OWGR’s Restricted Points Ruling for LIV Golf Sparks Furious Reactions from Fans: “This Is A Joke”

LIV Golf will receive OWGR points for the first time in its history from this season following a ruling on Tuesday.

OWGR’s Restricted Points Ruling for LIV Golf Sparks Furious Reactions from Fans: “This Is A Joke”

LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil (Image via Bloomberg)

Well, after all these years, LIV Golf on Tuesday finally got access to Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) points. However, there is a major catch. Only the top-10 finishers in their events will receive this rankings points.

The OWGR is the official metric used to rank professional players worldwide. The better the player plays, the more points they get, which improves their global rankings. These rankings play an important role in qualification for major championships.

LIV Golf would, however, not receive this. Since its inception, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) backed tour would not receive these ranking points due to its limited field and format. In 2023, under the leadership of Greg Norman, their application for these points was rejected.

With Scott O’Neil taking charge last year, the league once again applied for the points. They also made some changes to their tour and adapted a 72-hole format and increased the field size.

Just a few days before their 5th season gets underway, LIV Golf received a major news. From here on, they will receive the ranking points. However, not everyone will receive this points.

According to the statement released by the OWGR, points will only be allocated to the top-10 finishers (and ties) in LIV Golf’s individual stroke play events. They expressed that there are some areas where the breakaway tour does not meet the criteria.

Ranking points will be allocated to the top-10 finishers (and ties) in LIV Golf’s individual stroke play events, which recognises there are a number of areas where LIV Golf does not meet the eligibility standards set out by OWGR

OWGR said in their statement

The OWGR would also release a projected points breakdown for the upcoming LIV Golf Riyadh event. The winner this week in Saudi Arabia is expected to receive 23.03 points, while the runner-up will get 13.36 points. The 10th-place finisher will receive 2.76 points. Golfers finishing below 10th place will not receive any points.

Fans slam OWGR for restricting points decision regarding LIV Golf

After years of battle, LIV Golf will receive OWGR points for the first time in its history. However, there is restricted access to it as only the top-10 finishers will receive them. Golf fans on social media were not pleased with this decision.

Scott O'Neil
Scott O’Neil (Image via X/@MirrorUSSports)

Many users on X would slam the OWGR body for this. One user wrote, “This is a joke“, while expressing that the Saudi-backed tour deserved more.

Check out some of the fan reactions below:

Some users also pointed out how Tiger Woods‘ hosted event, the Hero World Challenge, receives points. This event, hosted in the Bahamas, is not an official PGA Tour event and consists of just 20 players with no cuts. Despite this, players receive a good amount of ranking points.

LIV Golf hits out at OWGR despite getting rankings points

While LIV Golf got its wish and received OWGR points, they were not happy with the decision. In their statement, they hit out at the OWGR.

LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil
LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil (Image via Golf Monthly)

The Saudi-backed tour expressed that limiting the points “harms players who consistently perform at a high level but finish just outside that threshold.” They also claimed that no other competitive tour has been hit with such a restriction.

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… No other competitive tour or league in OWGR history has been subjected to such a restriction.

LIV Golf said in their statement

With each of their 14 events now being a 72-hole tournament, there are chances that the OWGR will further evaluate the Saudi-funded tour. For now, they will have to settle for this decision and hope that their new changes help them get more points.

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