Kevin Na had an underrated 2014, leading to a big jump in the world ranking. (Getty Images)
Kevin Na had an underrated 2014, leading to a big jump in the world ranking. (Getty Images)

World rankings are far from perfect -- I think we all know that -- but they're a decent, albeit a bit lagging, bigger-picture snapshot of where a golfer currently stands.

Nobody thinks Rory McIlroys isn't the No. 1 player on the planet. Nobody thinks Bubba Watson isn't No. 3 or somewhere close.

This is even more so the case when we compare where various golfers were ranked at the end of 2013 and where they are now. 

I wanted to look at notable golfers who made the biggest leap in rankings (this is not an exhaustive list) and who had the biggest tumble.

Let's take a quick glance.

(Note: We're limiting this to folks who were ranked in the top 1,200 in the world at the end of 2013, with one exception)

Notable gains

Carlos Ortiz (No. 1,508 to No. 143): Ortiz is the exception. I can't ignore somebody who won three times on the Web.com Tour last season. Now, can he keep it up on the big boy tour?

Justin Thomas (No. 1,074 to No. 128): Thomas has been lauded as the next big thing on the PGA Tour and he looked the part in 2014 by winning once and having a runner-up on the Web.com Tour.

Jason Gore (No. 659 to No. 217): Wait, Jason Gore?! The same Jason Gore who played in the final group at the 2005 US Open? You bet. Gore finished top three at three Web.com events in 2014 at the age of 40.

J.B. Holmes (No. 475 to No. 65): Holmes' story is well-documented but keeping his ranking at 70 or under all season is a testament to his consistent play and not just a one-hit win at Quail Hollow.

Mike Weir (No. 631 to No. 296): Weir had a good (not great) year but he was so low in the world rankings that finishing second at the Byron Nelson took him from No. 605 to No. 238 all by itself.

Kevin Na (No. 233 to No. 26): Na was the only golfer to move over 200 spots into the current world top 30. His was an underrated year as he finished second in three different PGA Tour events.

The golfers who have fallen off are more interesting to me as it often includes some grisly backstory like an inability to putt or the shanks or a fire hydrant.

Here are a few of those (limited to the top 300 at the end of 2014).

Notable losses

Padraig Harrington (No. 131 to No. 353): It was a tough year for the Irishman. Harrington actually dropped out of the top 200 for the first time since 1996 (!). His only top 10 of the year came all the way back in January at the Volvo Champions.

Derek Ernst (No. 154 to No. 378): Ernst's career so far is one of the strangest ever. He has played 54 PGA Tour tournaments and finished inside the top 30 twice -- once at the 2014 Barracuda Championship and once at the 2013 Wells Fargo Championship, which he won over McIlroy and Phil Mickelson.

Paul Lawrie (No. 109 to No. 286): The biggest drop of anyone inside the top 300. Lawrie was sidelined by a neck injury for about 15 weeks in 2014 and didn't participate in his usual load of tournaments.

Kyle Stanley (No. 128 to No. 300): A grotesque stat for you -- Stanley's strokes gained putting number for all of the 2013-13 season was -99; the next worst was -69.

Nick Watney (No. 30 to No. 109): The only golfer to go from inside the top 30 to outside the top 100. Watney only had two top 10s in 2014 and one was in a tournament opposite a WGC event. That's not suitable for a top-30 player (or for someone with Watney's talents). 

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