Scottie Scheffler looks to reclaim world No. 1, but calls OWGR system ‘flawed’

NASSAU, Bahamas – The “flawed” OWGR system might work in Scottie Scheffler’s favor with the Masters champion poised to reclaim the top spot in the world ranking this week, but that doesn’t make the ranking any less flawed.

Following a second-round 68 that moved him into a tie for second at the Hero World Challenge, Scheffler joined the chorus of players who have criticized the new system used by the ranking.

Full-field scores from the Hero World Challenge

“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,” said Scheffler, who needs to win the Hero World Challenge to overtake Rory McIlroy at No. 1 in the world.

Jon Rahm called the new ranking “laughable” two weeks ago when the RSM Classic received more world ranking points than the DP World Tour Championship, which had a smaller field but more of the game’s top players. Tiger Woods joined Rahm this week, calling it a “flawed” system.

Unlike Woods and Rahm, Scheffler was more willing to give the world ranking the benefit of the doubt.

“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,” he said. “It depends on how much value you place on a guy No. 1 in the world versus No. 50 in the world. It’s a tough system, it’s not something that’s easy to get right.”

The criticism escalated this week when the ranking projections were released and the Hero World Challenge, a 20-man field, received more points than the Australian Open, which is a full-field event. One of the arguments two weeks ago had been the RSM Classic received more points because it was a full field compared to the DP World Tour finale.