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Urban legends aside, golf is not itself an acronym, but the game has plenty of them, like GIR (greens in regulation) and, yes, USGA. WAGR, the World Amateur Golf Ranking, falls under the heading IYKYK – if you know, you know... but if you don’t, you should.
Launched by The R&A in 2007 and produced in partnership with the USGA since 2009, WAGR includes a women’s ranking and a men’s ranking for elite amateur players, as well as, since 2019, rankings for golfers with disabilities (WR4GD). Golf’s two governing bodies offer WAGR as a global service to golf. Its purpose is threefold: to accurately rank players based on their results in competitions; to provide a system that lets players compare to one another even though they may not compete head-to-head; and to stimulate ambition among players and national federations in development of their games and talent pools.
By assessing thousands of counting events each year (see sidebar), both amateur and professional (relevant when top-tier amateurs compete in such tournaments, as they often do), WAGR is recognized as the ultimate ranking system for amateur golf, the equivalent of the Rolex Rankings for professional women’s golf and the Official World Golf Ranking for professional men’s golf. At the end of each summer competitive season the top-ranked male and female amateurs receive the Mark H. McCormack Medal, earned in 2025 by Jackson Koivun and Kiara Romero, both from the United States.
By helping identify the best amateur players, WAGR can translate into opportunity for college scholarships, for NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) support and for exemptions into important events – that is, for more pathways to success in golf for amateurs worldwide. So, FWIW, WAGR is truly for the good of the game.