No. 1 Ranking Musical Chairs-Good for the Game?

[Blue]

Originally Posted by Putter

I've given up with this Rolex ranking stuff - they don't play AT ALL and all of a sudden the #1 player changes? I'm sure the #1 player for any given week is happy that they're #1, but wouldn't you also be thinking in the back of your mind...."hmmm, wonder how I did that?"

Hopefully the players understand that the points are based on a 104-week rolling scale an each week points drop off and are deprecated whether you play or not.

If players give interviews and say, "Oh, gee, I didn't realize I was going to be number 1," they're probably not telling the truth and just trying to sound humble or their manager is not doing his/her job.

[Buzzer]

I agree with Lojo and Putter...BUT...my son, who is an executive in the advertising business, tells me that the #1 ranking translates into BIG bucks for the gal who is there. He also reminded me that just winning a tournament is worth lots of money, at least for a week or so.
Staying atop the rankings for a long period of time, Annika, Tiger, Lorena, Phil, etc., brings in more cash than what they ever won in purse money. He cited Phil last year; estimated income 59 million (Forbes Report). He also told me (no surprise) that the hottest female right now is Paula. Whatever her reported purse winnings at the end of the year are, he said, you can probably multiply by three or four.
While the rankings aren't important to us, I can understand why they are important to the players, et al.

Viva Annika

[gxer]

Originally Posted by xman5

The problem is one of perception due to the fact that there are no tournaments happening week to week.

Obviously points from 52 weeks ago were now removed (even as small as those depreciated points were) and since they are so close at the top, Kerr lost less then #2. That accounts for the change, but since there was no tournament last week it looks odd that the rankings change. If there had been a tournament we would have thought nothing of the change.

There was an event in Japan last week.

[xman5]

Originally Posted by gxer

There was an event in Japan last week.

Good point.

We forget that there are other tours, but I think that all of the top 10 are on the LPGA.

[gxer]

Originally Posted by xman5

Good point.

We forget that there are other tours, but I think that all of the top 10 are on the LPGA.

Here's the leaderboard, Ai finished 4th.
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LPGA Live Score Page

[Saint-Just X]

After this week's game of musical chairs,the marvelous Miss Miyazato finds herself atop the Rolex rankings,Cristie drops to second,Suzann Pettersen moves up one spot to third and Jiyai Shin drops a place to number four.

And for Gxer,Alexis Thompson has moved up one place to number 76.

It's interesting to watch the rise and fall of certain players ;in others,it's more alarming than interesting.Angela Park has dropped more than one hundred places since the beginning of this year.

Which is a shame.

Of the ROY contenders,Azahara Muñoz started the year at number 177,she's now ranked 41st ;Amanda Blumenherst is at 90th,after starting the year just outside the top 150.

The biggest mover of the week ?

Go on,I'll give you 45 guesses. No ? Ok,then,it was Korea's Young-Ae Ham,who rocketed 181 places up the Rolex rankings due to her win in the KLPGA's Nefs Masterpiece event.

She's still only at number 209,though...

Pax Vobiscum
Saint-Just X

[gxer]

Originally Posted by Saint-Just X

And for Gxer,Alexis Thompson has moved up one place to number 76.

Pax Vobiscum
Saint-Just X

The Rolex calculations don't favor a part-time player, which is what Lexi is, however, if she plays well, a top 20 or better, even though her ranking will get killed by the minimum divisor of 35, she will continue to move up in the rankings.

For my own entertainment, I want to see Lexi win enough money on exemptions to earn a LPGA tour card, have her parents ask for an age exemption for LPGA tour membership on her behalf and then watch Smiley Whan, (IMO, a very empty suit), deny the age exemption request.

It will be loads of fun discussing that situation.

[Saint-Just X]

Rehash time.

Jiyai Shin is back at number one in the Rolex rankings ;Cristie Kerr slips a place to the number two slot.

Well,she was number one when I typed this,who knows what's happened in the last three minutes ?

I still find Yani Tseng's position to be illustrative of the huge flaws in the way the rankings are arrived at.

Yani started 2010 in fifth spot in the Rolex rankings.

She's only gone and won two Majors and another regular tour event since then.

Currently,where does she stand ?

Oh,that's right,sixth.

It's a bit of a fiasco,isn't it ?...

Pax Vobiscum
Saint-Just X

[gxer]

Originally Posted by Saint-Just X

Rehash time.

Jiyai Shin is back at number one in the Rolex rankings ;Cristie Kerr slips a place to the number two slot.

Well,she was number one when I typed this,who knows what's happened in the last three minutes ?

I still find Yani Tseng's position to be illustrative of the huge flaws in the way the rankings are arrived at.

Yani started 2010 in fifth spot in the Rolex rankings.

She's only gone and won two Majors and another regular tour event since then.

Currently,where does she stand ?

Oh,that's right,sixth.

It's a bit of a fiasco,isn't it ?...

Pax Vobiscum
Saint-Just X

The problem with any ranking system is how points are determined.

For example, a women's major is worth more points than a regular LPGA tour event but how many more points should it be worth?

If a golfer wins a second major in a year's time should that second major be worth even more points than the first major that year, maybe double major points. Then would a third major in a year be worth triple major points and a fourth, quadruple points?

So, Saint, my question is this, would Yani be number one if her win at the women's British Open was worth double the points because she won the Kraft/Nabisco earlier in the year?

If the answer is yes, then perhaps that simple change, a bonus for winning multiple majors in a year, is all it takes to move the real number one player, Yani Tseng, to the top of the heap.

[gxer]

In looking at the Rolex Rankings this morning it is once again obvious that there is separation of the top 6 from the rest of the players.

The point range of the top 6 players is 10.86 to 10.14 but number 7, Michelle Wie, drops to 7.92 a difference from number 6, Yani Tseng, of 2.22 points.

There are no other point differences from player to player anywhere close to that large, all the other differences are less than a point, many are less than .10 points.