LIV Golf have finally landed OWGR points. But, as Jon Rahm points out, the ranking board’s decision comes with a huge caveat…
The news of Official World Golf Ranking approval was supposed to bring celebratory relief at LIV Golf after a tumultuous offseason, but the prevailing emotions emerging from the breakaway league in Saudi Arabia have been both caution and frustration.
On the eve of the season-opener at Riyadh Golf Club, news filtered through that the OWGR board had given the green light to LIV in their four-year pursuit of the points that offer crucial access to majors.
But the message from the OWGR bosses also came with an unmistakeable caveat. The rankings body has limited the league’s points only to the top 10 and ties. LIV events will be ranked based on the OWGR’s standard classification of “Small Field Tournaments”, with the winner receiving the projected equivalent what a champion would on an opposite field event on the PGA Tour.
The OWGR stressed that the league still has shortcomings, including the “self-selection of players, many of whom being recruited rather than earning their place on the tour, and, in recent days, the addition/removal of players to/from teams based on their nationality rather than for meritocratic reasons.”
Jon Rahm – who is 2nd in Data Golf’s rankings, which has always included LIV Golf metrics, but has slipped down to 97th in the OWGR system – is pleased that the league has finally been acknowledged but he insists it is still not being treated fairly.
“It’s fantastic that we’re being recognized in a way,” Rahm said in Riyadh. “With that said, I don’t like how we’re not being treated the same as every other tour.
“It seems like the rules that have been in place don’t really apply to us, with only 10 of us getting points. It doesn’t seem fair. The small fields out there throughout the course of the year, their players get full points.”
“There’s work to be done. While it’s good for some people, it could cause some players to actually lose world ranking points instead of gaining them because finishing 11th is basically a missed cut, and we’re already adding to the divisor.”
Indeed, Rahm’s big concern is that LIV players will suffer due to the OWGR’s formula. With those finishing 11th or lower in the standings not eligible for points, a tournament entry will still be included on their record and their average score will take a hit in the system. The Spaniard has echoed the point raised in LIV’s fiery statement in response to the news.
“Limiting points to only the top 10 finishers disproportionately harms players who consistently perform at a high level but finish just outside that threshold, as well as emerging talent working to establish themselves on the world stage – precisely the players a fair and meritocratic ranking system is designed to recognize,” LIV’s statement read.
LIV chief executive Scott O’Neil has long been in discussions with the OWGR chairman Trevor Immelman in his mission to earn ranking points for his players, but he had mixed feelings about the result.
“You look at their mission statement and it says ‘we’re fair and transparent,’” said O’Neil. “This doesn’t feel fair, and it certainly isn’t transparent, so I would say thank you to Trevor and your leadership, thank you to the majors who are also on the board. I appreciate the support.
“I hope this is one step, and one step forward, and there is another step coming in relatively short order because when I look out there at the field, the top 25 guys in this league compete with the top 25 guys on the PGA Tour, and that’s analytics speaking, that’s not me, not bluster. I will show you any data point you want to see, I will roll it out to you.”
What are LIV Golf’s other big names saying?
The OWGR debate has dominated the agenda during LIV’s season-opener in Riyadh. Here’s what some of the league’s other prominent names had to say – starting with the new Smash GC captain who is not happy…
Talor Gooch: “I don’t think the right thing was done, which is not any different than what we’ve experienced here at LIV for the last four or five seasons now. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out. But I think anybody who says that the right thing was done and the fair thing was done, I don’t think they’re in tune with the reality of things. Hopefully, there’s some improvement there. Time will tell.”
Ian Poulter: “Mixed views. I think first and foremost, it’s good to have LIV recognised finally. After all these years, we should be getting points, so that’s a massive plus. On the flip side, I’m not about sure the algorithm that they’ve used to figure out the points.”
Martin Kaymer: “On one hand, it’s great that we’re tapped in and that we have a chance now to get world ranking points. It has been a long time coming for us and I believe it is a step in the right direction. On the other hand, it would have been nice for more players will get more world ranking points. Finishing 11th to 15th in some events is a great effort, is a good achievement, yet it gives you zero points. That’s the downside of it. I think we should focus on the positives – it’s a step in the right direction and let’s see where we can go from here.”
Lee Westwood: “It’s a start. But if you think 11th in a LIV event doesn’t deserve OWGR points, you’re more biased than I thought. It’s the young guys that have chosen LIV as the pathway for their careers that will suffer most from this decision. Still couldn’t quite manage to do their job, and fairly rank the best players in the world, could they?!”
Charles Howell III: “I think it’s a great step. I don’t necessarily see how it’s done and the amount of points and only top-tens but any point is better than no points. It’s a start in the right direction and I think LIV Golf is here to stay for a long time.”
Dean Burmester: “I was probably doubtful we were going to get them so it’s a big positive step in the right direction. I think it’s the recognition for the league, recognition for the quality of players that are here and what we’re trying to achieve so to be welcomed into that ecosystem is important/”
Peter Uihlein: “I might be one of the few that like it. We have more world ranking points today than we did yesterday. I saw the winner gets 23 points this week. In [the DP World Tour’s Qatar Masters], he gets 20. In my mind, we’re the second-best tour in the world right now. “Obviously, there are things that probably need to get worked out with the top 10 or whatever, but the reality is we have more points today than we did yesterday. I’m all for it.”