In general, it is a good idea to rank golfers. The biggest benefit is in gauging the quality and/or depth of the field for a given tournament. The very week that the Rolex World Rankings for Women debuted, they declared Michelle Wie as the 2nd best golfer in the world despite the fact that she had never won a women’s professional event. Hell was raised and tweaks were made, which pretty much calmed the waters. But the primary problem inherent to the rankings was never addressed - the period over which golfers are judged is too long.

Case in point: Karrie Webb. Don’t misunderstand; I’m a fan of Webb as she is a terrific champion with a swing to die for. Currently, she’s ranked number three in the world. Uh huh. Let’s examine the 2007 record. Prior to this week she had entered 20 LPGA events with no wins, one second, one third and 3 other top 10s. Additionally, of the 68 tournament rounds Webb has played on the LPGA Tour this year, only 31 have been under par which places her 16th in scoring average and 22nd on the money list. Does this sound like the World’s number three to you?

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