Official World Golf Rankings see massive shuffle in top spots – Golf News
The top position in the Official World Golf Rankings has witnessed several changes since the reign of Tiger Woods ended in the world of golf in October, 2010.
October 31, 2010 was the date when Lee Westwood displaced Woods to put his own name atop the OWGR.
He remained at that position for 17 months before being replaced by Germany’s Martin Kaymer.
Kaymer won the 2011 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship to replace Woods on the second spot.
Later in the 2011 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, he secured the runner-up position, which was enough to enable him to take the top spot in the world rankings.
However, his time in power ended just after seven weeks when Westwood reclaimed his title of being the number one with a win in the Indonesian Masters on April 24, 2011.
The see-saw of the first place continued as his compatriot, Luke Donald, came ahead to take the world number one spot just after five weeks with a win in the 2011 BMW PGA Championship.
That was the last displacement of the number one position in 2011, as Donald remained at that position because of his consistent performances throughout the season.
Because of his stunning record in 2011, he was awarded with PGA Tour’s Player of the Year Award and European Tour’s Golfer of the Year award.
Moreover, he won both the PGA and European Tour’s money titles in a single year. The record made him one of the most influential golfers in the history of golf.
Early in the 2012 golf season, Donald struggled to perform well. Northern Ireland’s golfing sensation, Rory McIlroy, on the other hand, continued to display stunning performances and snatched the number one spot for the first time in his career.
However, he did not last long, as he took three weeks off in preparation for the Masters Tournament is April, 2012.
Donald took advantage of the situation and registered a win in the Transitions Championship to reclaim his spot in the OWGR.
Overall, it was the sixth shuffle in the top of the rankings since October, 2010, which speaks of the tough competition and the emergence of world class players in the world of golf.
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