by Surprisingly this week’s ranking isn’t all about Tiger Woods and Netflix. It’s somewhat about Tiger Woods and Netflix, just not all of it.
Need a recap on the WOWgr rules?
Vol. 2023.7
No. 1 – Rose Zhang (Up 6 spots from last week) – In 15 career starts at Stanford, Rose Zhang has had eight wins, 12 top twos, 13 top fives, and 14 top 10s. Her most recent win was a three-shot victory this week at the T. Hession Regional Challenge. Zhang’s eight titles are already tied for the most of any Stanford women’s golfer, and she has been on campus for only a year and a half. So far in her sophomore campaign, she has four wins in five starts. Her worst round has been a 73. With U.S. Junior Amateur, U.S. Amateur, and NCAA titles already under her belt, Zhang will be the heavy favorite at April’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
No. 2 – The 10th hole at Riviera Country Club (Up 883) – It’s so hot right now. Everyone’s talking about it, even if technology and iffy renovation work don’t allow it to show as well as it could.
No. 3 – Tiger Woods (Up 235) – His leg still doesn’t look great, even good, but a Thursday 69 at Riviera has everyone jazzed about Tiger’s future for the first time in a while. His speed is there and the birdie, birdie, birdie finish to his first round of the Genesis Invitational was a thing of beauty. Whether his health will allow him to contend over four rounds is a different story, but we’re riding high for now.
No. 4 – Jon Rahm (Down 1) – The Spaniard has gone a whopping two events in a row without a win, but he did shoot 65 on Thursday at Riviera. Sheesh.
T-5. – Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy (Up 1 and Down 2) – Scheffler’s win at TPC Scottsdale reminded us that we should probably be talking about a Big Three, not just Rory and Rahm. As for Rory, he’d normally be ranked slightly behind Scottie this week given his T-32 finish at the Phoenix Open, but he saved himself with a fresh long-sleeve polo on Thursday at Riviera. PSA: there is still time to join the long-sleeve movement if you haven’t just yet!
No. 7 – Max Homa (Up 10) – A nearly flawless 64 during the first round of the Genesis Invitational has Homa looking for his second title at Riviera. CBS’s Kyle Porter (more on him in a minute) asked if Max is currently the fourth best men’s player in the world, and hey, he’s definitely in the discussion. Xander Schauffele, Cam Smith, and Patrick Cantlay all may have something to say about that, though.
No. 12 – Data Golf (Up 14) – These crazy cats came up with a great new stat this week: garbage time. The garbage-time metric details which PGA Tour players spend the most time on course with a 0.0% chance of making the cut. It’s one of the most enjoyable stats I’ve come across, though I’m sure the players who top the list don’t share that sentiment.
No. 20 – Fun (No change) – Everybody’s having it.
No. 333 – Ryan Palmer (Down 63) – With the Zurich Classic fast approaching, Ryan Palmer has a big decision on his hands. He’s known for bringing in ringers. His past partners have included Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm, and Scottie Scheffler. With Rory McIlroy, Rahm, and Scheffler all playing terrific golf this spring, I just don’t see how Palmer will be able to settle on a pick. Imagine the stress. Poor guy.
No. 450 – Your Couch (Down 24) – You may have heard that there is a new Netflix golf documentary making the rounds. That plus a weekend at Riviera viewing means your favorite couch cushion is going to take a beating.
No. 713 – The parents of the girl in the latest LIV promo video (Down 220) – You just can’t let your children be a part of videos promoting LIV. Especially when the rest of the acting in the video is that bad.
No. 999 – Will Knights (Down 972) – Sometimes you forget what year it is. Unfortunately that happened to me this week. While researching a segment for Wednesday’s Fried Egg newsletter, I somehow lost track of a year and wrote a few hundred words about Tiger Woods’s last normal PGA Tour start in October of 2019… but his last start was actually in October of 2020. Normally I do pretty well in WOWgr, but there’s no excuse for that kind of sloppiness.
On Thin Ice – Kyle Porter (TBD) – The man behind Normal Sport and the Elmo Meme waded into dangerous waters this week when he debuted something called the KPGR. Presumably, the KPGR is positioning itself to be a direct competitor to WOWgr. Considering this, I am keeping a close eye on Mr. Porter. If I’ve learned anything from the past year of professional golf, it’s that you do not trust new competition that pops up out of nowhere.
