Severiano Ballesteros, José María Olazábal, Sergio García and Jon Rahm. Undoubtedly, the four greatest golfers that Spanish golf has produced. Their careers, consistency, victories, Majors and their role in the Ryder Cup dictate this. In one way or another, all of them have already left their indelible mark on the history of golf and Spanish sport. Here, in this report, we wanted to make a comparison of their careers through the eyes of the world ranking. We analyse the number of weeks at the top of the ladder, in the top 3, top 5, top 10, top 50 and top 100 worldwide. The conclusions are more than interesting.
Before moving on to the raw data, let’s go with the nuances. Important nuances. The world ranking starts in 1986, when Severiano was already one of the best players in the world. That is, if it had started in 1975, for example, Ballesteros’ numbers would be much stronger. This is evident. So this is a curious and revealing comparison, but no one should look for definitive conclusions because there will always be that asterisk. There will also be someone who adds the asterisk that Sergio García stopped counting for the ranking when he went to LIV Golf in 2022. Equally true, although with the detail that the Borriol knew the consequences when he left. The same is going to happen now with Jon Rahm, at least for now, as LIV still does not count for the world ranking.
So, let’s go with the questions and answers:
Which Spanish golfer has been at Number One in the world for the most weeks?
The genius of Pedreña still wins here. Seve counts a total of 61 weeks as Number One… and as we said in the nuance, there could have been many more. Rahm has reached 52 weeks and after his decision to go to the Saudi league, he will stay there, at least for now. Neither Olazábal nor Sergio managed to reach that first position.
Which Spanish golfer has been in the world top 3 for the most weeks?
Jon Rahm has already long broken this Spanish record which was held by José María Olazábal with 115 weeks. The Barrika player has already added 189 and some more will fall until he starts to lose ground in the world ranking from next year. Third place is for Seve Ballesteros, with a total of 104 weeks, and this particular ranking is closed by Sergio with 38. It is striking that with the extraordinary career of the Borriol in the world classification he has not been so much in the top 3.
Which Spanish golfer has been in the world top 5 for the most weeks?
Jon Rahm also holds this record. The Biscayan has already added 255 weeks… and counting. If we take into account that Jon has counted a total of 464 weeks in total in the world ranking since he first appeared, it turns out that more than half of his career has been among the top five in the world. This is outrageous no matter how you look at it. The ranking remains as in the top 3: second is Olazábal (171), third is Seve (155) and fourth is Sergio (139). Another fact to highlight are Olazábal’s numbers. It’s been a long time since he was up there, but his 90s, despite physical problems, were hard to imitate.
Which Spanish golfer has been in the world top 10 for the most weeks?
The best here is Sergio García. The Borriol has added a total of 453 weeks among the top ten in the world. He is ahead of Jon Rahm, who we will see if his move to LIV does not prevent him from breaking this record. The Basque player is at 316. He has just surpassed Olazábal, who stopped the counter at 314, while Seve managed to add 223. Ballesteros’ last week in the world top 10 was November 8, 1992. Olazábal left in October 95 and Sergio stayed there for an amazing period of 18 years. He first entered in January 2000 and last left in April 2018.
Which Spanish golfer has been in the world top 50 for the most weeks?
Sergio García indisputably leads this section with 1117 weeks. He first entered on August 15, 1999 and last left on May 15, 2022. Brutal. That’s 23 years among the top 50 in the world. Next in this top 50 ranking is Olazábal with 759, followed by Miguel Ángel Jiménez with 642 (we include the Malaga player in this section because his numbers are also spectacular) and this section is closed by Seve with 422 and Rahm with 348. Just as it could be said that it was a matter of time before Jon Rahm surpassed Sergio in weeks in the world top 10, we must be much more cautious to think that he was going to surpass him in the top 50. He is 769 weeks short, about fifteen years… Sergio, even with his move to LIV, has spent 77.19 percent of his career among the top 50 in the world, or in other words, 1117 weeks out of a total of 1447.
Which Spanish golfer has been in the world top 100 for the most weeks?
The winner is again Sergio García with a total of 1209. Notice the small difference between the top 50 and the top 100 of the Castellón player, a clear symptom that every time he has been in the top 100 it has been to place himself among the first 50. He is closely followed by Miguel Ángel Jiménez, an absolute example of longevity. The Malaga player has been there for 1035 weeks. He first entered the top 100 in 1994 and last left on February 7, 2016. Olazábal is third in this classification with 910 weeks, Seve reached 445 and Jon adds 348, the same as in the top 50, as the first time he entered the top 100 he went straight to the top 50 and has not dropped from there since.
So, Rahm already has the record for weeks of a Spanish golfer in the top 3 and top 5 worldwide, but he still has the Number, top 10, top 50 and top 100, records that are now up in the air with his move to LIV Golf. If there is a great agreement in world golf, he will surely put these records back in the spotlight.
