The Amateur Golf Info Ranking Methodology
Our goal is to create the most accurate and reliable amateur golf ranking system in the world, built on data-driven performance analysis and transparent criteria. While precision and fairness are at the core of our formula, we also place strong emphasis on simplicity and clarity—helping players, coaches, and fans easily understand how every ranking is determined. We believe that a great ranking system should not only measure achievement accurately but also make sense to everyone who follows the game.
High Level Overview of How Our Rankings Are Calculated
Rankings are based on the average points per event for each player. The following components explain how points are calculated and how rankings are determined.
Event Power (1-100)
Every event is assigned an Event Power between 1-100, determined by the average rank of players in the field and the field size.
Percentile Finish
Players are awarded points based on percentile finish. 6th place out of 60 gets the same points as 10th place out of 100 if both events have the same power.
Point Allocation Table
There is a table available with all of the point allocations for every event power and every percentile finish.
Minimum Events (6)
For players with fewer than 6 events played, their points per event average is still determined by dividing by 6.
Top 80% Rule
Once a player has played 7 events, only the top 80% of results are used for the points per event average.
Weekly Updates
Every week the rankings are updated to reflect the new order of who averages the most points per event globally.
FAQs
AGI has player results and stats for almost 50,000 player globally. Scores from over 10,000 events across the world are used to create our ranking positions.
No qualification is needed. If you play in an event that we cover for ranking purposes, we will automatically have a player profile created for you, and you will earn points in your first event. We only assign ranking places to the top 5,000 players, because most players outside of the top 5,000 are ranked there due to having played fewer than 6 events in the past 104 weeks.
The rankings update weekly on a set schedule, ensuring fresh results from recent tournaments appear promptly for everyone to see.
AGI considers results from a rolling two-year window, giving the most weight to recent play while phasing out older scores over time. All events in the past 52 weeks receive full strength, while events older than 52 weeks begin to count less and less as they get close to the 104 week window.
Fading older scores keeps rankings current, highlighting players' latest form rather than relying too much on past achievements from over a year ago.
Results come straight from event organizers, official scorecards, and verified leaderboards, which are then loaded into the system after review.
We are striving to provide hole by hole data from as many events as possible. While we do already have hole by hole scores from a high percentage of events, right now, certain events are only loading in round by round scores from top ranked players. Over time there will be more and events that include hole by hole data.
Absolutely—tournaments with tougher fields offer bigger point opportunities, so choosing the right events can boost your standing faster.
These are vetted events meeting standards for field quality, player eligibility, rounds played, and overall structure that contribute to rankings.
The two main criteria for determining the field strength for an event are: 1) the average ranking of the players in the field, and 2) the size of the field. The average rank of the player in the field will determine the initial power, and that number is increased or decreased if the field has more or less than 100 players.
The most points a player can earn (winning the US Amateur or other top event) would be (28.14). Players can be awarded as little as (.05) points for the bottom percentile finish is the weakest possible field.
All finishers will receive points in each event. Rankings are based on the average number of points earned per event though. So, getting some points isn't always beneficial for a player's ranking.
All tied finishers will receive the same amount of points. Those points are also not changed based on the number of tied player. A 2-way tie for 5th will receive the same points as a 4-way tie for 5th. We have chosen to keep that set up for a little bit of added simplicity in the rankings formula.
It's the count of tournaments used for your points average. All events played in the past (52) weeks will count as a full (1) event, while events older than (52) weeks will begin to count less and less. An event that is exactly (78) weeks ago will count as .50 event. The point earned in those older events are diluted by the same factor.
Early on, new results can swing your average a lot; after the minimum, you need strong showings in big fields to climb.
Enter more qualifiers, chase high-strength fields, and post top finishes to build a stronger average. In general, finishing in the top 10% of the events you play will help, while bottom 10% finishes are extremely penal from a points average perspective.
This feature will be set up soon. We want as many players as possible claiming their own profiles and adding a picture and personal info.
Starting but not finishing an event will result in last place points. The one exception to this is college tournaments where players can be subbed out by a coach without any choice of their own. Those college event finishes will not count against a player's record.
Individual matchplay events are covered on our site, but we are not going to be giving out free participation points for team events. In our view, players had to play well to get invites for these team events. To then give more free points on top of that only contributes to a system where the "rich get richer". We want players representing their state, country, etc for the pride of doing it, not for free rankings boosts.
We will not currently be removing any event finishes from player records for any reason other than error. It is for this reason that we only look at the top 80% of events on a player's record in determining a points average. We do not want to be making any subjective decisions about what qualifies for removal and what does not.
Our goal is to do this as little as possible, but it would be wrong if we said we don't believe this will be necessary from time to time. When player rankings determine event power, and event power determines the points available, and the points earned then determines player rankings, you can see how that all connects in a circle. If subjective looks are never done, over time even the best formulas will work themselves out of accuracy. You can have the best formula for power calculation and point allocation, but if the initial rankings are off, then the system won't run well. Conversely, you can have the best initial rankings, but if the power and points aren't calculated well there will be problems over time.
Yes! Please reach out to us at Ryan@AmateurGolfInfo.com with any questions, comments, concerns, or errors. We always appreciate feedback on our platform.