Who sanctions the Rolex Rankings?
The Rolex Rankings are sanctioned by the five major women's professional golf Tours: Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA); Ladies European Tour (LET); Ladies Professional Golfers' Association of Japan (JLPGA); Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA); and the Australian Ladies Professional Golf (ALPG), as well as the Ladies' Golf Union (LGU), which administers the Weetabix Women's British Open.

Who manages the Rolex Rankings?
R2 Innovative Technologies (R2IT), an independent software development company of Wellington, Fla., has developed the software for the Rolex Rankings and will continue to maintain them. R2IT is the leading provider of high-tech entertainment to the world of professional golf and beyond.

When did the Rolex Rankings start?
The concept of a unified women's world golf rankings was agreed upon by the leaders of the five major women's professional tours during the inaugural World Congress of Women's Golf in May 2004. The tours have since been joined by the LGU as well.

Who is eligible for the Rolex Rankings?
Any professional or amateur woman golfer who has competed in at least 15 official events over a two-year rolling period is eligible to be ranked.

What events are counted?
Official events on the five major tours (LPGA, JLPGA, KLPGA, LET, ALPG) as well as the Duramed Futures Tour, the official developmental tour of the LPGA.

How are the rankings determined?
The Rolex Rankings will share the established men's world rankings philosophy of awarding points based on the field strength and evaluate a player's performance over a rolling two-year period weighted in favor of the current year with even more importance placed on the most recent 13 weeks. A divisor is used to take into account the number of tournaments played by each ranked player.

How are points awarded?
Points are awarded according to the strength of the field with the exception of the four majors championships on the LPGA schedule and Futures Tour events, which will have a fixed-point distribution. The number of points distributed to each player is dependant upon her finish and the scale of points allocated on the basis of the number and rankings of players in the field.

The Rolex Rankings will award points to players based on an accumulated 104-week "rolling" period, with the points awarded in the most recent 13-week period carrying a stronger value.

A player is then ranked according to her average points per tournament, as determined by dividing her total number of points by the number of eligible tournaments played during the 104-week period.

Is strength of field based on the rankings?
Yes. Strength of field is determined by the field of players and their world rankings as well as their home tour ranking (the previous season's LET's Order of Merit, LPGA's ADT Official Money List, etc.).

EXAMPLE: For an LPGA event, strength of field will be determined by how many of the top-200 Rolex Rankings players are in the field AND how many of the top-50 players from the previous season's ADT Official Money List are competing. Values are assigned to each player based on her ranking in each category and the values will be added to determine the field strength. Field strength then determines how many players earn Rolex Rankings and what point values they receive for that given event.

What are home tour rankings points?
Home tour rankings are based on the previous season's tour rankings (LET's Order of Merit, LPGA's ADT Official Money List, etc.).

How are World Event Ratings Points determined?
World Event Ratings Points are derived by adding world ranking points and home tour rankings points.

Do all players making the cut get points?
No. The number of players who receive Rolex Rankings points each week is dependent upon the field strength and number of World Event Ratings Points available at each eligible tournament.

What about a player who makes the cut in a major championship?
All players who make the cut in Majors will earn Rolex Rankings points.

Does a player get full Rolex Rankings points value for the finish?
No. If there is a tie at any given place when awarding points, the tie will be broken in the same fashion as earnings are at the conclusion of a tournament. All points for players tied for a given place will be added and divided to arrive at a player's earned points for that week.

Is it possible for a player to play a minimum number of events that may include major championships and be higher ranked than a player who plays a full schedule and perhaps even wins an official event?
Yes. If a player plays 15 events over a two-year period AND if she plays well in majors and earns a lot of Rolex Rankings points by virtue of the high finishes, the combination of the high points and the limited number of events would result in a higher average. A player's rank is based on her average points and if she plays fewer events, but earns high points in those events, her average would be much higher than a player who plays a full schedule. The number of events played would shrink the overall average points.

What counts as an "event played" for a player?
A player must hit at least one shot in an eligible event to receive credit for playing in that eligible event. If that player is disqualified or withdrawn at any point in time during the event, she will receive credit for competing in that designated event (but not earn any Rolex Rankings points).

What are Rolex Rankings used for?
The Rolex Rankings will be used by each of the tours to determine eligibility criteria for select events.

EXAMPLE: On the LPGA Tour, the Rolex Rankings will be one of the entry and eligibility criteria into the McDonald's LPGA Championship and the Weetabix Women's British Open, two of the LPGA's major championship, and will determine the field for the HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship and the Women's World Cup of Golf, an event co-sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour.

If a player is already ranked on the Rolex Rankings, but because of the two-year rolling period doesn't play in a total of 15 eligible events during that given 104-week cycle, can she be removed from the list?
Yes. A player must play in 15 eligible events during the two-year/104-week rolling period to be eligible for a Rolex Ranking.

How can a new player be ranked?
Players who have not yet been included in the Rolex Rankings may be included after having played in eight eligible events over a 52-week period.

How often will the Rolex Rankings be updated?
The official Rolex Rankings will be issued every Tuesday, following the completion of the previous week's tournaments around the world. They will be posted on each tour's Web site.

Why Rolex?
Rolex is synonymous with the best in golf. Having pioneered relationships with golf associations and major events around the globe as well as with many of the world's best players, Rolex has a true appreciation for the game of golf that is unmatched.

Rolex has been a partner of the LPGA for 26 years and sponsors its most prestigious annual member awards. In addition, Rolex has been an established sponsor of The Solheim Cup and many of the most prestigious women's events, including the Evian Masters. Today, Rolex sponsored golf ambassadors include Annika Sorenstam, Lorena Ochoa, Grace Park and Carin Koch to name just a few.

In launching its exclusive sponsorship of the Women's World Golf Rankings, Rolex has elevated its global commitment to women's golf.