Golfweek’s New System Jolts the Junior Rankings

Junior golfers across the country are buzzing this week about the national junior golf rankings unveiled Saturday by Golfweek, the Florida-based magazine that compiles the rankings.

The new system, which uses a formula developed by mathematician Jeff Sagarin, caused shake-ups in both boys’ and girls’ rankings, instantly sending some players tumbling dozens of spots and others rising the same amount.

Sagarin’s system ranks players according to the stroke differential between them and other players in the field, the strength of the field in each event played and the difficulty of the player’s schedule.

It also takes into account win-loss-tie records against other ranked players and records against common opponents.

Golfweek uses the same system to rank professional and collegiate golfers. Sagarin is also known for his college football and college basketball rankings.

Junior golfers had been ranked on a points system: designated tournaments were assigned arbitrary point values. Players finishing in the top 10 of these tournaments were awarded points on a sliding scale.

The new system is based on a complex mathematical formula and, despite information sessions at American Junior Golf Assn. season-opening events over the weekend, some players still don’t quite understand.

“They tried to explain it, but there are a lot of kids out there that are still confused,” said Angela Rho of Fullerton, who was No. 5 in the previous rankings but No. 9 in the new. “I guess it was meant to make it more equal, but I don’t really know how they are doing it.”

While confusing, the new system has advantages. Under the previous system, players who did not finish in the top 10 would not earn points.

“It was ridiculous,” said Brian Sinay of Irvine, ranked No. 34. “You could finish 11th and not get credit for playing well.”

The previous system also rewarded quantity over quality: the more tournaments you played in, the better chance you had at earning points.

Now, players only need a minimum of five events to qualify. Playing only five tournaments with the points system, a good ranking would be impossible.

“It allows lower-income players the opportunity to get a high ranking without having to travel the country in search of points,” said Jay Coffin, the Golfweek editor who oversees the rankings.

The new system only counts events that are junior-specific. In the previous system, players could earn bonus points in professional events or “adult” amateur events such as the U.S. Amateur.

“There is none of that figured into this system,” Coffin said. “It’s based strictly on junior events. If you win the Masters and you’re a junior, then congratulations, but your ranking won’t be affected.”