EGA classification of tournaments and WAGR
In 2012, Kiev Golf Club hosts three WAGR ranking tournaments:
- GolfStream Ladies Open: Ladies European Tour Access Series (May 22-24, 2012; training day – May 21)
- Ukrainian Open Golf Championship (July 6-8, 2012; training day – July 5)
- Ukrainian Open Club Cup Trophy (August 3-5, 2012; training day – August 2).
The following FAQs give more information about WAGR and advantages for golfers who participate in WAGR-tournaments.
| FAQs: EGA classification of tournaments and WAGR |
What is WAGR?
Is this ranking representative?
What is «category F event»?
What does the Ranking give to a player?
How golfers can get into WAGR?
Is the Ranking recognized outside Europe?
Where can I get additional info on this theme?
Had the WAGR tournaments being held in Ukraine before 2012?
What is WAGR?
WAGR, or World Amateur Golf Ranking is a unite ranking of amateur players, established by the R&A, the leading organization of golf in Europe, to estimate the play level of golfers and to coordinate international tournament process.
The Ranking reflects a player's performance in international ranking tournaments (WAGR-tournament or counting events) during the last 52 weeks, i.e. during a period of 1 calendar year.
Is this ranking representative?
WAGR is the closest analogue of Official World Golf Ranking, which is the world's largest rating for professional golfers.
The world of amateur golf began to unite around a single ranking relatively recent. Men's ranking was established in 2007. Today, it is represented by more than 5 000 players and is based on the results of 1,800 counting tournaments in 70 European countries. Woman ranking was presented in 2011 and comprises 1,350 counting events and more than 3,100 players.
The Ranking is updated weekly, every Wednesday at 12:00 GMT. Thus, the rating is not only the most comprehensive to date, but also promptly reflects changes in the allotment of forces in golf.
What is «category F event»?
The introduction of competition into the official calendar of European competitions is accompanied by its ranking in accordance with WAGR system. The ranking of a tournament depends on its status and weight, the level of development of golf in the country, HCPs of participating players etc.
WAGR categories are divided into:
- elite tournaments: The Amateur, Asian Amateur, European Amateur and US Amateur Championships (Men's WAGR) and Ladies' British Amateur, NCAA Championship, US Women's Amateur and Women's European Amateur Championship (Women's WAGR).
- tournaments of categories А-F according to WAGR ranking:
- A = 1-30 place
- B = 31-100 place
- C = 101-200 place
- D = 201-300 place
- E = 301-400 place
- F = 401 place and below
The tournament category partly defines a place of its winners/participants in WAGR.
For example, a category «F» is initial, and the winners of 1 and 2 places of category «F» event get into WAGR. For comparison: in tournaments of a category «E» (on a level above) not 2 but 4 first places pass in the Ranking; for a category «A» it is 40 first places. Participants of elite golf tournaments should only make cup to pass into WAGR.
What does the Ranking give to a player?
Tournament committees of various golf competitions use the Ranking as one of criteria for admisstion players to the registratration. It concerns both national championships, tournaments under the aegis of national federations (EGA members), and international tournaments of higher level, such as British Amateur Championship and European Golf Amateur Championship. For example, to participate in the European Amateur Championship in Sweden, on August 3-6, 2011, a golfer must take a position 1-1200 in WAGR.
For national federations, the amount of WAGR ranking players in their country determines the development of national golf and influence of national golf authorities on international scene.
Number of WAGR-player is also one of the conditions on which a country gets the right to take the major international golf competitions, including elite championships of amateur golf.
How golfers can get into WAGR?
These are category «F» tournaments in WAGR classification. Therefore, the holders of the first two places in each of the competitions become WAGR ranking players. To determine the specific place a player in the ranking, they use a system of converting the results of Stroke Play (or Match Play) to Stroke Play Ranking Points (or Match Play Ranking Points) and also take into account bonus points and the total number of counting rounds played. The formula for calculating is available at WAGR web site.
Is the Ranking recognized outside Europe?
In February 2011, WAGR was officially recognized by United States Golf Association (USGA), the largest national golf federation in the world. This fact proved relevance, objectivity and competitiveness of WAGR in comparison to other international golf amateur rankings.
Cooperation of the R&A and USGA around of unification of amateur golf ranking suggests that in global context the world of golf encourages intercontinental contacts and aspires to find reasonable balance between two poles of golf culture – Europe and the USA.
In 2011, 50 best players in men's rating of WAGR can participate in U.S. Open without qualification. In recent years, one-day format of qualifying rounds extremely complicated access to this tournament for the Europeans.
Where can I get additional info on this theme?
Web site World Amateur Golf Ranking provides the detailed information on the Ranking, the system of calculation (principles of calculation, terminology, the formula), and also about conditions of passage of players in WAGR. There are live search on current test tournaments by the tournament name, by the name of a country, by the names of golfers etc.
Recently, an article about the visit of R&A representative to Ukraine was published here.
On the web site of European Golf Association you can find the calendar of EGA tournaments and also the information about Ladies European Golf Ranking, which is an endurance from WAGR.
USGA web site informs on cooperation with the R&A on unification of amateur golf ranking.
Had the WAGR tournaments being held in Ukraine before 2012?
The first WAGR-ranking tournaments in Ukraine took place in 2011: Ukrainian Ladies Open Amateur Championship (on July 16-17, 2011) and Ukrainian Open Club Cup Trophy (on August 12-14, 2011). Kiev Golf Club was an official venue of these contests. Four Ukrainian golfers were admitted to WAGR, based on the results: Dmitry Vakhnenko, Ruslan Garkavenko, Yulia Malimon and Valerie Sapronova.
