Trevor Immelman has taken over as Chairman of the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) following a meeting of the Governing Board held last week at Augusta National Golf Club. 

Immelman, who won the 2008 Masters Tournament at Augusta National, succeeds Peter Dawson CBE, who has held the role since 2016.

Immelman becomes the third OWGR Chair since 2004, the year when the proprietary interest and management of the ranking system established by IMG in 1986 was transferred to a new incorporated company, OWGR. 

Sir Michael Bonallack OBE held the position for 12 years from 2004 before being succeeded by Dawson, who has retired after eight years in the role.

Immelman enjoyed a successful international playing career, reaching a career high of 12^th on the OWGR in 2006. The South African won five times on the Sunshine Tour, including the South African Open in consecutive years in 2003 and 2004.  Following victories on both the European Tour and PGA TOUR, he went on to win the Green Jacket in 2008 when he finished three shots clear of Tiger Woods at Augusta National.

The 45-year-old captained the International Team at the Presidents Cup in 2022. After joining the CBS commentary team in 2019, he was named as their lead golf analyst in 2023 and will continue in that role. 

During Dawson’s time as Chairman, OWGR’s coverage extended from 16 to 24 tours, and in August 2022 an updated system was introduced based on modern statistical techniques, which allowed players and eligible tournaments to be more accurately evaluated relative to each other.

Dawson previously served as Chief Executive of The R&A from 1999 until his retirement in 2015. He was appointed a CBE in the New Year Honours List in 2021 for services to golf.