How to fix the controversial DP World Tour Rankings
Another season is done and dusted, with Rory McIlroy capping off a memorable 2022 by winning his fourth Race to Dubai title after topping the DP World Tour Rankings yet again.
The World No 1 ended up finishing well clear of his nearest competitor, Ryan Fox, despite the New Zealander having a phenomenal year of his own, and with McIlroy having only played 10 events on the DP World Tour this season.
A quick scan down the season-long standings paints a similar picture, with star names dominating despite having barely featured on the circuit this season.
In short, the DP World Tour Rankings have once again emphasised just how far the system is skewed by the major championships, with the Masters, PGA Championship, US Open and The Open all offering elevated points compared to regular season events.
But with none of these events actually run by the DP World Tour, and with only a select number of Keith Pelley’s members able to play in them, is it fair to include the majors within the Race to Dubai standings? Here’s what two of our writers had to say in this week’s episode of The Slam…
‘The majors should be excluded from the rankings!’
It’s simple, writes George Cooper, take them out. Why on earth are the majors included in the DP World Tour standings? Yes, The Open is on European soil, but it’s run by the R&A. It’s not a DP World Tour event. The US Open is run by the USGA. The PGA Championship is run by the PGA of America. The Masters is run by Augusta National. Yet they all count towards the DP World Tour Rankings. It’s nonsense.
Before you bark back, yes, I get they’re all on the DP World Tour schedule, and Keith Pelley wants name value at the Race to Dubai. But the rankings should be a pure indication of the events solely operated by the DP World Tour.
Including the majors distorts the whole system, and you get a case like Collin Morikawa winning the Race to Dubai without having really played on the DP World Tour all season. So yes, the majors should be excluded from the rankings to provide a fairer indication of how each member has performed throughout the season in sole DP World Tour events.
‘Something needs fixing’
I’m fine with the majors being included, argues Alex Perry, but the Race to Dubai does need to be changed regarding the number of events played.
We had a ludicrous situation this year where Will Zalatoris played two events on the DP World Tour – and we can’t even call them regular events, because they were both co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour – yet he finished 7th in the Race to Dubai, which is way ahead of players who potentially played up to 30 events.
If you look at the top 10 players in the Race to Dubai, excluding majors, Rory McIlroy played six events. Ryan Fox, 21. Jon Rahm, five. Matt Fitzpatrick, seven. Tommy Fleetwood, 10. Viktor Hovland, seven. Zalatoris, two. Adrian Meronk, 22. Shane Lowry, 7. Thomas Pieters, 11. So, in the top 10, only two players played more than 11 DP World Tour events, in what is essentially a 45 event season.
Something needs to be done, but it’s a fine line. The fact that McIlroy won the Race to Dubai, having played less than a quarter of the DP World Tour season, something needs fixing there.
But at the end of the day, the DP World Tour don’t care because they’ve got their star man winning their season-long race.
You can listen to George and Alex debate the DP World Tour Rankings some more – along with some other hot topics – on The Slam podcast. Click the button below, or tune in on your favourite pod platform. Remember to let us know how you feel on the matter by tweeting us @NCG_com.
George Cooper
A golf fanatic his entire life, George Cooper is NCG's man for all goings-on at the top level of the game, whether it's the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA or LIV Golf. He also looks after NCG's Twitter and Facebook accounts. George is a member of Woburn, but is not friends with Ian Poulter.
