LIV rebel seizes rare chance to boost world ranking as big names drop outside top 100

LIV Golf rebel Anirban Lahiri has seized rare opportunities to boost his position in the world rankings away from the Saudi-funded breakaway tour.

The controversial LIV series - fronted by firebrand Greg Norman - has so far been overlooked by the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) board in a desperate pursuit for accreditation that would further validate the tour and allow its players to earn the points that are crucial for major championship qualification.

Norman's ongoing failure to gain OWGR eligibility is stifling LIV renegades - who have plummeted down the rankings with no points on offer during the LIV events and are now starting to miss out on majors, unless they have special exemptions.

An expanded 14-event LIV schedule means chances are limited for LIV players to gain world ranking points through other tours. Indian star Lahiri, however, has managed to jump up two places in the rankings to 97th following appearances on the Asian Tour and on the Professional Golf Tour of India.

Lahiri finished T12 in the Saudi International - the Asian Tour's flagship tournament - in February, and two further second place finishes have helped him maintain his position inside the world's top 100.

Four-time major winner Koepka is outside the world's top 100 (PA)

But the 35-year-old, who has retained his place on this year's LIV roster with Bryson DeChambeau's Crushers GC team, has not qualified for next month's Masters and his spell inside the top 100 is not expected to last long.

And the true extent of LIV's woes in their chase for ranking points is apparent with the fall of four-time major champion Brooks Koepka. Last week, former world no.1 Koepka slipped outside the world's top 100 for the first time since 2013.

The American has only played in three OWGR-sanctioned events since jumping ship from the PGA Tour and his dramatic slide down the rankings is one of the greatest demonstrations that the current OWGR model is no longer completely accurate with the exclusion of LIV players.

Oosthuizen has also dropped outside the top 100 (Getty Images)

Elsewhere, Paul Casey, Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman have all dropped from the world's top 100 despite varying results in the latest LIV event at Tuscon last weekend.

Former Open champion Oosthuizen was ranked world no.14 just last year but is now down to no.104, while former European Ryder Cup star Casey has fallen to no.102 and Australian Leishman is just ahead of the Englishman at no.101.