Ranking top 50 golfers: Nos. 30-21

We started ranking the top 50 golfers in the world with the bottom 10 (though that's a bottom 10 list I would love to be a part of). Then we did Nos. 40-31. Today we continue with Nos. 30-21.

These are the guys that are elite but not part of superstardom. Most are headed in opposite directions. Hideki Matsuyama, for example, is probably ticketed for the top 20. Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, not so much.

A reminder of my criteria: If you took every golfer alive and put them in a simulation where they played a random tournament 1 million times, this is the order they would finish most often.

That is, if every golfer in the world played a massive tournament 1 million times, Tiger Woods would likely finish first most often (I guess I'm giving some of my list away now).

You could say "Well, just take the top 50 in the world golf rankings" and that would work, I guess. But that's kind of boring and I think we can all agree it's a little broken (unless you believe Rory McIlroy was a top-five player for much of 2013).

This is a list for right now, not a rolling list for the past two years.

Here are Nos. 30-21:

Rank	Player	Analysis
21		Sergio Garcia: The Spainard has competition from countrymenGonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Miguel Angel Jimenez but he had maybe his most efficient season ever in 2013 (no missed cuts). As good as he has ever been.
22		Jim Furyk: Missed the cut at the both Opens then finished second at the PGA Championship before shooting 59 at the BMW Championship and then missing the Presidents Cup team. Still great but no longer part of the upper crust.
23		Charl Schwartzel: He might have my favorite swing in golf. I think he has at least two more major wins in him.
24		Luke Donald: Donald frustrates me. It feels like he should be a lot more prolific than he actually is. Still, I can't drop him outside the top 25.
25		Lee Westwood: Speaking of players who frustrate me ... I'm just going to keep citing his two career PGA Tour wins until it changes.
26		Hideki Matsuyama: How's this for impressive? He finished T10 at the US Open, T6 at the British Open and T19 at the PGA Championship consecutively.
27		Jamie Donaldson: One of my favorites on the European Tour. Five top eights in his past six events. I think that's good.
28		Graham DeLaet: Had about as good a year as a golfer can have without winning. Over 100 spots between him and Canada's second-best. Two hundred between him and Canada's third-best. And 400 between him and Canada's fourth-best.
29		Thomas Bjorn: Was as low as No. 93 in the world this summer but has now won two of his past eight events. There's a great stat floating around out there about most starts at a major without winning. Westwood, I believe, has the most with 63, Sergio has 61, Bjorn has 50.
30		Ernie Els: Look at the Big Easy just hanging around. He actually rose to as high as No. 13 in the world this summer but fell off a bit at the end. As smart and competitive a golfer as there is.

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Teenage golf sensation Lydia Ko signs with IMG

Wellington - New Zealand teen sensation Lydia Ko announced Friday she had signed with management giant IMG Worldwide, just two months after turning professional following a stellar amateur career.

The 16-year-old, who won her first pro tournament in Taiwan on Sunday is already ranked number four in the world, generating a wave of hype that has seen Time magazine name her as one of the world's most influential teens.

Ko, whose grounded attitude has impressed pundits, said having IMG manage her affairs would allow her to concentrate on her game.

"My family and I spoke with many candidates and IMG emerged as the clear choice to represent me, in large part because of their global reach," she said in a statement.

"I am comfortable knowing that IMG will commit the appropriate resources to help my career excel while I focus on golf."

The Korean-born prodigy will be keen to avoid the pitfalls experienced by her American stablemate at IMG Michelle Wie, who has failed to live up to expectations since turning pro aged 15 in 2005.

The US LPGA usually restricts membership to golfers aged 18 and over but granted Ko a special waiver because of her achievements as an amateur, which included becoming the youngest player to ever win a pro tournament at 14.

She won four professional tournaments as an amateur but had to forgo millions of dollars in prize money and sponsorships, a situation IMG will no doubt be quick to rectify when it takes over her management.

"We will be employing all of our experience and our global resources to her benefit," IMG's global head of golf Guy Kinnings said.

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