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The Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf Tour has hit out at what it regards as victimisation from those presiding over the sport’s world rankings process, despite seeing their wait of nearly four years for recognition by the system finally end.
It was confirmed on Tuesday that those competing in LIV tournaments will receive official world golf ranking points but only when finishing in the top 10. A statement from the OWGR board said this “recognises there are a number of areas where LIV Golf does not meet the eligibility standards set out”.
Since LIV competition started in 2022, the OWGR has not given any reward to those performing in that domain. This has led to previously prominent golfers tumbling down the rankings; Cameron Smith is now 221st, Sergio García 363rd and Dustin Johnson 662nd. Not happy with an apparent victory of sorts, LIV took aim at the OWGR with a statement of its own: “We acknowledge this 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 recognise.
“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.”
LIV’s 2026 season begins against a troubled backdrop after Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed chose to exit. Both will make returns to the PGA Tour.
Expanding on their process, the OWGR said: “The board’s overriding aim was to identify an equitable way of ranking the best men’s players in the world, including the top performing players in LIV Golf, while taking account of the eligibility standards that LIV Golf does not currently meet and the fact that it operates differently from other ranked tours in a number of respects.
“This includes LIV Golf’s average field size of 57 for 2026 versus the minimum of 75 set out in OWGR Regulations; exclusively no-cut events; the restrictive pathways to join LIV Golf with two spots filled from the Asian Tour’s International Series and three from a ‘closed’ promotions event which does not offset the turnover of players exiting the league; self-selection of players with players being recruited rather than earning their place on the tour in many cases and, in recent days, the addition/removal of players to/from teams based on their nationality rather than for meritocratic reasons.”
The OWGR added it will “continue to evaluate” LIV’s competitive status.
