“It's really tough to rank golfers” – World No. 2 Scottie Scheffler gives OWGR the benefit of doubt

The Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) system has been facing criticism from golfers for a while now. Players like Tiger Woods and Jon Rahm have recently slammed the rankings. Amid the criticism, World No. 2 Scottie Scheffler has come out to lend support to the system.

Speaking at the Hero World Challenge in Albany, Bahamas, Scheffler said that it was “really tough to rank golfers” as they weren’t playing the same schedule. The PGA Tour star gave OWGR the benefit of the doubt, insisting it could improve.

Scottie Scheffler said:

“It's really tough to rank golfers when they're not playing the same schedule. So, I think as we all start to play together more often and you get the best players playing together more often, it's going to be much easier to rank those guys. It depends on how much value you place on a guy No. 1 in the world versus No. 50 in the world.”

He added:

“It's a tough system, it's not something that's easy to get right.”

Scottie Scheffler’s comments come only days after Tiger Woods called it “flawed.” The legendary golfer joined fellow tour member Jon Rahm as he slammed the ‘inefficient’ system.

Now, Scheffler, who is on track to reclaim the top spot in the world rankings this week, said the system could work better. The Masters champion backed the system to an extent.

He said:

“I understand that they got away from the minimums for every tour, which I think made a lot of sense. I think now I would say the top players are not bringing as much weight to events as they should.”

It is pertinent to note that Scheffler will reclaim the World No. 1 spot from Rory McIlroy if he manages to win the Hero World Challenge. The golfer’s comments on the OWGR came after a second-round 68 that moved him into a tie for second at the event.

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Jon Rahm calls OWGR laughable

Jon Rahm slammed the Official World Golf Rankings last month. The golfer was speaking at a press conference ahead of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, when he called it “laughable.”

He said:

“I’m going to be as blunt as I can. I think the OWGR right now is laughable. Laughable. Laughable. The fact that the (PGA Tour’s RSM Classic) doesn’t have any of the top 20 in the world has more points than this event where we have seven of the top 20 is laughable. The fact that Wentworth had less points than Napa, having players in the top 10 in the world is laughable.”

Rahm's harsh comments on the system came after OWGR announced more points for the PGA Tour’s RSM Classic winner despite having fewer ranked players on the field compared to the DP World Tour Championship.

Interestingly, criticism of the ranking system escalated this week at the Hero World Challenge. Players, including the event’s host Tiger Woods, came out to speak against the “flawed” system that had wrongly distributed points.