The following is a list of golfers who have been top of the Official World Golf Ranking (originally known as the Sony Ranking), since the rankings started on April 6, 1986. As of April 28, 2024, Scottie Scheffler is the number one ranked golfer.
The rankings are calculated each week based on finishing positions in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolling" two-year period with a maximum of 52 tournaments and a minimum divisor of 40 events. During 2018, nearly 400 tournaments on 20 tours were covered by the ranking system. All players competing in these tournaments are included in the rankings. In 2023, 24 tours factored into the world rankings.
A total of 25 different golfers from ten countries spanning four continents have been ranked world number one. Five countries; the United States, England, Australia, Spain and Germany have had multiple world number ones. The United States has had nine golfers ranked number one, the most of any country.
Tiger Woods has spent the most consecutive weeks (281) and most total weeks (683) at the top of the rankings, and Tom Lehman the fewest total weeks, having spent just a single week at the top in April 1997. Three golfers have spent an entire calendar year atop the rankings: Nick Faldo (1993), Greg Norman (1996), and Woods (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009). Lee Westwood and Luke Donald are the only world number one golfers to have not won a major championship.
Number one ranked men
- Note 1: In the first column, each number signifies the first time that golfer was ranked number one.
- Note 2: In the "Cumulative total" column, each boldface number signifies total weeks as of the most recent time that golfer was ranked number one.
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| * | Current number one player as of April 28, 2024 |
| # | Country | Player | Start date | End date | Number of weeks | Cumulative total weeks | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  West Germany | Bernhard Langer | April 6, 1986 | April 26, 1986 | 3 | 3 | [1] |
| 2 |  Spain | Seve Ballesteros | April 27, 1986 | September 13, 1986 | 20 | 20 | |
| 3 |  Australia | Greg Norman | September 14, 1986 | November 21, 1987 | 62 | 62 | |
| Spain | Seve Ballesteros (2) | November 22, 1987 | November 28, 1987 | 1 | 21 | [2] | |
| Australia | Greg Norman (2) | November 29, 1987 | October 29, 1988 | 48 | 110 | [3] | |
| Spain | Seve Ballesteros (3) | October 30, 1988 | November 5, 1988 | 1 | 22 | [4] | |
| Australia | Greg Norman (3) | November 6, 1988 | November 12, 1988 | 1 | 111 | [5] | |
| Spain | Seve Ballesteros (4) | November 13, 1988 | March 25, 1989 | 19 | 41 | [6] | |
| Australia | Greg Norman (4) | March 26, 1989 | April 1, 1989 | 1 | 112 | [7] | |
| Spain | Seve Ballesteros (5) | April 2, 1989 | August 19, 1989 | 20 | 61 | [8] | |
| Australia | Greg Norman (5) | August 20, 1989 | September 1, 1990 | 54 | 166 | [9] | |
| 4 |  England | Nick Faldo | September 2, 1990 | October 13, 1990 | 6 | 6 | [10] |
| Australia | Greg Norman (6) | October 14, 1990 | February 2, 1991 | 16 | 182 | [11] | |
| England | Nick Faldo (2) | February 3, 1991 | April 6, 1991 | 9 | 15 | ||
| 5 |  Wales | Ian Woosnam | April 7, 1991 | March 21, 1992 | 50 | 50 | |
| 6 |  United States | Fred Couples | March 22, 1992 | March 28, 1992 | 1 | 1 | |
| England | Nick Faldo (3) | March 29, 1992 | April 4, 1992 | 1 | 16 | ||
| United States | Fred Couples (2) | April 5, 1992 | July 18, 1992 | 15 | 16 | ||
| England | Nick Faldo (4) | July 19, 1992 | February 5, 1994 | 81 | 97 | ||
| Australia | Greg Norman (7) | February 6, 1994 | August 13, 1994 | 27 | 209 | ||
| 7 |  Zimbabwe | Nick Price | August 14, 1994 | June 17, 1995 | 44 | 44 | |
| Australia | Greg Norman (8) | June 18, 1995 | April 19, 1997 | 96 | 305 | ||
| 8 | United States | Tom Lehman | April 20, 1997 | April 26, 1997 | 1 | 1 | |
| Australia | Greg Norman (9) | April 27, 1997 | June 14, 1997 | 7 | 312 | ||
| 9 | United States | Tiger Woods | June 15, 1997 | June 21, 1997 | 1 | 1 | |
| 10 |  South Africa | Ernie Els | June 22, 1997 | June 28, 1997 | 1 | 1 | |
| Australia | Greg Norman (10) | June 29, 1997 | July 5, 1997 | 1 | 313 | ||
| United States | Tiger Woods (2) | July 6, 1997 | September 6, 1997 | 9 | 10 | ||
| Australia | Greg Norman (11) | September 7, 1997 | January 10, 1998 | 18 | 331 | ||
| United States | Tiger Woods (3) | January 11, 1998 | April 11, 1998 | 13 | 23 | ||
| South Africa | Ernie Els (2) | April 12, 1998 | May 9, 1998 | 4 | 5 | ||
| United States | Tiger Woods (4) | May 10, 1998 | May 16, 1998 | 1 | 24 | ||
| South Africa | Ernie Els (3) | May 17, 1998 | June 13, 1998 | 4 | 9 | ||
| United States | Tiger Woods (5) | June 14, 1998 | March 27, 1999 | 41 | 65 | ||
| 11 | United States | David Duval | March 28, 1999 | July 3, 1999 | 14 | 14 | |
| United States | Tiger Woods (6) | July 4, 1999 | August 7, 1999 | 5 | 70 | ||
| United States | David Duval (2) | August 8, 1999 | August 14, 1999 | 1 | 15 | ||
| United States | Tiger Woods (7) | August 15, 1999 | September 4, 2004 | 264 | 334 | ||
| 12 |  Fiji | Vijay Singh | September 5, 2004 | March 5, 2005 | 26 | 26 | |
| United States | Tiger Woods (8) | March 6, 2005 | March 19, 2005 | 2 | 336 | ||
| Fiji | Vijay Singh (2) | March 20, 2005 | April 9, 2005 | 3 | 29 | ||
| United States | Tiger Woods (9) | April 10, 2005 | May 21, 2005 | 6 | 342 | ||
| Fiji | Vijay Singh (3) | May 22, 2005 | June 11, 2005 | 3 | 32 | ||
| United States | Tiger Woods (10) | June 12, 2005 | October 30, 2010 | 281 (record) | 623 | ||
| 13 | England | Lee Westwood | October 31, 2010 | February 26, 2011 | 17 | 17 | [12][13] |
| 14 | Germany | Martin Kaymer | February 27, 2011 | April 23, 2011 | 8 | 8 | |
| England | Lee Westwood (2) | April 24, 2011 | May 28, 2011 | 5 | 22 | ||
| 15 | England | Luke Donald | May 29, 2011 | March 3, 2012 | 40 | 40 | |
| 16 |  Northern Ireland | Rory McIlroy | March 4, 2012 | March 17, 2012 | 2 | 2 | [14] |
| England | Luke Donald (2) | March 18, 2012 | April 14, 2012 | 4 | 44 | [15] | |
| Northern Ireland | Rory McIlroy (2) | April 15, 2012 | April 28, 2012 | 2 | 4 | [16] | |
| England | Luke Donald (3) | April 29, 2012 | May 5, 2012 | 1 | 45 | [17] | |
| Northern Ireland | Rory McIlroy (3) | May 6, 2012 | May 26, 2012 | 3 | 7 | [18] | |
| England | Luke Donald (4) | May 27, 2012 | August 11, 2012 | 11 | 56 | [19] | |
| Northern Ireland | Rory McIlroy (4) | August 12, 2012 | March 24, 2013 | 32 | 39 | ||
| United States | Tiger Woods (11) | March 25, 2013 | May 17, 2014 | 60 | 683 (record) | ||
| 17 | Australia | Adam Scott | May 18, 2014 | August 2, 2014 | 11 | 11 | |
| Northern Ireland | Rory McIlroy (5) | August 3, 2014 | August 15, 2015 | 54 | 93 | ||
| 18 | United States | Jordan Spieth | August 16, 2015 | August 29, 2015 | 2 | 2 | |
| Northern Ireland | Rory McIlroy (6) | August 30, 2015 | September 5, 2015 | 1 | 94 | ||
| United States | Jordan Spieth (2) | September 6, 2015 | September 12, 2015 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Northern Ireland | Rory McIlroy (7) | September 13, 2015 | September 19, 2015 | 1 | 95 | ||
| 19 | Australia | Jason Day | September 20, 2015 | September 26, 2015 | 1 | 1 | |
| United States | Jordan Spieth (3) | September 27, 2015 | October 17, 2015 | 3 | 6 | ||
| Australia | Jason Day (2) | October 18, 2015 | November 7, 2015 | 3 | 4 | ||
| United States | Jordan Spieth (4) | November 8, 2015 | March 26, 2016 | 20 | 26 | ||
| Australia | Jason Day (3) | March 27, 2016 | February 18, 2017 | 47 | 51 | ||
| 20 | United States | Dustin Johnson | February 19, 2017 | May 12, 2018 | 64 | 64 | |
| 21 | United States | Justin Thomas | May 13, 2018 | June 9, 2018 | 4 | 4 | |
| United States | Dustin Johnson (2) | June 10, 2018 | September 9, 2018 | 13 | 77 | ||
| 22 | England | Justin Rose | September 10, 2018 | September 22, 2018 | 2 | 2 | |
| United States | Dustin Johnson (3) | September 23, 2018 | October 20, 2018 | 4 | 81 | ||
| 23 | United States | Brooks Koepka | October 21, 2018 | November 3, 2018 | 2 | 2 | |
| England | Justin Rose (2) | November 4, 2018 | November 10, 2018 | 1 | 3 | ||
| United States | Brooks Koepka (2) | November 11, 2018 | November 17, 2018 | 1 | 3 | ||
| England | Justin Rose (3) | November 18, 2018 | November 24, 2018 | 1 | 4 | ||
| United States | Brooks Koepka (3) | November 25, 2018 | January 5, 2019 | 6 | 9 | ||
| England | Justin Rose (4) | January 6, 2019 | March 2, 2019 | 8 | 12 | ||
| United States | Dustin Johnson (4) | March 3, 2019 | April 6, 2019 | 5 | 86 | ||
| England | Justin Rose (5) | April 7, 2019 | April 13, 2019 | 1 | 13 | ||
| United States | Dustin Johnson (5) | April 14, 2019 | May 18, 2019 | 5 | 91 | ||
| United States | Brooks Koepka (4) | May 19, 2019 | February 8, 2020 | 38 | 47 | ||
| Northern Ireland | Rory McIlroy (8) | February 9, 2020 | July 18, 2020 | 11[a] | 106[a] | ||
| 24 | Spain | Jon Rahm | July 19, 2020 | August 1, 2020 | 2 | 2 | |
| United States | Justin Thomas (2) | August 2, 2020 | August 8, 2020 | 1 | 5 | ||
| Spain | Jon Rahm (2) | August 9, 2020 | August 22, 2020 | 2 | 4 | ||
| United States | Dustin Johnson (6) | August 23, 2020 | June 19, 2021 | 43 | 134 | ||
| Spain | Jon Rahm (3) | June 20, 2021 | July 10, 2021 | 3 | 7 | ||
| United States | Dustin Johnson (7) | July 11, 2021 | July 17, 2021 | 1 | 135 | ||
| Spain | Jon Rahm (4) | July 18, 2021 | March 26, 2022 | 36 | 43 | ||
| 25 | United States | Scottie Scheffler | March 27, 2022 | October 22, 2022 | 30 | 30 | [20] |
| Northern Ireland | Rory McIlroy (9) | October 23, 2022 | February 11, 2023 | 16 | 122 | ||
| United States | Scottie Scheffler (2) | February 12, 2023 | February 18, 2023 | 1 | 31 | ||
| Spain | Jon Rahm (5) | February 19, 2023 | March 11, 2023 | 3 | 46 | ||
| United States | Scottie Scheffler (3) | March 12, 2023 | April 8, 2023 | 4 | 35 | ||
| Spain | Jon Rahm (6) | April 9, 2023 | May 20, 2023 | 6 | 52 | ||
| United States | Scottie Scheffler (4)* | May 21, 2023 | Present | 50 | 85 |
Weeks at number one
| * | Current number one player as of April 28, 2024 |
| Rank | Player | Weeks | Order | Majors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Tiger Woods | 683 | 9 | 15 |
| 2 | Greg Norman | 331 | 3 | 2 |
| 3 | Dustin Johnson | 135 | 20 | 2 |
| 4 | Rory McIlroy | 122[a] | 16 | 4 |
| 5 | Nick Faldo | 97 | 4 | 6 |
| 6 | Scottie Scheffler* | 85 | 25 | 2 |
| 7 | Seve Ballesteros | 61 | 2 | 5 |
| 8 | Luke Donald | 56 | 15 | 0 |
| 9 | Jon Rahm | 52 | 24 | 2 |
| 10 | Jason Day | 51 | 19 | 1 |
| 11 | Ian Woosnam | 50 | 5 | 1 |
| 12 | Brooks Koepka | 47 | 23 | 5 |
| 13 | Nick Price | 44 | 7 | 3 |
| 14 | Vijay Singh | 32 | 12 | 3 |
| 15 | Jordan Spieth | 26 | 18 | 3 |
| 16 | Lee Westwood | 22 | 13 | 0 |
| 17 | Fred Couples | 16 | 6 | 1 |
| 18 | David Duval | 15 | 11 | 1 |
| 19 | Justin Rose | 13 | 22 | 1 |
| 20 | Adam Scott | 11 | 17 | 1 |
| 21 | Ernie Els | 9 | 10 | 4 |
| 22 | Martin Kaymer | 8 | 14 | 2 |
| 23 | Justin Thomas | 5 | 21 | 2 |
| 24 | Bernhard Langer | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 25 | Tom Lehman | 1 | 8 | 1 |
Order – indicates the sequence in which the players first reached number 1.
Majors – number of major championships each player has won throughout his golfing career.
Weeks at number one by country
| * | Country with the current number one player as of April 28, 2024 |
| Rank | Country | Weeks | Order | Majors | Players | Top player | First player | Latest player |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States* | 1,013 | 6 | 32 | 9 | Tiger Woods | Fred Couples | Scottie Scheffler |
| 2 | Australia | 393 | 3 | 4 | 3 | Greg Norman | Greg Norman | Jason Day |
| 3 | England | 188 | 4 | 7 | 4 | Nick Faldo | Nick Faldo | Justin Rose |
| 4 | Northern Ireland | 122[a] | 10 | 4 | 1 | Rory McIlroy | ||
| 5 | Spain | 113 | 2 | 7 | 2 | Seve Ballesteros | Seve Ballesteros | Jon Rahm |
| 6 | Wales | 50 | 5 | 1 | 1 | Ian Woosnam | ||
| 7 | Zimbabwe | 44 | 7 | 3 | 1 | Nick Price | ||
| 8 | Fiji | 32 | 9 | 3 | 1 | Vijay Singh | ||
| 9 | Germany (including West Germany) | 11 | 1 | 4 | 2 | Martin Kaymer | Bernhard Langer | Martin Kaymer |
| 10 | South Africa | 9 | 8 | 4 | 1 | Ernie Els |
Order – indicates the sequence in which the country first had a number 1 player.
Majors – number of major championships the country's world-ranked number 1 players have won throughout their golfing careers.
Players – number of players from that country who have been world-ranked number 1.
Top player – the player from that country who has spent most weeks as the world-ranked number 1 player.
First player – the player from that country who was first to be world-ranked number 1 player, left blank if that country has only one such player.
Latest player – the player from that country who was most recently world-ranked number 1 player, left blank if that country has only one such player.
Earlier number ones
Before the start of the Official World Golf Ranking in 1986, unofficial end of year world golf rankings were published by Mark McCormack in his World of Professional Golf annual from 1968 to 1985. McCormack's rankings listed Jack Nicklaus as the number one from 1968 to 1977, Tom Watson from 1978 to 1982 and Seve Ballesteros from 1983 to 1985.
See also
Notes
References
- General
- "Official World Golf Ranking". Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
- "Number 1 Golf Rankings". Retrieved 2012-03-20.
- Specific