The thorny issue of whether LIV Golf should have world ranking points is rarely far from the headlines, even though its long-running battle to acquire eligibility reached a frustrating conclusion last October when its bid for the points was officially rejected.
Recently, the arrival of high-profile players including Masters champion Jon Rahm and his Ryder Cup teammate Tyrrell Hatton has again raised suggestions that it’s time for the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to offer an olive branch to LIV Golf.
One key figure who is not prepared to let the matter fade away is LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman, and his latest comments on the subject came on X, where he posted a list of the top 50 in the OWGR and wrote: “Laughable. LIV would have 2 players in the top 50 OWGR if you exclude recent signees!”
Laughable. LIV would have 2 players in the top 50 OWGR if you exclude recent signees! pic.twitter.com/9EeJOxaMRNFebruary 19, 2024
After a mixed bag of players formed LIV Golf’s initial roster, nowadays it has considerably more of the best players in the world at the peak of their careers. For example, as well as Rahm and Hatton, it also has the likes of current PGA Champion Brooks Koepka, 2020 US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau and 2022 Open winner Cameron Smith on its books.
Even beyond its top tier of players, there are some impressive names in its line-up, including LIV Golf Mayakoba winner Joaquin Niemann, who claimed victory in Mexico the same weekend Wyndham Clark earned the full allocation of world ranking points for his win at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. That was despite the PGA Tour event being reduced to the same 54 holes as LIV Golf tournaments due to bad weather.
The likes of Thomas Pieters, who was 34th in the world rankings when he joined LIV Golf last year, and another new signing, four-time DP World Tour winner Adrian Meronk, offer further evidence that the line-up has evolved to include a healthy number of the world’s best players since its inception in 2022.
As Norman pointed out, though, that is not reflected in the rankings, with only Koepka, who is ranked 29th and Smith in 44th in the current top 50 beyond LIV Golf newcomers Rahm, Hatton and Meronk.
The situation has called into question the validity of the world rankings with the perception that, without the opportunity to regularly compete for the points, the inevitable fall down the rankings of most LIV Golf players ensures the OWGR can't offer an accurate representation of the best players in the world.
Another implication concerns the four Majors. While the likes of Koepka and Rahm are safe in the events for some time to come thanks to their recent Major titles, for others, world ranking points offer their best route to qualification.
As more slip beneath the cut-off needed to qualify, it leaves them looking for other options. One came last week, where David Puig qualified for The Open after winning the Asian Tour’s Malaysian Open.
However, those opportunities don’t come along too often, meaning that, as well as affecting LIV Golf and its players, the Majors could also eventually find the quality of their fields diminish.
Whether Norman’s latest protestation about the situation moves the conversation along remains to be seen, but one thing appears certain – as long as LIV Golf can’t offer the points, it is unlikely to be the last we hear on the subject.
