The Hero World Challenge isn’t an official PGA Tour event but that didn’t stop tournament host Tiger Woods from jumping over 400 spots in the Official World Golf Rankings following his performance in the Bahamas.
Woods finished a mere 18th out of 20 golfers at the charity event however, that earned him enough world ranking points to catapult from 1,328th to 898th in the OWGR.
For Woods, it marks his highest ranking since before he withdrew from the 2022 PGA Championship.
Woods Walks 72 Holes At Hero World Challenge
Perhaps even more encouraging than his performance, Woods managed to walk the course at Albany Golf Course in the Bahamas.
Woods, who will turn 48 years old later this month, finished with an even par at the event. After the tournament, he noted that his game isn’t far off from some of the world’s top players.
“I think that having a couple of weeks off to recover, a week to build up, there’s no reason why I can’t get into that rhythm,” Woods told reporters. “It’s just a matter of getting in better shape, basically. I feel like my game’s not that far off, but I need to get in better shape.”
The next time that golf fans can anticipate seeing Woods in action will be on Dec.14-17 at the PNC Championship, where he will be joined by his son, Charlie Woods. Last year, Team Woods finished T8, six strokes behind Team Singh.
Woods’ New Ranking Shines Light On LIV Golf Controversy
Woods’ ascension up the OWGR will likely catch the attention of LIV Golf players and officials.
The Saudi-backed league had its application to earn OWGR points denied in October. Like the Hero World Challenge, LIV Golf events feature no cuts and only 48 players participate in the events over three days.
While Woods jumped 430 spots, Will Zalatoris earned 2.1 world ranking points for finishing in last place at the event.
By comparison, LIV Golfer Laurie Canter earned only 3.6 points for finishing in a tie for fourth place at the Australian Open. Zalatoris did not slip in the rankings following his poor performance in the Bahamas. Instead, he remained at No. 33 worldwide despite finishing in last place by nine strokes.
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