Tiger Woods ex coach hits out at LIV Golf not receiving OWGR points
Tiger Woods' ex golf coach Hank Haney does not believe 54 holes should be an issue for LIV Golf being awarded OWGR points.
Tiger Woods' ex golf coach Hank Haney has hit out at the LIV Golf Tour still not being awarded Official World Golf Ranking points.
Haney coached Woods from 2004 to 2010 during a span that saw him win six major titles, but the pair would go their separate ways when Woods withdrew from the 2010 Players Championship.
Woods has gone on to win only one more major since leaving Haney, of course coming memorably with a 15th career major at the 2019 Masters.
Related: Tiger Woods acting as PGA Tour's "de facto commissioner"
As it stands, LIV Golf tournaments do not receive OWGR points unlike other Tours such as the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Asian Tour.
As a result, some of the world's biggest names now on LIV Golf such as former World No.1 players Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka are now in their worst OWGR positions since February 2015.
The main difference is that LIV Golf events are staged over three rounds, while all other main Tours are over four rounds.
There is also no cut in LIV Golf tournaments, unlike the majority of other Tour events where a halfway cut comes into play after two rounds.
LIV Golf events also feature a shotgun start that sees players tee off in exactly the same weather and course conditions, unlike other Tour events.
LIV Golf players currently do not have a direct pathway to compete in the majors as a result of their OWGR declines, and that is their main concern.
Unless players are past champions (Johnson, Koepka, Phil Mickelson etc), then players have to rely on their current ranking to get into the majors.
But if they aren't accruing world ranking points, they'll just continue to slide down the list and not be eligible.
Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley is facing some pretty extraordinary accusations in relation to this specific issue.
GolfMagic has previously written a detailed explanation of the situation here.
Greg Norman has been fighting the case, and his letter to LIV Golf players about his bid for OWGR points was leaked to the press earlier today.
Norman, 67, previously confirmed that LIV Golf submitted their application to OWGR prior to the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews.
But despite Norman building his case, there is still no luck for the Saudi-bankrolled circuit.
Haney, who also turns 67 next week, is just as baffled as Norman that LIV Golf is being overlooked when it comes to OWGR points - a system that has rated the performance level of professional golfers ever since it started in 1986.
Isn’t the PGA Tour going to have more no cut tournaments? Tiger’s event is no cut 18 players. Stop the non sense, give @LIVGolfInv their OWGR points. The goal for the OWGR should be a real true list of the best players. The goal of the majors should be to have the best fields. https://t.co/IjNpEacp5l
— Hank Haney (@HankHaney) August 18, 2022
"Isn’t the PGA Tour going to have more no cut tournaments? Tiger’s event is no cut 18 players. Stop the non sense, give LIV Golf their OWGR points," tweeted Haney.
"The goal for the OWGR should be a real true list of the best players. The goal of the majors should be to have the best fields."
Haney then took aim at the fact PGA Tour events that get shortened to 54 holes as a result of bad weather are still awarded OWGR points.
So 54 holes is a big issue w @LIVGolfInv getting OWGR points but if a PGA Tour event is shortened to 54 holes because of weather they still get points? That sounds equitable.
— Hank Haney (@HankHaney) August 18, 2022
"So 54 holes is a big issue with LIV Golf getting OWGR points but if a PGA Tour event is shortened to 54 holes because of weather they still get points? That sounds equitable."
Here's a look at the OWGR changes if LIV Golf players DID receive points, according to LIV Golf Updates on Twitter.
Here's the #OWGR changes if #LIVGolf received points. *
The new OWGR system only awards points for good play, automatically adjusts for field strength, and awarding LIV points doesn't drastically change anything.
It's necessary to preserve the accuracy of OWGR. pic.twitter.com/2nKX9dXYLS
— LIV Golf Updates (@LIVGolfUpdates) August 18, 2022
