Here's why LIV Golf may not receive OWGR points (if at all) until 2024
LIV Golf continues to be locked out of Official World Golf Ranking points, and the issue is not going to change anytime soon.
LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman may be pushing for his tournaments to receive Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points, but it is understood according to the Washington Post that the controversial subject may not be resolved until 2024 at the earliest.
Despite Norman submitting his application to OWGR, the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Tour continues to be locked out of receiving world ranking points as a result of its 48-man tournaments featuring 54 holes in a shotgun start without any cut involved.
Five big reasons why LIV Golf remains shut out of OWGR points:
- 54-hole tournaments, not recognised 72-hole tournaments (exceptions have been granted for developmental tours)
- 48-man tournaments; average playing fields must be 75 golfers during the course of a season
- No cut; tournaments should include a 36-hole cut
- No qualifying before each season; LIV simply picks who it wants to compete in its tournaments
- No spots for local or regional players; PGA Tour, for example, stages 18-hole Monday qualifiers before each event
To further rub salt into the wounds for LIV Golf, a total of 23 tours around the world are currently recognised by OWGR.
Just not them.
As it stands, some of LIV's marquee major champions such as Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau have tumbled out of the world's top 10.
Johnson is now 23rd, Koepka is 27th and DeChambeau is 43rd.
The list goes on for just about every other player who has jumped ship from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf this season.
Even Open champion Cameron Smith has already lost his second-place status to Rory McIlroy in just one week on LIV Golf, and he will likely be straight out of the world's top 10 come the start of 2023.
So much so, it has even led Phil Mickelson to say the PGA Tour will "never" have the best players in the world again.
The only LIV player who has bumped himself up the rankings is Talor Gooch, who climbed nine rungs on the ladder following his outright fourth spot at the BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour last Sunday.
The big issue for LIV Golf players, especially as they remain banned by the PGA Tour, is that the longer they lose out on OWGR points, the tougher it will become for them to qualify for the majors, the Olympics and major team competitions such as the Ryder Cup.
In a report published by Washington Post today, LIV Golf players could be waiting at least another year to learn their fate.
"OWGR officials — who come from other golf tours — have occasionally made exceptions, but a person familiar with the process said that no tour has received serious consideration with such a problematic application," writes Washington Post's Rick Maese.
"The review process typically takes one to one and half years, and tours must be in operation for a full year before OWGR will recognize them.
"Even if LIV is ultimately accepted, golfers could go all of next season without accumulating points from LIV events, creating a steep uphill path for eligibility into upcoming majors."
With the process for a Tour receiving OWGR points potentially taking up to a year and half, that means LIV Golf, if successful at all, will not start accumulating ranking points until the start of 2024.
By that time, the likes of Johnson and co. could be out of the world's top 100.
LIV Golf's inaugural tournament took place at Centurion Club in London Hertfordshire in June this year.
Perhaps an exception will be made for LIV Golf given the huge divide it has caused in the golf world right now, but if they are to play by the rules then they will likely need to wait a little while longer until anything can happen.
