The significant spike enjoyed by several LIV Golf players following the league’s first event that earned Official World Golf Ranking points has stirred plenty of debate in the golf world, but Sergio Garcia cautioned that only time will tell what the true impact is.
Following a win in his LIV Golf debut in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, Australia’s Elvis Smylie jumped from 133rd to 77th in the world rankings. Meanwhile, former world No.1 Jon Rahm used his runner-up finish to climb from 97th to 67th, Sebastian Munoz moved from 767th to 566th, Abraham Ancer from 616th to 449th and Thomas Pieters from 564th to 419th.
That led many critics to call out LIV Golf players and CEO Scott O’Neill, who were highly critical of the OWGR’s decision to award points only through the top 10 finishers and ties in each event.
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Aussie superstar Cameron Smith was ranked No.2 in the world when he signed with LIV just weeks after winning the 2022 Open Championship.
He’s now 227th, dropping six spots after tying for 13th in Riyadh. He also missed the cut in all four majors in 2025 before closing the year with a runner-up at the Australian Open.
Cameron Smith of Australia tees off at the Australian Open. Getty
Smith said he never considered accepting the PGA Tour’s offer following Brooks Koepka’s return, and called the initial OWGR inclusion a “work in progress.”
“It is nice to have that behind us. That’s been a long time coming, so it’s nice to get the recognition,” he said.
“It’s so hard out here. I don’t think we get the respect of the golfing world that maybe we respect sometimes because of what it is and how we play.
“I think it’s a work in progress, but it’s a step in the right direction, nonetheless. It was good for Elvis last week. He loves it.”
While the early returns were tangible for those who earned points in Saudi Arabia, Garcia noted that it essentially equates to missing a cut for those who finish outside of the top 10 because it adds another event to their equation with zero points.
“It’s definitely a step forward. Is it fair? I mean, I guess time will tell us,” said the 46-year-old Spaniard, who added that he’d like to see the number of players earning points expanded. “It doesn’t feel like it’s totally fair.
“Now the first few weeks obviously when one of us is winning, that guy is going to make a jump in the rankings, which is great, but then every time you finish 11th or worse you’re getting a zero and you’re getting an extra event on your divisor. So that in the near (term). A little farther future, it can hurt a lot.
“But like I said, it’s a step forward, so it is positive. I think that at the end of the day, it’s going to help some of these kids performing well to move up the rankings. Hopefully they play really well.”
One of those kids is the 23-year-old Smylie. If he can rise into the top 50, Smylie would be eligible for each of the four majors, making this week’s event in Adelaide a tremendous opportunity as he eyes the Masters in April.
Elvis Smylie of Ripper GC poses for a photo with the trophy after winning the final round. Getty
“Ultimately, the Masters is something that’s on my mind now,” Smylie said. “That’s a conversation that I can start to have and that is fuel to the fire for me. Let’s see what happens these next few weeks.”
Part of LIV’s effort to swing the tide with the OWGR was expanding events from 54 to 72 holes in 2026. That has drawn mixed reactions from outside and from within LIV, with Bryson DeChambeau saying last week that’s not what players signed up for.
Garcia noted that 72-hole events should benefit players who are in the best form for a given week, and new Smash GC team captain Talor Gooch said those he has talked to are “over the moon” to be playing for LIV Golf.
“We have 14 great opportunities, and with the world ranking and majors and things kind of softening up on all of those fronts and kind of the ecosystem starting to accept us slowly but surely, I think it’s going to continue to make this place more and more enticing for people,” Gooch said.
“There’s obviously some frustrations with us not getting the whole (rankings) pie, let’s just say. But you know what, at least we got some pie and let’s keep trying to get some more pie.”