DP World Tour chief weighs in on Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm's disagreement

DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley has weighed in on the difference of opinion between Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy over the OWGR issue.

Ben Smith's picture
Sun, 20 Nov 2022
DP World Tour chief weighs in on Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm's disagreement

DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley has weighed in on the difference of opinion between Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy over the world ranking points issue that has developed since the emergence of LIV Golf

Speaking during the final round of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, Pelley explained he will be taking both of their points of view to the next Official World Golf Ranking [OWGR] board meeting. 

In case it somehow passed you by, LIV Golf are not accredited by the OWGR and their players cannot gain the points they need to qualify for golf's four major championships unless they are exempt. 

Related: Jon Rahm "tired of hearing" he's had a poor year

There is also a stark contrast between the quality of field here in Dubai and on the PGA Tour's stop this week at the RSM Classic.

The field in Dubai is undoubtedly much stronger than at Sea Island Golf Club yet more world ranking points will be awarded to the winner in Georgia. 

Rahm ripped into the OWGR during his pre-tournament press-conference. 

McIlroy simply laughed it off after stating that he believed it was the "fairest system". 

Asked if the current world ranking situation concerns him, Pelley told Sky Sports:

"Well, I think there was a long study with four independent research universities that did this study on the OWGR and they came to the conclusion - all of them, all four of them did - that the rankings didn't reflect the actual performance of the players worldwide. 
"So, as a result, we implemented a new system but like with any new system regardless of what aspect of business you're in, you evaluate, you modify, you tweak. So at the next board meeting, we'll have those conversations." 

Pelley added: 

"You know, obviously, two of our top players Rory [McIlroy] and Jon [Rahm] have had a difference of opinion on the OWGR rankings this week. And that's what makes our game so wonderful for the last 50 years that we have freedom of speech from our top players. 
"So, we definitely ... I talked about Rory and Jon, although they have a difference of opinions we [will] bring both of those opinions to the board of our next meeting at the OWGR." 

The DP World Tour announced a "strategic alliance" with the PGA Tour in 2020 in the wake of chatter about a Saudi-financed golf league. 

Earlier in the year both the PGA Tour and the European-based DP World Tour announced a strengthening of that alliance with the news of more co-sanctioned events, among others changes.  

Just one of those changes will see the top-10 players in the DP World Tour rankings earning PGA Tour cards. 

It was a moved that baffled the likes of Lee Westwood, who plays in LIV Golf events. 

Pelley told Sky Sports that their strategic alliance has exceeded their expectations. 

Yet Pelley said he doesn't believe that we will truly see the benefits of the alliance until at least 2024 when the schedule is more condensed. 

The DP World Tour chief also confirmed that the tour plan to introduce more elevated events, including raising the prize purses of national opens. 

He said national opens are "the magic of our tour". 

Pelley's comments come as the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and OWGR were hit with a fresh lawsuit earlier in the week. 

Next page: Nine players who changed their mind about LIV Golf