The Official World Golf Ranking is 40 years in existence this month. We look at the nine South African golfers who have ended the year as SA's top-ranked golfer – and the one honorary 'Saffa'

A winner of 29 professional titles, including 10 on the PGA Tour, Frost was also the dominant force at the Nedbank Golf Challenge, which he won three times from 1989 to 1992. He also won the SA Open, twice, and the SA PGA Championship and SA Masters, as well as events on the European, Asian and Japan tours. Frost's best Major result was T5th in the 1985 Masters, having led at the end of the first round.

Highest OWGR: No7

There is a misconception that McNulty is South African. Despite being one of the most recognisable figures on the Sunshine Tour – he won the Order Of Merit eight times – and spending most of his life in the country, McNulty never became a South African citizen, but represented Zimbabwe and Ireland, as well as Southern Africa at the Alfred Dunhill team competition. He won 16 times on the European Tour.

Highest OWGR: No7

The man to break Ernie Els' stranglehold as South Africa's top-ranked golfer at the end of a calendar year. A friend and competitor of Els' since their amateur days, Goosen has racked up 40 professional wins, including the 2001 and 2004 US Opens. He signed off 2005 by winning the South African Open, where he beat Els by one stroke. That came three months after winning the German Masters, which helped him overtake Els in the rankings.

Highest OWGR: No3

Schwartzel was the top-ranked SA golfer in three years, starting in 2011 when he won The Masters, shooting a final round 66 to see off Australians Jason Day and Adam Scott by two strokes. In those three years that he ended as SA No1, he won the Masters, the Joburg Open, Alfred Dunhill Championship (twice) and China Masters. His best finish at The Open also came during this period – a T7th in 2014 at Royal Liverpool, where Rory McIlroy won.

Highest OWGR: No6

Led the 'Next Gen' after the periods of Ernie Els and Retief Goosen and was top-ranked SA golfer for seven years. Oosthuizen won the 2010 Open at St Andrews but was usurped by Els in the end-of-year race to be SA's No1 for that year. And in 2011, Charl Schwartzel's Masters victory saw him pip Oosthuizen to the No1 spot. He won 11 times on the European Tour (DP World Tour) from 2010 to 2023. Six times a runner-up in Majors – once in the Masters and Open and twice in the PGA Championship and US Open.

Highest OWGR: No4

The best South African golfer of the last 30 years to not win a Major. However, Grace did win 'Africa's Major', the 2017 Nedbank Golf Challenge. This came after a two-year stretch when he was the country's No1-ranked player. Then, he won the Qatar Masters (twice) and the Dimension Data Pro-Am. He also finished 3rd at the 2015 PGA Championship and T4th at the 2015 US Open. In 2012 Grace became the first player to win four European Tour titles in the same year.

Highest OWGR: No10

Burmester was born and grew up in Zimbabwe, but became a bone fide South African. He has collected four DP World Tour titles as well as 11 on the Sunshine Tour, including the 2023 Investec SA Open, which he won by three strokes. His best finish in a Major was T11 at the 2022 Open, won by Cameron Smith. Also had a T12 at the 2024 PGA Championship. Burmester joined the SA quartet on the LIV circuit where he has won once.

Highest OWGR: No55

One of the leaders of the twenty-something generation, Lawrence won the SA Open a day after turning 28 and that was his third DP World Tour victory. He has subsequently won the BMW International Open and the European Masters for a second time. His best finish in a Major is fourth at the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon. His T2 in the BMW Championship, beaten in a playoff with Billy Horschel and Rory McIlroy, lifted him into the top 50.

Highest OWGR: No45

Currently the highest-ranked golfer in South Africa, aged 25. Schaper turned professional in 2020 but waited five years for his first win. Like a London bus, two arrived in quick succession and he won the Alfred Dunhill Championship and Mauritius Open in successive weeks on the DP World Tour in December 2025, both in playoffs, both with eagles. Schaper ended 2025 at No62 in the world, but his form has continued and he broke into the top 50 for the first time. He is yet to play in a Major.

Highest OWGR: No49

Phil Inglis | Montana Pritchard | Luke Walker | Carl Fourie | Tyrone Winfield | Getty Images | PGA of America | Sunshine Tour