A Wie High?

Brian Hewitt looks at the absurdity of Michelle Wie debuting at No. 3 in the new women's world ranking, and the even more ridiculous idea of someone named Yuri Fudoh landing in the No. 4 spot.

Comments

[Scott S]

Actually, I find it hard to believe that Fudo isn't in the No. 3 spot, or that Miyazato isn't higher. Those two win... lots. On the same note, I'm suprised there was no "Who's this Katayama dude?" in the article. Guess what: there are succesful pros in Japan, too.

[Smolmania]

Scott, you're absolutely correct that there are successful professional golfers who play in Japan. Does that success properly translate into the ranking abortion that Rolex has come up with? Well, as I recall Brian Watts was a highly successful American player on the Japanese tour. . . but that "success" surely didn't assist Mr. Watts when he attempted to play on the PGA Tour. In a similar vein, Todd Hamilton is a fine, fine player, but even his status as the leading money winner on the Japanese tour doesn't make him the favorite to win any event on the PGA Tour. While it may well be true that claims that the Nationwide Tour being the second strongest tour in the world are fallacious, the bottom line is that Shingo's a fabulous player, but being the best player in Japan is similar to being the best basketball team in the Mid American Conference. . .

[JohnV]

For all the whining about Wie being 3rd, Golfweek said that if she had played in enough events to qualify in their rankings she would be 2nd.

[Geoff]

I guess it's odd that someone could be ranked that high without ever having won an event.

[GeorgeM]

1. Winning is not the only way to earn rating points (or $).
2. Missed cuts and/or low finishes will hurt a winner's average.

Hence, it is not difficult for a player to obtain a high rating without winning. Subtract Woods' wins from his OWGR points and he would still be ranked highly.