Tiger Woods or Greg Norman, who holds the record for most weeks on top of the world rankings?

From Tiger Woods to Rory McIlroy, the sport of golf has seen several players top the world rankings list. Since the men's Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) was introduced on April 6, 1986, 25 players have reached the top of the world rankings from 10 different countries as of 2022.

All these players held the top ranks for different spells at different periods of time. The first golfer to top the OWGR list was Bernhard Langer from Germany. He spent three weeks at the top before being overtaken by Spaniard Seve Ballesteros. The current World No. 1 is Rory McIlroy from Northern Ireland, who has reached 107* weeks in his 9th spell.

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Tiger Woods holds the record for the maximum number of weeks as World No. 1

Over the years, different players have topped the world rankings, but the reign of Tiger Woods as World No. 1 is one of a kind. The 15-time major champion has been the World No. 1 for 11 spells, spending a total of 683 weeks between June 15, 1997 and May 17, 2014, the highest by any golfer. Interestingly, his cumulative time as World No. 1 is twice that of the next best golfer, Greg Norman.

Tiger's longest spell as World No. 1 was between June 12, 2005 and October 30, 2010 – for a consecutive 281 weeks, the longest consecutive streak. Woods first reached the peak on September 14, 1986, when he was just 21 years old. His last spell ended on May 17, 2014 and he hasn't reached the top of the world rankings ever since.

No other golfer has spent more than 100 consecutive weeks at the top, but Greg Norman is the closest with 96. The Australian holds the second-highest record as World No. 1, having spent a combined 331 weeks across 11 spells throughout his career. Norman first became the World No. 1 on September 14, 1986 and his last spell ended on January 10, 1998.

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Other Golfers who have held the World No. 1 rank

Apart from Tiger Woods and Greg Norman, 23 golfers have reached the pinnacle of the world rankings. Take a look at all the golfers who have reached the top of the world rankings across different spells and weeks.

• Bernhard Langer (1 spell, 3 weeks)
• Seve Ballesteros (5 spells, 61 weeks)
• Greg Norman (11 spells, 331 weeks)
• Nick Faldo (4 spells, 97 weeks)
• Ian Woosnam (1 spell, 50 weeks)
• Fred Couples (2 spells, 16 weeks)
• Nick Price (1 spell, 44 weeks)
• Tom Lehman (1 spell, 1 week)
• Tiger Woods (11 spells 683 weeks)
• Ernie Els (3 spells, 9 weeks)
• David Duval (2 spells, 15 weeks)
• Vijay Singh (3 spells, 32 weeks)
• Lee Westwood (2 spells, 22 weeks)
• Martin Kaymer (1 spell, 8 weeks)
• Luke Donald (4 spells, 56 weeks)
• Rory McIlroy (9 spells, 107 weeks)
• Adam Scott (1 spell, 11 weeks)
• Jordan Spieth (4 spells, 26 weeks)
• Jason Day (3 spells, 51 weeks)
• Dustin Johnson (7 spells, 135 weeks)
• Justin Thomas (2 spells, 5 weeks)
• Justin Rose (5 spells, 13 weeks)
• Brooks Koepka (4 spells, 47 weeks)
• Jon Rahm (4 spells, 43 weeks)
• Scottie Scheffler (1 spell, 13 weeks)