After OWGR error, Kirk moves up an extra four spots
Even for the experts, math can be difficult.
The year’s first world ranking under a new system that’s been adjusted to reward top performers in limit-field events along with a “multi-win benefit” for players who win multiple times in a 52-week ranking window, was calculated incorrectly.
According to a statement from the Official World Golf Ranking, Chris Kirk did not receive his “multi-win bonus” for last week’s victory at The Sentry. Kirk, who also won the Honda Classic last February, originally moved to 25th in the ranking following his victory in Maui, but the adjusted ranking now has him at 21st. It’s Kirk’s highest ranking since 2015, when he climbed to 16th in the world.
The “multi-win benefit” awards players with multiple victories in a 52-week window a 70-percent points bonus (with a cap of four ranking points) and was created “to more quickly identify emerging talent.”
The changes to the world ranking that were announced last month also included an adjustment to how points are distributed at no-cut, limited-field events with the bottom 15 percent at those events not receiving any ranking points. Approximately 21 percent of an event’s total world-ranking points at a limited-field event now go to the winner, that’s up from the previous distribution curve that awarded 17 to 18 percent to the winner.