Bryson DeChambeau has slammed the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) after labelling them 'obsolete', as the LIV Golf series continues its hunt for OWGR recognition.
LIV has rocked the world of professional golf over the past year, and has established itself as a direct rival to the PGA Tour at the top of the golfing pyramid. Thanks to its funding from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, the breakaway circuit has lured in a whole host of big names on mega-money contracts.
Hitting back, the PGA Tour opted to issue bans to any player making the Saudi switch in a bid to thwart of the LIV threat, leaving professional golf in a state of civil war.
Despite its recent impressive rise, the real kink in LIV Golf's armour amid their battle with the American-based circuit is its lacking of world ranking points. Due to being new on the scene, LIV is yet to acquire recognition from the OWGR, meaning their events are un-sanctioned.
With LIV players banned from competing on the PGA Tour and now playing their golf without OWGR points, many have seen themselves tumble down the world rankings since their move. American Talor Gooch is the perfect example, after he fell two places in last week's ranking update despite being crowned champion at LIV's event in Adelaide.
The Saudi-backed series is back on the road this week in Singapore, but once again ranking points will not be on offer. One man who has felt the effects more than most is Dechambeau, who finds himself ranked 178th in the world rankings despite beginning 2022 inside the top five.
Taking aim at the rankings ahead of this week's event in Singapore, he said: "You should realise that the OWGR is not accurate. I think that they need to come to a resolution, or it will become obsolete. It's pretty much almost obsolete as of right now.
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"But again, if the majors and everything continue to have that as their ranking system, then they are biting it quite heavily. I'd very disappointing that that's the way it goes because it's not right, and I hope people can see through that. It's disappointing that somebody takes such a hard stance."
Dechambeau is not the first LIV star to slam the world ranking system, and will no doubt not be the last. Amid their hunt ranking points last season, Greg Norman and co formed a 'strategic alliance' with the lesser-known MENA Tour. This saw LIV events become co-sanctioned with the MENA Tour with the hope of ranking points being offered, but the application was rejected by the OWGR.
