PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, European tour CEO Keith Pelley, and Keith Waters of the International Federation of PGA Tours Recuse Themselves from LIV Golf Decision

LIV Golf Denied World Ranking Points as Official World Golf Ranking Board Rejects Application

The Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) board has determined that LIV Golf, a 48-man league, cannot be fairly measured alongside the other 24 tours worldwide, resulting in the denial of world ranking points for LIV Golf’s events.

The initial application from the Saudi-backed LIV Golf was submitted in July 2022, after the league had already held two of its 54-hole, no-cut events. The OWGR’s decision is purely technical, not political, according to Peter Dawson, chairman of the OWGR board.

LIV players are deemed to possess the necessary skill to be ranked; however, the format in which they compete does not allow for equitable ranking compared to the thousands of players on the other 24 tours.

Notably, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, European tour CEO Keith Pelley, and Keith Waters of the International Federation of PGA Tours have recused themselves from the LIV Golf decision to avoid any conflict of interest.

Currently, the PGA Tour, European tour, and Saudi backers of LIV Golf (Public Investment Fund) are negotiating a commercial partnership, announced in June.

The committee responsible for rejecting LIV’s application includes leaders from Augusta National, the PGA of America, the US Golf Association, and The R&A, which oversee the four majors. The OWGR system is employed in the majors’ qualifying criteria.

LIV Golf made its debut in June 2022 with players who joined the rival league being suspended by the PGA Tour and European Tour, limiting their access to world ranking points to the majors exclusively.

At the conclusion of its inaugural season, LIV Golf featured 12 players from the top 50 in the world rankings, including British Open champion Cameron Smith, and a total of 24 players from the top 100. However, in the latest rankings, only Smith (15th) and PGA champion Brooks Koepka (18th) remain in the top 50, with LIV Golf having just six players among the top 100.

Notably absent from the top 100 are Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Talor Gooch, who has secured three victories on the LIV Golf circuit this year.

Peter Dawson emphasizes the need to include notable players such as Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia in the ranking, expressing hope for a solution that addresses qualification and relegation concerns.

Although LIV Golf can reapply to be part of the OWGR system, the board emphasizes the importance of turnover, objective access to LIV Golf, and implementing a mechanism to relegate underperforming players in order to earn ranking points.

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