LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman has officially withdrawn his league’s application from the Official World Golf Rankings.
LIV Golf has abandoned its drive to secure Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points, according to Bob Harig of Sports Illustrated.
Ahead of the league’s fourth event of the season in Hong Kong this week, LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman penned a letter to players, saying that “a resolution which protects the accuracy, credibility, and integrity of the OWGR rankings no longer exists.”
Last October, the OWGR board denied LIV Golf the opportunity to receive points at their events.
“This decision not to make them eligible is not political. It is entirely technical,” said Peter Dawson, chair of the OWGR board, at the time.
“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.”
LIV Golf employs a 54-hole format and shotgun starts, while tournament sizes hover between 48 and 54 players. These aspects significantly differ from accredited tours worldwide.
And yet, the OWGR board had more of an issue with the team aspect of LIV Golf. Last April, one LIV golfer, Sebastian Muñoz, admitted to lagging a putt on the 18th green to secure the team title instead of trying to win the individual competition.
Had that putt dropped, Muñoz would have tied Brooks Koepka, forcing a playoff.
“It’s weird because I knew we were one stroke ahead on the team, so I couldn’t go extra. I knew I couldn’t be too aggressive,” Munoz said afterward, per The Associated Press.
“He got the individual, we got the team. I call it a tie.”
That did not sit well with OWGR brass.
The board also expressed disdain for player pathways, and how only three new players could receive promotions into the league at the end of each season.
“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 added.
Dawson, the former CEO of the R&A, also admitted that some of the best golfers in the world play on LIV Golf. He’s right—the league includes three players who won three of the past eight major championships. Dawson then went as far as to say, “We need to find a way to get it done.”
The OWGR serves as the primary ranking criteria used by each of the four major championships. With LIV golfers plummeting down the rankings, only four currently reside within the top 50. Koepka and Cam Smith rank 30th and 45th, respectively, as their rankings have benefitted from their recent major triumphs.
Jon Rahm and Tyrell Hatton sit at 3rd and 17th, thanks to their strong play on the PGA Tour throughout 2023. Both players jumped to LIV in recent months. Rahm will also arrive at Augusta National this April as the defending champion.
As such, Norman and LIV Golf have abandoned all hope for the OWGR.
“The rankings are structured to penalize anyone who has not played regularly on an ‘Eligible Tour’ with the field ratings disproportionately rewarding play on the PGA Tour,” Norman added.
“This is illustrated by the fact only four players inside the top 50 are not PGA Tour players and by the precipitous decline of LIV players generally, notwithstanding extraordinary performances in LIV events.”
One of the hottest players on the planet right now, Joaquin Niemann, dropped from 72nd to 76th in the OWGR following his second LIV Golf win of the season in Saudi Arabia. At one point in his career, he was ranked as high as 15th.
However, the major championships still view Niemann as a top player, which explains why he has been invited to The Masters and the PGA Championship. His victory at the Australian Open in December gave him entry into The Open Championship at Royal Troon, too.
But other LIV players have no pathway into the majors unless they play alternate events on the Asian Tour or DP World Tour, as Niemann has done.
“We have made significant efforts to fight for you and ensure your accomplishments are recognized within the existing ranking system,” Norman wrote to players.
“Unfortunately, OWGR has shown little willingness to productively work with us.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
