Recently, LIV Golf announced that the league will switch to a 72-hole format, replacing the 56-hole format it initially used. This was part of the league’s efforts to be recognized by the OWGR, as the players don’t currently get points for global ranking. This brought on criticism for the league from Rory McIlroy, and that, in turn, garnered a response from Lee Westwood.
McIlroy’s Comments
Gaining recognition from the OWGR was a promise that LIV Golf made back when the league first launched. A promise that it struggled to follow through on ever since. Adopting the 72-hole format will put the league more in line with a traditional golf tournament. Rory McIlroy doesn’t believe this will help the league. He called the move “peculiar” and believes the league could have stuck with the original format. There have been 54-hole tournaments that have received OWGR points in the past. McIlroy has been a vocal critic of the league since it launched, but he is willing to be fair with his criticism. Lee Westwood disagrees with McIlroy.
Lee Westwood On McIlroy’s Comments
Westwood is a LIV Golfer who has been with the league since its debut in 2022. As a result, he has gone through the struggle of acquiring OWGR points. Regarding McIlroy’s comments, Westwood believes that he will change his mind on the format change in the very near future. Westwood went on talkSPORT for an interview on the matter, and he had this to say:
“I don’t know. I don’t pay too much attention to what Rory says. He’ll change his mind for next week. I think it was good for the players, good for the sponsors. And good for the fans more than anything. They get to see another day of golf. I think (ranking points) is one of the angles behind it. I think there were a few different things. Some of the guys focused their whole season around the major championships, and playing 54 holes was putting them at a bit of a disadvantage.”
Westwood goes on to say that the players wanted to start playing at a 72-hole format, as it is the norm for pro-level tournaments. He also defends the change as a bid for OWGR points, because according to him, it is one of “the boxes that you need to tick.”
Will Westwood Be Proven Right?
As to whether or not McIlroy will change his mind on the format change matter, it will be up to the OWGR. Lee Westwood believes this bid will help the LIV golfers, but that is also up to the OWGR. Granted, it will be good to keep the players in a 72-hole tournament, as their only exposure is outside of LIV Golf. As it stands right now, the LIV golfers have to do double duty on at least two leagues to stay in the rankings. Having the league recognized will, of course, benefit the players. Given that the league has been doing its worldwide tour for three years now, McIlroy will believe it when he sees it.
Main Photo Credit: © Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
