The Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) has turned down LIV Golf's formal request to award world ranking points to the Tour's members.
In a letter released to the press, OWGR's chairman, Peter Dawson, said, "The Board committee met recently again to review your OWGR submission in light of your latest responses to the committee's questions and concerns. At the meeting the board committee unanimously determined that at this time the LIV Tour will not be recognised as an eligible Golf Tour in the OWGR System."
In the letter, addressed to LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman and COO Gary Davidson, Dawson went on to clarify that the decision was technical, and not borne out of malice. "We are not at war with them," Dawson, a non-voting member of OWGR, explained.
"This decision not to make them eligible is not political. It is entirely technical. 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."
Surprisingly Dawson was not referring to the 54-hole, and no 36-hole cut format that's standard on the LIV Golf Tour, and which has been a bone of contention in its accreditation by OWGR.
Dawson clarified that the voting committee "could not get past what amounts to a closed shop."
The big names on LIV are contracted by the Tour and have guaranteed spots that are not linked to their on-course performances while the Top 24 players also confirm a spot. Almost at the culmination of its second season, LIV Golf has two events left with a total of 48 players in the field competing over 54 holes with no cut and a $20 million purse, plus a bonus $5 million in a simultaneous team competition.
