LIV Golf will no longer pursue OWGR eligibility, Greg Norman writes to players: Reports
After months of fight, LIV Golf has abandoned its attempts to secure Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Bob Harig’s report on Tuesday, the Saudi-backed series has finally given up on its wish to land official accreditation as an eligible tour from the OWGR board.
As per Harig’s first report, the PIF-backed circuit “formerly withdrawn its application” after becoming frustrated with the OWGR treatment. It's pertinent to note that the breakaway series had been in a tussle with the ranking body over the lack of recognition towards its players since its inception in 2022.
LIV CEO Greg Norman has reportedly sent out a letter to his players informing the decision to pull out of the OWGR points fight. The letter, slamming the current rankings system, comes just days ahead of LIV Golf Hong Kong. It read, as quoted by Sports Illustrated:
“A resolution which protects the accuracy, credibility and integrity of the OWGR rankings no longer exists. We have made significant efforts to fight for you and ensure your accomplishments are recognized within the existing ranking system. Unfortunately, OWGR has shown little willingness to productively work with us.
The rankings are structured to penalize anyone who has not played regularly on an “Eligible Tour” with the field ratings disproportionately rewarding play on the PGA Tour. This is illustrated by the fact only four players inside the top 50 are not PGA Tour players (Jon Rahm (3), Tyrrell Hatton (17), Brooks Koepka (30) and Cam Smith (45)) and by the precipitous decline of LIV players generally, notwithstanding extraordinary performances on the LIV Tour."
The letter continued:
"Even if LIV Golf events were immediately awarded points, the OWGR system is designed such that it would be functionally impossible for you to regain positions close to the summit of the ranking, where so many of you were prior to joining LIV, and deserve to remain based on your performance.”
LIV Golf's fight for OWGR points
It's pertinent to note that LIV Golf first applied for recognition as a Tour in 2022. The breakaway series turned in the application just weeks after its opening event in London. However, the request was formally denied by the OWGR in October 2023 citing the circuit’s format.
According to the ranking body, LIV Golf League's 54-hole three-day event format added with the lack of promotion and relegation at the time was not ideal for ranking points.
It claimed that the original format, which had a fixed 48-player field, limited the pathway for external players to qualify for the series, unlike the PGA Tour. LIV Golf introduced promotions and relegations last year.
The series also formed a strategic alliance with the Asian Tour, which acts as a pathway to the Saudi-backed circuit. Despite the changes and improvements, the OWGR continued to deny ranking points to the circuit.
Now, Norman has reportedly abandoned the series’ attempts to qualify as a ranked Tour.