Tier 1
2.0×
Major / National
Championships with deep national or international fields and historic prestige.
- U.S. Amateur
- British Amateur
- NCAA Championship
- U.S. Mid-Amateur
- Pacific Coast Amateur
- AGA Tour Championship
1. The tier system
Every ranked tournament sits in one of three tiers. The tier determines how much each finish is worth relative to the base point template. A win at a Tier 1 event counts twice as much as the same win at a Tier 3 event.
Tier 2
1.5×
Regional / Premier
Premier regional invitationals and state-level championships with strong fields.
- Western Amateur
- Southern Amateur
- Sunnehanna Amateur
- Players Amateur
- State Amateurs (most states)
- Phoenix City Amateur
Tier 3
1.0×
Regional / Standard
Standard ranked events: local tour stops, USGA qualifying sites, and entry-level state competitions.
- AGA points events
- USGA qualifying sites
- City / district amateurs
- Smaller state opens
Tier assignments are reviewed annually by the editorial team. Field strength, historical results, and prize structure are inputs — not the only factors. We adjust when an event materially changes (e.g., a new sponsor brings a stronger field, or a host course changes its date and loses key entries).
2. How points are calculated
Every finish position has a base point value drawn from a point template — a reusable structure attached to the tournament. The final points awarded to a player are:
final points = base points × tier multiplier
We store both values on every result, so the math is always auditable. Open any player's profile and the Points column shows base × multiplier = total for every event in their history.
U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifier (T-5)base 26× 2.0= 52
Arizona Spring Open (Won)base 64× 1.5= 96
Sonoran Amateur (T-12)base 28× 1.0= 28
Total contribution: 176 points
A tournament can also override the template values for special cases. When that happens, the override is shown alongside the template name on the tournament page so the basis is never opaque.
3. Rolling windows by category
Current rankings are based on a rolling window of recent results. The window length differs by category — Mid-Amateurs play fewer events than the open men's field, so their window is shorter. A player who didn't play an event last year sees those points fall off as the year crosses the boundary.
| Category | Window | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Golfweek/AGC Men | 2 years (730 days) | Standard window across all major US amateur rankings. |
| Women | 2 years | Matches Golfweek/AGC standard. |
| Senior (50+) | 2 years | Same standard. Eligibility derived from birth_year. |
| Super-Senior (65+) | 2 years | Senior players 65+ are eligible for both Senior and Super-Senior. |
| Mid-Amateur (25+) | 1 year (365 days) | Mid-Ams play fewer events; a 1-year window better reflects current form. |
| Junior (under 18) | 2 years | Same standard. Players age out automatically. |
| College | 1 year | College seasons are tight; a 1-year window matches the academic calendar. |
4. Category eligibility
Most category memberships are auto-derivedfrom the player's birth year and gender. We don't require manual flagging or annual re-confirmation.
- Junior
- Under 18 at the start of the calendar year. Players age out the year they turn 18.
- College
- Currently enrolled in a US college program (Division I, II, III, or NAIA). Verified at the start of each academic year.
- Mid-Amateur
- Age 25 or older. A 2026 Mid-Am must have been born in 2001 or earlier.
- Senior
- Age 50 or older.
- Super-Senior
- Age 65 or older. Super-Seniors also remain eligible for the Senior ranking.
- Women
- Self-identified gender. The category is open to all eligible competitors in women's events.
If you turn pro, your ranking is paused — your historical results stay on your profile, but you're removed from active leaderboards. If you reinstate amateur status, your ranking resumes with the points that remain inside your category's rolling window.
5. Update cadence
Rankings update automatically. There is no manual recalculate button operators have to remember to press.
- Event-driven
- When results for an event are committed in our admin, the affected rankings recalculate within minutes.
- Nightly
- Every night at 2 AM Eastern, a full recalculation runs to handle any results that arrived during the day plus any tournaments that aged in or out of the rolling window.
- Snapshot-driven movement
- Each day's ranking is saved as a snapshot. The movement chip you see next to each player's rank is computed against yesterday's snapshot — not hand-set by an editor.
6. Player identity
We identify players using multiple signals— GHIN number, USGA ID, email, name, state, and known name variants. We don't collapse on name alone, which is how every other ranking site ends up with three rows for “Robert / Bob / Bobby Smith.”
When an event's results arrive, every player goes through a confidence-scored match. High-confidence matches (90%+) auto-link to existing player records. Lower-confidence cases go to a review queue an editor clears within 48 hours.
Found a record that looks like you but isn't linked to your account? Click “Is this you?”on any player profile. We'll verify and link the records so your member profile, photo, and history all live in one place.
7. Ties & edges
- Ties at the same point total
- Players with identical totals receive the same rank. The next rank skips by the count of tied players — so two tied at #5 means the next player is #7, not #6.
- Match play scoring
- Match-play events use a separate point structure: medalist, round-of-X, semifinalist, finalist, champion. Each round won corresponds to a fixed point value, multiplied by the tier.
- Cuts and withdrawals
- Missing the cut earns 0 ranking points but still counts as an event played for your events count and best-finish history. Withdrawals don't count as events.
- Disqualifications
- DQs earn 0 ranking points and don't count toward events played, unless the DQ is for a procedural matter unrelated to play.
- Pro Tour amateur results
- Amateur finishes on a professional tour (e.g., low amateur at a PGA Tour event) are tracked separately and counted toward category rankings. These events use a dedicated point template.
- Historical data (pre-2008)
- Tournament results before 2008 use slightly different categorization rules. We preserve them in the historical year-end rankings (POY) but they don't contribute to current rolling totals.
8. Player of the Year
Each category has a Player of the Year race for the current calendar year. POY uses the same point system as the rolling ranking, but only counts results from January 1 of the current yearonward. At year-end, the leader is the season's POY.
POY history is preserved permanently — every past winner is on the rankings pages with their season totals. You can compare years, see who came back, and trace a category's competitive arc over time.
Found an error?
Rankings depend on accurate results. If you see a wrong score, a missing event, a duplicate player record, or a category mismatch, email rankings@amateurgolf.com with the URL of the page and a quick description. Our editorial team reviews every report.