Updated: 01/05/2021
About the Junior Order of Merit Rankings
The Junior Order of Merit is the official points-based ranking system of the JGTA to determine the most competitive junior golfers in the Asia-Pacific region, and award AJGA PBE Status to those players according their final rank at the end of each season. Players are ranked based on their average ‘Merit Points’ earned per finish in JGTA-sanctioned tournaments (Majors, Invitationals and Sanctioned Events).
At the end of each JGTA season, AJGA PBE Status is awarded to players according to their final position on the JGTA Junior Order of Merit. The amount of AJGA PBE Status a competitor earns on the JGTA are added to their total AJGA PBE Status and can be utilized for AJGA tournament applications.
The points-based system of the Junior Order of Merit is modeled after Rolex AJGA Rankings’ point-level system which ranks players based on their average points earned per tournament.
AJGA PBE Status
The Junior Order of Merit is the exclusive source of AJGA PBE Status in the Asia-Pacific region. Players earn AJGA Status at the end of each JGTA season according to their final standing on the JOM. AJGA Status earned counts towards the players summer tournament applications.
Players will earn AJGA PBE Status (“PBE Stars”) following the completion of the season (spring). The JGTA submits the final Junior Order of Merit Standings to the AJGA, who then add the corresponding AJGA PBE Stars to players’ total Status, which they can use to gain entry into AJGA events. The table below shows the AJGA Status players may earn for their final standing in the Junior Order of Merit.
Figure 6.1: AJGA PBE Conversion Table from Junior Order of Merit (right)
How the Rankings Work
Rankings in 2021-2022
The information on this page is valid for the 2021-2022 JGTA season. The current season shall continue until approx. March 2022. This and other details are subject to change.
Junior Order of Merit Rankings are calculated on a per-season cycle. Eligible players who have completed verification on JGTA.ORG are awarded ‘Merit Points’ from participation in JGTA-sanctioned events and according to their finish in the tournament. Players are then ranked on the Junior Order of Merit on an “average points per tournament basis“.
Historically, a standard divisor of three (3) was applied to the total number of points a player had earned in the current season, which produced the player’s ‘Cumulative Average Points Per Tournament’, upon which a player is ranked. The purpose of the divisor is to ensure players are competing in a minimum number of events as validation for their competitive standing.
Important Considerations:
- Only the points a player has earned during the current season are calculated in the Rankings.
- All starts in ranked tournaments will count towards a player’s ranking. Any withdrawals, disqualifications, etc., will count as a tournament played once a player begins a tournament.
- The Junior Order of Merit Rankings are typically updated at the end of every week during the JGTA season.
New in 2021
Beginning in 2021 the divisor will be reduced to 2 to account for international travel restrictions. This means that a player’s total point earnings will be divided by 2 to determine their average points per tournament, until the player has competed in their second event. From the player’s third event onwards, their divisor will defer to the total number of events in which they have competed.
Once a player competes in two JGTA-sanctioned events, their divisor defers to the number of sanctioned events they have played during the current season, resulting in their cumulative average points per tournament representing a natural average. For clarity, a player may still be ranked on the Junior Order of Merit if they have played in fewer than two tournaments, but they must play at least two tournaments in order to receive the full value for each performance. On the other hand, if a player only competes in one JGTA event, their total points earned are divided by two, resulting in a cumulative average points per tournament that is only a 50% representation of their natural average.
Distribution of Merit Points
The official point-level charts of the JGTA show the points earned per finish at each tournament point-level.