Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf Tour has lashed out against the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) after it was denied ranking points once again.
On Tuesday, the OWGR Board sent a letter to LIV Golf Commissioner Greg Norman and Gary Davidson, COO of Performance 54, the company that conceptualised and operates the LIV Tour, saying that the Committee had “unanimously determined” that the new Tour should not be included in the OWGR ranking at this point.
The OWGR board said it was unable to measure the 48-man LIV Golf league with the other 24 tours around the world. The 54-hole, no-cut format of the same 48 players playing every tournament in a season, and limited relegation for players who underperform were the two main reasons.
In a statement to the Associated Press, Peter Dawson, chairman of the OWGR board, said: “We are not at war with them. This decision not to make them eligible is not political. It is entirely technical. LIV players are self-evidently good enough to be ranked. They’re just not playing in a format where they can be ranked equitably with the other 24 tours and thousands of players trying to compete on them.”
In response, LIV Golf questioned the validity of OWGR and said in a statement: “OWGR’s sole objective is to rank the best players across the globe. Today’s communication makes clear that it can no longer deliver on that objective.
“Players have historically remained subject to a single world ranking to qualify for Major Championships, the biggest events, and for corporate sponsor contract value. A ranking which fails to fairly represent all participants, irrespective of where in the world they play golf, robs fans, players and all of golf’s stakeholders of the objective basis underpinning any accurate recognition of the world’s best player performances. It also robs some traditional tournaments of the best fields possible.
“Professional golf is now without a true or global scoring and ranking system. There is no benefit for fans or players from the lack of trust or clarity as long as the best player performances are not recognised.”
Rankings impact on LIV Golf League
The Public Investment Fund-funded LIV Golf League started last year with 12 players ranked inside the top 50 in the world and 24 in the top 100. This week, in the absence of any OWGR points since then and with both PGA Tour and DP World Tour banning LIV players from playing their events, only Australia’s Cameron Smith (OWGR No.15) and PGA Champion winner Brooks Koepka (No. 18) remain inside the top 50.
“Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, of course they should be in the ranking. We need to find a way to get that done. I hope that LIV can find a solution – not so much their format; that can be dealt with through a mathematical formula – but the qualification and relegation,” Dawson told AP.
The hostility between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf seems to be ending earlier this year when the US-based not-for-profit Tour reached an agreement to work with PIF, including starting a for-profit entity. That framework of agreement has not been finalised as yet.
LIV Golf Tour, which first applied for the OWGR points in July 2022 and has been rejected twice, can again reapply after implementing additional solutions to the OWGR Board’s concerns.
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