LIV Golf waited nearly four years to secure Official World Golf Ranking points. But is that arrangement now in jeopardy?

When LIV Golf finally ended its near-four year wait for world ranking points in February, those presiding over the “exhaustive” process provided a detailed explanation for their conclusions.

The Official World Golf Ranking body had eventually opted to limit points to only the top-10 finishers at each LIV event, an arrangement the breakaway league regarded as “unprecedented” victimization. But in a long-winded statement laying out its reasons, the OWGR board said it recognized a “number of areas where LIV Golf does not meet the eligibility standards set out”.

The most important part of said statement, however, came right at the end.

“OWGR acknowledges that LIV Golf is planning further changes for the 2027 season,” the final paragraph reads. “As LIV Golf continues to evolve, OWGR will continue to evaluate LIV Golf against OWGR’s eligibility standards, which could result in an increase in points, a decrease in points or removal from the system altogether.”

Of course, LIV will change almost beyond recognition next season. The league is entering a post-Saudi era and hopes that, with the lifeline of a “lead investor” following the withdrawal of the Public Investment Fund, it will be able to finalize a 2027 schedule that is leaner in both prize money and events.

TG has learned that LIV is working on a 10-event calendar with purses set at $10 million. But as the league transitions into what bosses are calling ‘LIV 2.0’, compliance with those OWGR standards will now be under the microscope.

New tours handed ranking points are subject to at least a three-year probationary period, as per the OWGR’s rules. And the turbulence around the league in recent months has made things more difficult for LIV, with points surely a crucial attraction for players signing up to the new model.

Jon Rahm’s move from just outside 100th in the rankings to the brink of the top-10 in the months since LIV secured points is proof that consistent performances are rewarded. The future of stars like Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau remains a constant source of speculation, but another intriguing subplot ahead of this potential new chapter is whether LIV can keep hold of these points.

The first challenge in upholding their eligibility is maintaining the pathway system that helped secure LIV world ranking points in the first place. LIV’s partnership with the Asian Tour has offered the league promotion and relegation pathways into its lucrative tournaments, with players on the feeder circuit’s International Series offered a spot into the league.

But after the Asian Tour stunned many by LIV switching allegiance to the PGA Tour and DP World Tour last month, LIV was left in a vulnerable position without its key partner.

This is what the current OWGR criteria says about pathways:

A tour should have clearly structured and sufficient pathways for players to move between the tour and an Eligible Golf Tour by way of either:

movement from the tour to an Eligible Golf Tour, with corresponding movement from the Eligible Golf Tour to the tour; or

movement from the Eligible Golf Tour to the tour, with corresponding movement from the tour to the Eligible Golf Tour.

It is unclear at this stage if LIV has a back-up plan in striking a deal with another tour. But in its bid to appease the OWGR board ahead of this current season, LIV widened its relegation zone from six to 11 players. Will the league still follow through with demoting players, especially when there could already be an exodus? The former NCAA champion Michael La Sasso, one of the league’s newest signings, is on the brink of finishing in the Drop Zone and is among the names who could be frozen out.

In an ideal world, La Sasso is surely one of the players LIV wants to build its “next generation” around. Yet even in these tumultuous times where large player turnover is almost guaranteed, relegation is a vital part of proving to the OWGR board that the league is not a closed shop.

It is also imperative LIV get to the 10 events they are planning on the schedule, as that coincides with the minimum number required to qualify for OWGR points.

LIV’s mission to survive beyond this season is now well under way, but as the league ponders various transformational changes, the risk of losing ranking points looms large.