Junior Golf Rankings

UNDERSTANDING THE RANKINGS

To be eligible to be ranked in The Junior Golf Scoreboard rankings a player must meet the following criteria.

• Have competed in four multi-day stroke play tournaments or multi-round match play qualifiers , with a total of 8 completed 18 hole rounds, within the last 365 days for which we have received the results and they are listed by the same name and hometown.
  
  • Players competing in “split week” tournaments that offer an overall competition, where rounds are held several days apart, must register in advance for all rounds for those events. All rounds will count.
    
• Have their high school graduation year in their tournament record. Missing yours? Please read below where you see the alphabet.
• Still be in high school or younger prior to August 1st after graduation. (NEW!) or have declared the intent to take a "GAP" year (Read More)
• Have competed in an age group that:
  • is greater than 10yrs old, (Age Groups 10-11, 10-12, 10-13, etc. are acceptable)
  • Is scheduled for at least 36 holes in a competition that is conducted under the USGA rules of golf on a USGA rated golf course,
  • has a minimum of 5 competitors that complete all scheduled rounds,
  • has played from a minimum of 4,500 yards and not shorter than the forward most USGA rated tees, and
  • the competition is not using a maximum score variation as described in Rule 21.2 and not using the local rule allowing a drop for out of bounds or lost ball.
  • If an independent (not run by state high school athletic association or designee) high school invitational event:
    • There is an individual stroke play competition
    • Event follows all of the above
    • Results are submitted with player's actual hometown of residence in appropriate format (Results Form)
    • There is no "on course" coaching during competition rounds
    • Results are accompanied by an email from a USGA qualified (passed recent rules test) official who was present and who certifies the competition was conducted under the conditions listed above and the Rules of Golf.

The rankings are a work in progress and some names might be missing because we do not have a player's graduation date and/or we do not have results for them for the required minimum of four tournaments. Click on the letter below that matches the first letter of the last name to see the players that are missing their graduation dates. Please email us that information.

How the rankings are computed

We use three criteria to compute a player's overall ranking and their ranking within their graduation class.

• Course Condition Adjustment (CCA)
  From time to time courses do not play as they are rated particularly when comparing different areas of the country during the same months of the year...more.
• Individual Scoring… Using each round individually, we use 75 % of the player's lowest round scoring differentials (Score – USGA Course Rating™). This is simply the average difference of their individual round scores compared to the USGA rating of the course for their tournament rounds completed in the last rolling 365 days. In other words, how well does this player score vs the difficulty of the golf course when playing in tournaments. This criteria counts for 65% of a player's ranking calculation.
• Incomplete tournaments and rounds
  • Players competing in events scheduled for 36 holes or more, if the event is weather shortened, will have all completed rounds entered in their record to be used in their ranking unless not part of their best 75%
  • Players who miss a cut, will have completed round scores by all players entered in their record and used in their ranking unless not part of their best 75%
  • If a qualified event has a less than 18 hole round as part of the competition (e.g - second round suspended after 9 holes) that score will be recorded for each player for the purposes of determining the "finish" but will not be used in a player's differential calculation.
• New for 2019 - Effective for each event/tour when they publicize the change in their policies
  • With the voluntary cooperation of tournament organizers, once a player has begun a competition, any player who fails to complete an event (WD, NC, NS, DQ) will have the appropriate code and all completed official round scores entered in their record. The scores will be used in their ranking, unless not part of their best 75%. JWD's are being voluntarily eliminated by tournament organizers with the support of the Junior Golf Scoreboard. All decisions concerning players who fail to complete an event are at the sole discretion of the tournament officials and not the Junior Golf Scoreboard.
• Strength of Field… The number displayed here is the result of our proprietary ranking formula that determines a score for all the tournaments played by this individual. Again, simply put, a lower number means they played against stronger players and the closer two players' strength numbers are, the more similar the competitiveness of their tournaments. This criteria counts for 25% of a player's ranking calculation.
• Strength of Finish… This table displays the finishes for the player. Finishes count 10% in the ranking computation and their value is computed based on the number of players in the field and the strength of tournament. Results in the rankings table are displayed as follows; If you win an overall combined age group competition or if you win an age group not part of an overall competition, you get credit for a win. (Winning an age group that is part of an overall competition does not qualify for a win). If there are 10 or more players who finish in your age group and you finish 2nd thru 5th for that tournament, you receive credit in the Top 5 column. If there are 20 or more players who finish in your age group and you finish 6th thru 10th for that tournament, you receive credit in the Top 10 column. You only receive one credit in these columns per tournament played in. (These finish credits are different than what you see on the professional tours due to the fluctuating field sizes in junior golf.)

Special note : We have made a conscious effort to rely more on scoring than on how big the tournaments were that a competitor played in. Selected national tournaments still play an important role in determining our rankings, but our system also lets any non-high school multi-day stroke play tournament count. We believe this will make for a more inclusive approach and will bring recognition to more players.

Have questions? Comments? Suggestions? E-mail or call 804-935-1800. We welcome your input.

By becoming a Junior Golf Ranking/Calendar Subscriber for $36.95 you can search and sort the rankings in many different ways. Our newest search function lets our members search for up to three names at a time and display their tournament results in different windows for side by side comparison. Of course, our popular features of sorting by grad year and state are still available as are the state competitive rankings. To read about the Calendar - click here

There is still no charge to become a Ranked Player and every visitor still has free access to the overall rankings and search by last name feature.

So sign up today! Or skip and go to view the overall rankings.

Simply Click here to get started or call us 804-935-1800