2012 World Golf Rankings: No. 1, Top 50 at End of Year
Rory McIlroy was ranked No. 1 at the end of 2012 after posting four wins on the PGA Tour during the year, including the 2012 PGA Championship. His other PGA Tour wins were the Honda Classic, Deutsche Bank Championship and BMW Championship. He also won the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai on the European Tour.
Men's World Golf Rankings, End of 2012
These were the Top 50 golfers in the final Official World Golf Ranking of the calendar year 2012 (released on Dec. 31, 2012; the number is the player's average ranking points earned per tournament):
1. Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland, 13.219
2. Luke Donald, England, 8.622
3. Tiger Woods, United States, 8.533
4. Justin Rose, England, 6.418
5. Adam Scott, Australia, 6.207
6. Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa, 6.140
7. Lee Westwood, England, 6.033
8. Bubba Watson, United States, 5.295
9. Jason Dufner, United States, 5.291
10. Brandt Snedeker, United States, 5.225
11. Webb Simpson, United States, 5.128
12. Ian Poulter, England, 4.998
13. Keegan Bradley, United States, 4.997
14. Charl Schwartzel, South Africa, 4.898
15. Graeme McDowell, Northern Ireland, 4.810
16. Sergio Garcia, Spain, 4.735
17. Phil Mickelson, United States, 4.691
18. Steve Stricker, United States, 4.649
19. Peter Hanson, Sweden, 4.594
20. Nick Watney, United States, 4.538
21. Matt Kuchar, United States, 4.438
22. Bo Van Pelt, United States, 4.409
23. Dustin Johnson, United States, 4.359
24. Ernie Els, South Africa, 4.337
25. Zach Johnson, United States, 4.247
26. Hunter Mahan, United States, 3.854
27. Jim Furyk, United States, 3.826
28. Martin Kaymer, Germany, 3.666
29. Paul Lawrie, Scotland, 3.528
30. Francesco Molinari, Italy, 3.416
31. Rickie Fowler, United States, 3.369
32. Carl Pettersson, Sweden, 3.337
33. Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Spain, 3.313
34. Branden Grace, South Africa, 3.165
35. Bill Haas, United States, 3.120
36. Nicolas Colsaerts, Belgium, 3.102
37. Jason Day, Australia, 2.888
38. John Senden, Australia, 2.848
39. Robert Garrigus, United States, 2.838
40. Ryan Moore, United States, 2.762
41. Scott Piercy, United States, 2.714
42. David Toms, United States, 2.684
43. Hiroyuki Fujita, Japan, 2.643
44. Matteo Manassero, Italy, 2.592
45. Thomas Bjorn, Denmark, 2.522
46. David Lynn, England, 2.422
47. Jamie Donaldson, Wales, 2.392
48. K.J. Choi, Korea, 2.298
49. George Coetzee, South Africa, 2.266
50. Thorbjorn Olesen, Denmark, 2.197
Comparing the above end-of-2012 rankings with the end-of-2011 rankings, the biggest jump from outside the Top 50 into the Top 50 from 2011 to 2012 was by Branden Grace, who went from No. 271 to No. 34.
The biggest year-to-year drops within the Top 50 were by Martin Kaymer, from No. 4 to No. 28; and Jason Day, from No. 8 to No. 37. The full OWGR at the end of 2012 can be viewed in the OWGR Archives.
