just raising the issue of how much the bonus should be?  I also was pointing out that too big a bump could devalue regular events, tennis for example seems to suffer from this.

My apologies;  I see it now on re-read.  I'm sorry if it seemed that I was being adversarial (that wasn't my goal).

[Varsity_Golf]

I think that Luke Donald is absolutly worthy of being the world #1.  While he may not be a long driver, he is an ARTIST with the irons and his putter (Has not had a 3 putt in something like 115 holes).  Go Luke Donald!  I sincerely hope that Westwood doesn't become #1.

[SVTGolfer]

Originally Posted by Shindig

Well, Westwood wasn't the first to reach the #1 rankings without a major.  Do you really think Todd Hamilton would have been a more fitting #1 than he?

Starting again every year?  At the end of Tiger's 2007 season, you think he should have lost the #1 ranking, in the midst of one of his most dominating stretches, because he didn't show up at Kapalua?

Yep… You should have to prove yourself every year, period. No gimmies. It would make it more interesting, plus its golf so you never know what could happen and who could show up to play. Every other sport does it, why not the PGA/World Golf rankings??? Im not saying Donald isnt a great player, Im just saying I don't see him as a #1. To be honest nobody has really proved worthy of that spot anyways. There are some great players out there, but without a good win or even a major, how could they possibly be "The Best." I think McElroy is one of the most outstanding players in the world, he just hasn't been able to finish… In my eyes he's a better player than Donald and always has been. Doesn't mean he should be #1.

[deasy55]

Originally Posted by SVTGolfer

Yep… You should have to prove yourself every year, period. No gimmies. It would make it more interesting, plus its golf so you never know what could happen and who could show up to play. Every other sport does it, why not the PGA/World Golf rankings??? Im not saying Donald isnt a great player, Im just saying I don't see him as a #1. To be honest nobody has really proved worthy of that spot anyways. There are some great players out there, but without a good win or even a major, how could they possibly be "The Best." I think McElroy is one of the most outstanding players in the world, he just hasn't been able to finish… In my eyes he's a better player than Donald and always has been. Doesn't mean he should be #1.

If the World Rankings were done your way the current top 5 would be:

1. Schwartzel

2. Donald

3. Kaymer

4. Watney

5. Wilson

And Donald would go #1 with a win. He will be #1 with a win using the current system and using your 'start again every year' system.

[Tiger Spuds]

Donald is a great player, no doubt. However, is a WGC win and 4th place finish at the Masters enough to justify a number 1 ranking? I'm not so sure.

Look at Kaymer's recent record.

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner(s)-up
1	20 Jan 2008	Abu Dhabi Golf Championship	-15 (66–65–68–74=273)	4 strokes	Henrik Stenson , Lee Westwood
2	22 Jun 2008	BMW International Open	-15 (68–63–67–75=273)	Playoff	Anders Hansen
3	5 Jul 2009	Open de France ALSTOM	-13 (62–72–69–68=271)	Playoff	Lee Westwood
4	12 Jul 2009	Barclays Scottish Open	-15 (69–65–66–69=269)	2 strokes	Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño , Raphaël Jacquelin
5	24 Jan 2010	Abu Dhabi Golf Championship	-21 (67–67–67–66=267)	1 stroke	Ian Poulter
6	15 Aug 2010	PGA Championship	-11 (72–68–67–70=277)	Playoff	Bubba Watson
7	12 Sep 2010	KLM Open	-14 (67–67–66–66=266)	4 strokes	Christian Nilsson , Fabrizio Zanotti
8	10 Oct 2010	Alfred Dunhill Links Championship	-17 (68–69–68–66=271)	3 strokes	Danny Willett
9	23 Jan 2011	Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship	-24 (67–65–66–66=264)	8 strokes	Rory McIlroy

9 wins, in 3 years, including a Major. That's absolutely worthy of the number 1 spot, no question.

Lee Westwood was also probably also worthy of the spot, just about. His recent record is far less impressive than Kaymer's however.

Here's Donald's win record.

PGA Tour wins (3)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner(s)-up
1	2 Nov 2002	Southern Farm Bureau Classic	-15 (66-67-68=201)	1 stroke	Deane Pappas
2	12 Mar 2006	Honda Classic	-12 (72-67-68-69=276)	2 strokes	Geoff Ogilvy
3	27 Feb 2011	WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship	3 and 2		Martin Kaymer

European Tour wins (4)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner(s)-up
1	1 Aug 2004	Scandinavian Masters by Carlsberg	-16 (69-65-69-69=272)	5 strokes	Peter Hanson
2	5 Sep 2004	Omega European Masters	-19 (67-67-65-66=265)	5 strokes	Miguel Ángel Jiménez
3	30 May 2010	Madrid Masters	-21 (65-67-68-67=267)	1 stroke	Rhys Davies

I realise he's had some decent non-winning finishes in the last few years, but many of the top ranked players have. Personally, I don't think he's done enough to justify being number 1, the system seems very flawed to me. Just my opinion though.

[Mr. Desmond]

Donald as a Number 1 without winning a stroke play event in the USA since 2006 -- apparently, 9 top 10s in 10 events gets that average up...

[deasy55]

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

Donald as a Number 1 without winning a stroke play event in the USA since 2006 -- apparently, 9 top 10s in 10 events gets that average up...

But to get to #1 he must win which makes that point incorrect

[Chilli Dipper]

Originally Posted by Tiger Spuds

Donald is a great player, no doubt. However, is a WGC win and 4th place finish at the Masters enough to justify a number 1 ranking? I'm not so sure.

Look at Kaymer's recent record.

No.

Date

Tournament

Winning Score

Margin of Victory

Runner(s)-up

1

20 Jan 2008

Abu Dhabi Golf Championship

-15 (66–65–68–74=273)

4 strokes

Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood

2

22 Jun 2008

BMW International Open

-15 (68–63–67–75=273)

Playoff

Anders Hansen

3

5 Jul 2009

Open de France ALSTOM

-13 (62–72–69–68=271)

Playoff

Lee Westwood

4

12 Jul 2009

Barclays Scottish Open

-15 (69–65–66–69=269)

2 strokes

Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño,

Raphaël Jacquelin

5

24 Jan 2010

Abu Dhabi Golf Championship

-21 (67–67–67–66=267)

1 stroke

Ian Poulter

6

15 Aug 2010

PGA Championship

-11 (72–68–67–70=277)

Playoff

Bubba Watson

7

12 Sep 2010

KLM Open

-14 (67–67–66–66=266)

4 strokes

Christian Nilsson, Fabrizio Zanotti

8

10 Oct 2010

Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

-17 (68–69–68–66=271)

3 strokes

Danny Willett

9

23 Jan 2011

Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship

-24 (67–65–66–66=264)

8 strokes

Rory McIlroy

9 wins, in 3 years, including a Major. That's absolutely worthy of the number 1 spot, no question.

Lee Westwood was also probably also worthy of the spot, just about. His recent record is far less impressive than Kaymer's however.

Here's Donald's win record.

PGA Tour wins (3)

No.

Date

Tournament

Winning Score

Margin of Victory

Runner(s)-up

1

2 Nov 2002

Southern Farm Bureau Classic

-15 (66-67-68=201)

1 stroke

Deane Pappas

2

12 Mar 2006

Honda Classic

-12 (72-67-68-69=276)

2 strokes

Geoff Ogilvy

3

27 Feb 2011

WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship

3 and 2

Martin Kaymer

European Tour wins (4)

No.

Date

Tournament

Winning Score

Margin of Victory

Runner(s)-up

1

1 Aug 2004

Scandinavian Masters by Carlsberg

-16 (69-65-69-69=272)

5 strokes

Peter Hanson

2

5 Sep 2004

Omega European Masters

-19 (67-67-65-66=265)

5 strokes

Miguel Ángel Jiménez

3

30 May 2010

Madrid Masters

-21 (65-67-68-67=267)

1 stroke

Rhys Davies

I realise he's had some decent non-winning finishes in the last few years, but many of the top ranked players have. Personally, I don't think he's done enough to justify being number 1, the system seems very flawed to me. Just my opinion though.

The root of the issue ultimately comes down to a matter of excellence vs. consistency, as it always does in points-oriented scoring systems of merit. Kaymer has won seven times in the last two years, but only 18 top-ten finishes overall; since last year's PGA (which he won), he has a record of three wins, a runner-up, a T9, a T10, seven finishes outside the top ten, and one missed cut. Donald, on the other hand, has only won twice in the last two years, but has finished in the top ten 23 times; since last year's PGA (where he missed the cut) he has a record of one win, two runners-up, two T3s, a T4, a T6, an 8, a T9, a T10, two finishes outside the top ten, and one missed cut.

Certainly, Kaymer is the more outstanding player of the two, but he doesn't put himself into contention as often as Donald does. Whom one views as the better player depends on which quality he values more.

[bplewis24]

Welp, Donald is going to need a birdie on 18 (or a par to force a playoff) to become the world #1 golfer. If he does neither, Westwood will regain it. Brandon

[JetFan1983]

Darn, I was really hoping this was going to happen for Luke today. Happy for Sneds though.