The Spaniard has been left bewildered after a third win in five events saw him remain World No 5
Jon Rahm has demanded to know “what’s going on” with the Official World Golf Rankings after he failed to move up a place again despite landing a third win in five events.
The Spaniard produced a remarkable comeback at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, recovering from an eight shot deficit after 55 holes to pip a dejected Collin Morikawa and earn his eighth PGA Tour victory.
But despite adding the accolade to recent wins at the Spanish Open and DP World Tour Championship, Rahm has failed to improve his position of World No 5 in the OWGR yet again – and it’s safe to say he’s far from impressed.
“Had they not changed the world ranking points, I would have been pretty damn close right now [to World No 1].” Rahm said following the win. “At this point I’m thinking will I pass Patrick Cantlay? Because since the playoffs, I have not missed a top seven. I’ve won three times, and I don’t even get close to him. So I’m trying to understand what’s going on.”
Rahm’s incredible hat-trick over the past few months only paints half the picture too. On top of the three impressive wins, the Ryder Cup star has 10 top-10 finishes in his last 15 starts, a period which included another victory at the Mexico Open as well as not a single missed cut.
Having already blasted the OWGR as “laughable” in an epic rant at the DP World Tour Championship, Rahm then expressed how he feels he’s been the best player in the world since the summer, regardless of what the rankings suggest.
“In my mind, I feel like since August I’ve been the best player in the world,” he continued. “I feel like, and I think a lot of us should feel like a lot of times we’re the best. Earlier in the year clearly Scottie [Scheffler] was that player, then Rory [McIlroy] was that player, and I feel like right now it’s been me.”
“Anybody any given year can get a hot three, four months and get to that spot. It’s the level of golf we’re at nowadays. It is what it is. It’s very difficult to stay up there and it requires a lot of golf.
“But we’re all working hard. I know everybody’s putting in a lot of effort to try to stay there as long as possible. But to answer that, yes, I want to be back up there because it’s something you want to do, obviously. But you need to play good and win tournaments, nobody’s going to give it to you.”
The new OWGR system was implemented in August 2022 and rewards field size to a higher degree than rankings alone. Installing a new algorithm called ‘Strokes Gained World Rating’ – a structure based entirely of players’ scores – the system has continued to come under scrutiny from players and fans alike.
- RELATED: Have the OWGR got it wrong with their new system?
- RELATED: How far have the LIV golfers fallen in the world rankings?
