Where does Australia sit in the scheme of big-time golf? Well, it depends how you look at it, but quite high up, it seems.

The world rankings will tell you that Australia is a top-five nation in pro golf.

Despite the recent LIV Golf-related issues with the rankings system, in the broadest sense where you factor in both men and women, Australia is No. 4 in the world with seven players in the top 50 on the rankings – Hannah Green (5), Minjee Lee (17), Adam Scott (19), Jason Day (33), Min Woo Lee (44), Cam Davis and Gabriela Ruffels (both 46) as of this week.

The United States is utterly dominant with 36 players in that category ahead of South Korea (16) and Japan (9). They are the only three countries which sit above Australia in terms of producing top-50 players.

Australia’s four men in the top 50 is third in the world behind the USA and England. On the women’s side, Australia’s three players is equal-fourth but it is worth noting that two of the Aussie cohort from the LPGA Tour – Steph Kyriacou (54) and Grace Kim (75) – are just one or two good weeks away from the top 50.

When you factor in population, Australia’s status gets even stronger. We are producing a top 50 player for every 3.81 million head of population, way better than the US, for instance.
Northern Ireland, with one top-50 player (Rory McIlroy) for its 1.9 million population has the best strike rate on that score, but Australia is in the top five.

Top 50 is a key point in the world rankings for men. It gets a player a start in the Open Championship and the Masters as well as other big events.

However the men’s rankings are heavily skewed by the fact that the LIV Tour’s 54-hole events don’t attract rankings points.

Cameron Smith, for example, is ranked 121st in the world on this week’s rankings, which is clearly not a reflection of his golf. Smith, the 2022 Open Champion was No. 2 in the world just two years ago.

“Australia has consistently produced world class players over the last 20 or 30 years, but so much has changed in the sport, it’s gratifying to know that we still punch above our weight,” said Brad James, Golf Australia’s General Manager High Performance this week. “From a population point of view, we’re right up there.

“You’ve had the explosion of interest in golf in Asia and European countries investing heavily in the sport, but we’re still a power in that environment.

“The Australian High Performance network is still developing and continuing to look at ways to better integrate and deliver programs that maintain a competitive advantage.”

Most players in the top 50 (men and women’s rankings)

Total Population Per capita

• USA (25m, 11w) 36 345.9m 9.6m
• South Korea 3+13 16 51.71m 3.23m
• Japan 1+8 9 123.75m 13.75m
• Australia 4+3 7 26.71m 3.81m
• England 5+1 6 54.79m 9.13m
• Thailand 0+4 4 71.66m 17.9m
• Sweden 1+2 3 10.60m 3.5m
• Canada 2+1 3 39.74m 13.24m
• Spain 1+1 2 47.91m 23.95m
• China 0+2 2 1.41 bil 70.50m
• France 1+1 2 66.54 33.27m
• Ireland 1+1 2 5.25m 2.62m
• Germany 1 2 84.55m 42.27m
• South Africa 1+0 1 64.00m 64m
• N Ireland 1+0 1 1.90 m 1.90m
• Scotland 1+0 1 5.43m 5.43m
• Austria 1+0 1 9.12m 9.12m
• Norway 1+0 1 5.57m 5.57m
• NZ 0+1 1 5.21m 5.21m