Woods "World Ranking Drops 525 Places in One Year"... Felt "Soars 1501 Places"

Starting the Year at 41st → 566th in December, Byeonghun An Drops from 75th to 287th "Loses Seed," Star Rookie Burns Advances from 154th to 11th

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "41st → 566th."

The world ranking of 'Golf Emperor' Tiger Woods (photo) has dropped by 525 places in one year. He started the year at 41st and ended December in 566th place. After winning the Masters in April 2019 and tying Sam Snead's PGA Tour record for most wins (82 wins) at the Zozo Championship in October, he was ranked 6th. However, last year, due to the impact of COVID-19, he only participated in nine tournaments, and in February, a car rollover accident forced him to focus on rehabilitation.

Matt Kuchar (both from the United States) also fell from 37th to 114th. He has not won since the 2019 Sony Open. Since finishing 3rd at the World Golf Championships (WGC) Dell Technologies Match Play in March, he has been in a slump for nine months without even entering the 'Top 10'. In Korea, Byeong-Hun An (30) dropped from 75th to 287th, and Sung-Hoon Kang (34) fell from 86th to 287th. An, in particular, suffered the humiliation of missing the cut 15 times in 29 events during the 2020/2021 season and lost his tour card for the 2022 season.

It is interesting that Bo Van Pelt (USA) jumped an incredible 1,501 places, soaring from 1894th to 393rd. This was due to his runner-up finish at the Palmetto Championship in June. Among the top ranks, Sam Burns' (154th → 11th) rapid rise stood out. He is a top rookie who earned his first PGA Tour win at the Valspar Championship in May. He also finished 2nd twice more at the AT&T Byron Nelson and the August WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational, and accelerated with a win at the Sanderson Farms Championship in October, which counts toward the 2022 season.

Former world No. 1 Jordan Spieth (82nd → 14th) made a spectacular comeback with a win at the Valero Texas Open in April. It was his first win in 3 years and 9 months since The Open in July 2017. He said, "I didn’t treat my injured wrist properly in 2018, which ruined my swing," and added his determination, "Next year will be different." It is worth noting that Kyung-Hoon Lee (30) jumped from 272nd to 63rd, led by his win at the AT&T Byron Nelson in May. Sungjae Im (23) is ranked 26th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.