LIV Golf top brass reportedly believe that they could soon reach a major agreement with the Official World Golf Ranking after announcing a series of watershed changes
LIV Golf top brass believes it could soon reach a major breakthrough with the OWGR(Image: Getty Images)
LIV Golf’s top brass reportedly believes that a major breakthrough could be on the horizon after making a series of watershed changes.
On Tuesday, the Saudi-backed circuit announced that it will be transitioning all its events to a 72-hole format despite initially setting itself apart with three-day, 54-hole competitions — a decision that was warmly welcomed by stars such as Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau.
Starting next season, individual competition will feature 72 holes of stroke play with team competition — which is still slated to run concurrently — being determined by each golf club’s cumulative individual stroke play.
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As part of another notable revision, LIV Golf is slated to introduce new pathways for players. Next year, the two top points scorers from the Asian Tour’s International Series and the “Promotions” qualifying event will earn automatic bids onto the league.
“It’s a huge goal for our players at the start of each year,” Asian Tour commissioner Cho Minn Thant told bunkered.co.uk. “For two pure Asian Tour players to get back up there would be phenomenal for us.”
The pair of adjustments is viewed by many around the golf world as part of LIV Golf’s ongoing push to be included in the Official World Golf Ranking System.
OWGR points serve a pivotal role in helping players obtain entry into major championships, though many players on LIV Golf have plummeted down the leaderboard since defecting from the PGA Tour.
Cho Minn Thant is appreciative of the new pathways into LIV Golf(Image: Getty Images)
According to Thant, LIV chief executive Scott O’Neil and OWGR chairman Trevor Immelman have engaged in “regular talks,” with a resolution likely not far off from coming to fruition.
“I think Scott and Trevor Immelman have been having regular talks and they’ve worked to a point where they’re very close,” Thant said. “There has to be some small changes going forward, but I think Scott’s really open to it.
“I think they’ll probably resolve something very soon. And I think the promotions and the demotions have a big part to play in that.”
Since taking over for former LIV CEO Greg Norman back in January, O’Neil has drawn considerable praise for his ability to communicate with leaders of other circuits. “With Scott coming in to LIV Golf, he’s been a really good ally to work with,” Thant noted.
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“They’re just a lot more accessible. They’re a lot more approachable for us. And we work way, way more closely with them now than we did two, three years ago.
“They’ve taken feedback from us on not just on the International Series ranking spots, but eligibility for the LIV Promotions event and how we do business in this region, because they do quite a lot of LIV work in this region as well.
“The relationship with them has actually improved dramatically since Scott’s come on board.”
