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LIV Golf has offered up a stark and harsh response to the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) following the tour being awarded world ranking points five years after its establishment.
The OWGR approved LIV’s submission for ranking points with some conditions due to the less than traditional nature of the breakaway tour, including the lower competitive fields, and awarded LIV players world ranking points if they finish in the top 10.
However, the Saudi Arabia-backed league called the decision a ‘long overdue moment of recognition’ and revealed its disappointment at the limits placed on them from the OWGR.
LIV’s pointed statement towards the ruling calls for a more ‘transparent’ and ‘equal’ system which does ‘reflects performance over affiliation’.
It reads: “The stated mission of the OWGR is to “administer and publish a transparent, credible, and accurate ranking based on the relative performances of players participating in male Eligible Golf Tours worldwide.
“We acknowledge the long-overdue moment of recognition, which affirms the fundamental principle that performance on the course should matter, regardless of where the competition takes place.
“However, this outcome is unprecedented. Under these rules, a player finishing 11th in a LIV Golf event is treated the same as a player finishing 57th. Limiting points to only the top 10 finishers disproportionately harms players who consistently perform at a high level but finish just outside that threshold, as well as emerging talent working to establish themselves on the world stage – precisely the players a fair and meritocratic ranking system is designed to recognize.
“No other competitive tour or league in OWGR history has been subjected to such a restriction. We expect this is merely a first step toward a structure that fully and fairly serves the players, the fans, and the future of the sport.
“We entered this process in good faith and will continue to advocate for a ranking system that reflects performance over affiliation. The game deserves transparency. The fans deserve credibility. And the players deserve a system that treats them equally.”
The significance of LIV obtaining OWGR points is because they are important to players aiming to qualify for the annual four majors. The rankings are worked out via a two-year rolling system with more weight given to the most recent results.