LIV Golf LOSES bid for ranking points following unanimous OWGR decision

The OWGR committe on Tuesday made a big decision and declined the allotment of points to the LIV Golf while claiming it as a "technical reason".

LIV Golf LOSES bid for ranking points following unanimous OWGR decision

Peter Dawson, chairperson of OWGR (L) and Greg Norman, CEO of LIV Golf (R) [Pic Credit: SI/Imago]

In a major turn of events on Tuesday, the application of LIV Golf for Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) points was rejected. This move comes after the league’s CEO Greg Norman applied for it way back. As a result of this decision, LIV players will continue to not receive OWGR points going forward.

Following the announcement of the merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf in June, there had been talks that LIV golfers would soon receive this point. However, OWGR chairperson Peter Dawson has now claimed that this is not possible because of the format of the breakaway tour.

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Unlike the traditional PGA Tour events, the LIV Golf follows a different pattern. The Saudi-funded tour features a 54-hole event with no cuts compared to the PGA’s 72-holes. The number of holes played is the reason behind their name as LIV stands for Roman numerals of 54.

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“We are not at war with them. This decision not to make them eligible is not political. It is entirely technical,” Dawson said in his statement. He further claimed, “They’re just not playing a format where they can be ranked equitably with the other 24 tours and thousands of players.” A few moments after this statement, LIV Golf released their own statement regarding the matter.

Related: “We are at war,” Commissioner Jay Monahan’s SHOCKING early stance on battle between PGA Tour and LIV Golf revealed in new book

LIV Golf condemns decision of the OWGR committee

The decision taken by the OWGR committee was always going to spark some intense debate. After a months-long battle among golfers and experts regarding this topic, the verdict was finally delivered. It though was not in favor of LIV Golf who have now condemned this decision.

Phil Mickelson
Phil Mickelson, a LIV Golfer (Pic Credit: Imago)

Taking a wild swipe at the body, the organization stated that this message makes it clear that OWGR had failed to deliver on its objective. “Professional golf is now without a true or global scoring and ranking system,” the PIF-backed tour said. They, however, claimed that they will continue to strive and try to bring the best golf for the fans worldwide.

The major reason behind this battle was the qualification of players for the major events. Despite winning events on the 54-hole circuit, players saw their rankings drop. A great example was of Talor Gooch. The Aussie golfer saw his rankings drop-down despite claiming back-to-back wins in May.

As the players do not receive the points, they become ineligible to participate in the four majors. The question now arises, how will the top stars like Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, and many more make it to these designated events without the OWGR points? The golf merger could bring in some new rules in the future to deal with this ongoing issue.

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