Members of the new LIV Golf league are speaking out against the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) system, which unanimously voted to not award points to players for finishes in the LIV Golf tournaments. Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson are among those voicing their opinions.
OWGR chairman Peter Dawson sent a letter to LIV CEO Greg Norman notifying him of the decision, per ESPN. Although players like DeChambeau and Johnson have a spot in the major championships, other players won’t have the opportunity to accumulate enough points to qualify.
Both DeChambeau and Johnson took major shots at OWGR following the decision.
“It’s just been par for the course, unfortunately, and I think at this point in time now that they’re not allowing it, we would love to find another way to be integrated into the major championship system since I think we have some of the best players in the world,” said DeChambeau. “Top 12 on the list, the money list at the end of the year or the points list at the end of the year would be, I think, obvious for the major championships to host the best players in the world at those four events each year.”
“I feel like you can’t really use the world ranking system anymore. That’s my take on it,” said Johnson. “Hard to use the world ranking system if you’re excluding 48 guys that are good players. The rankings are skewed.
“It doesn’t really affect me as it does some of the other guys. I want the points for the other guys.”
LPGA star Lexi Thompson to making history
Lexi Thompson joined elite company this week. The 11-time LPGA event winner accepted an invitation to play in the PGA Tour‘s Shriners Children’s Open, scheduled for this weekend.
Thompson became just the seventh woman to play in a PGA Tour event. She joins names like Michele Wie West, Suzy Whaley, Annika Sorenstam, Shirley Spork and Babe Didrikson Zaharias. Brittany Lincicome was the last woman to participate in a PGA Tour event, playing in the Barbasol Championship in 2018.
“I’m hopeful that my ability to play with the men next week at the Shriners Children’s Open sends a great message to the young women that you can chase your dream regardless of how hard it is,” Thompson said in a statement, per ESPN. “I’m grateful to Shriners Children’s for this opportunity to spend the week alongside these inspirational kids.”
Thompson has been accomplishing big things throughout her golf career. In 2007, she became the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Championship at age 12. Four years later, at age 16, she became the youngest player to win an LPGA Tour event, claiming the Navistar LPGA Classic in 2011.
In total, Thompson has claimed 11 victories on the LPGA Tour, winning one major championship, as well. In 2014, she won the Chevron Championship. She’s also had runner-up finishes in the U.S. Women’s Open, Women’s PGA Championship and Evian Championship.
Thompson’s last victory on the LPGA Tour came in 2019 at the ShopRite LPGA Classic.
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