Following the conclusion of the Genesis Invitational, the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) were updated. Golfers who took part in it received several points which improved their overall rankings. The players who did not receive these points were LIV Golfers, leading to CEO Greg Norman once again taking a shot at the ranking system.
The Australian International has been trying to make sure LIV Golf receives the ranking points. In 2023, the OWGR committee turned down their application for the rankings points because of their 54-hole format. Norman has now blasted them on social media.
In the latest OWGR update Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton , Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith and Adrian Meronk are the only representatives of LIV Golf in the top 50 rankings. However, three of them (Rahm, Hatton and Meronk) have just joined the breakaway tour.
Pointing this out, Norman compared the OWGR rankings with the ones from TUGR, SI and Data Golf. He would claim the current ranking system is “laughable“.
Laughable. LIV would have 2 players in the top 50 OWGR if you exclude recent signees! Greg Norman on OWGR rankings on X.
Compared to other rankings, LIV Golf would see atleast eight players making it into the top 50. However, the OWGR is one that matters the most. The rankings points offered by them allows the players to compete in the major championships of golf.
Recently, Patrick Reed faced some huge trouble regarding his rankings. The 2018 Masters champion fell out of the top 50 rankings due to his allegiance with LIV Golf. Whereas 2020 Masters winner Dustin Johnson fell outside of the top 200, leading him to calling the rankings as “skewed“.
When will LIV Golfers get a chance to improve their ranking points?
As the OWGR committee firmly denied their application to receive OWGR points, LIV Golfers will be without it for the foreseeable future. However, there will be some who will have the chance to improve their rankings in the upcoming months.
Some golfers will have an exempt at the Masters, the first major of the year. Past winner like Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed, Charl Schwartzel, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson and reigning champion Jon Rahm will all appear at the Augusta National.
Meanwhile, players such as Bryson DeChambeau , Brooks Koepka and Cameron Smith will appear in the Masters and other major championships due to their previous wins in other majors. The one big name from LIV Golf that will not be appearing at any four of the majors is Talor Gooch. Despite winning, three times last season on the breakaway tour and claiming the individual title, his rankings have dropped due to not receiving the points and thus failed to qualify for it.
The 54-hole circuit will now head to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for the third event of the year. The previous two events LIV Golf Vegas and LIV Golf Mayakoba saw Dustin Johnson and Joaquin Neimann emerge victorious respectively.
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