Adam Scott grabs top spot amid debate about golf’s rankings

It’s official -- Adam Scott has passed Tiger Woods to become the No. 1 golfer in the world.

There was no surprise when the rankings came out on Monday, but there was continued debate about the awkward, slow-moving system that decides the sport’s pecking order.

Woods had held on to the top spot despite going winless in the early season and then having back surgery. Scott replaced him without so much as swinging a club this weekend, deciding to skip the HP Byron Nelson Championship.

“We’ve never figured out a better way to do the rankings on that issue,” PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem recently said. “The rankings are an imperfect science that have a reasonably good result.”

The current system calculates data over a two-year rolling period, so players can maintain a high position based on results from previous seasons.

Woods, who is not expected back on the Tour until the summer, fell to second place. Henrik Stenson was third.