Each week, 14 staffers from SI Golf+, Golf Magazine and GOLF.com vote for their top 10, awarding 10 points to their first choice and proceeding in descending order to the 10th player, who gets one point. The points are then added and the ranking calculated. This ranking aims to be an of-the-moment measure of who’s playing the best right now. Tell us your top 10 in the comments field below.
RANK (TOTAL VOTES, FIRST PLACE VOTES, LAST WEEK'S RANK)
1. Tiger Woods (126, 8, 1) - Last three finishes: T3, British Open; MC, The Greenbrier Classic; 1, AT&T National
– Official World Golf Ranking: 2
2. Ernie Els (104, 4, 2) – Last three finishes: MC, RBC Canadian Open; 1, British Open; T52, Scottish Open
– Official World Golf Ranking: 15
3. Webb Simpson (99, 2, 3) – Last three finishes: T7, The Greenbrier Classic; T29, Travelers Championship; 1, U.S. Open Championship
– Official World Golf Ranking: 5
4. Luke Donald (75, 0, 5) - Last three finishes: T5, British Open; T16, Scottish Open; MC, U.S. Open Championship
- Official World Golf Ranking: 1
5. Graeme McDowell (70, 0, 6) – Last three finishes: T5, British Open; T17, ALSTOM Open de France; T16, Irish Open
– Official World Golf Ranking: 11
6. Jason Dufner (68, 0, 4) - Last three finishes: T31, British Open; T4, U.S. Open Championship; 2, Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial
- Official World Golf Ranking: 8
7. Zach Johnson (59, 0, 7) - Last three finishes: T9, British Open; 1, John Deere Classic; T64, Travelers Championship
– Official World Golf Ranking: 12
8. Adam Scott (40, 0, 
– Last three finishes: 2, British Open; 3, AT&T National; T15, U.S. Open Championship
– Official World Golf Ranking: 6
9. Lee Westwood (32, 0, 9) - Last three finishes: T45, British Open; T40, ALSTOM Open de France; T10, U.S. Open Championship
- Official World Golf Ranking: 4
10. Bubba Watson (24, 0, NR) – Last three finishes: T23, British Open; T2, Travelers Championship; MC, U.S. Open Championship
– Official World Golf Ranking: 7
Others receiving votes:
Matt Kuchar (19)
Hunter Mahan (16)
Rory McIlroy (15)
Dustin Johnson (9)
Brandt Snedeker (6)
Fred Couples (2)
Louis Oosthuizen (2)
Rickie Fowler (1)
Padraig Harrington (1)
Geoff Ogilvy (1)
Golf's return to the Olympics in Rio is four years off. That's 16 majors away. The Olympic golf course has yet to be built.
Which means it must be time for the NBC family of networks to start their deluge of promotional material. In a press release issued Monday, The Golf Channel rolled out its first round of 30-second video spots for a series entitled "Golf's Return to the Olympics." Be prepared for more:
"In media, there is nothing as powerful as the Olympic Games and Golf Channel plans to follow the most compelling storylines as golf returns to the Olympics in 2016,” said Golf Channel President Mike McCarley. “We'll tell the stories about which golfers will represent their countries and who will have to stay home. We'll cover the construction of the Olympic golf course in Rio and the profound, positive effect that the Olympics will have on golf’s global growth."
Golf Channel is joining other networks in the NBCUniversal family promoting the London Olympics, while also looking forward to the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when golf will return after a 112-year absence. Golf was last an Olympic sport at the 1904 Games in St. Louis. The vignettes also will air on NBC Sports Network.
So far, videos include American's Keegan Bradley and Paula Creamer, Spaniard Belen Mozo, and South African Trevor Immelman. They're half-interview, half sales-pitch, set to alternating mystical or motivational back tracks. For their part, the athletes interviewed say they're excited. So is NBC. See for yourself below.
Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher Brady Riggs will be online today at noon Eastern to answer swing questions and analyze swing videos. If you have a question or a video link for Brady, leave it in the comments inside our CoverItLive blog!
