LIV star Ian Poulter takes another jibe at OWGR rankings - “What’s a couple of numbers between friends”
Ian Poulter has once again voiced his criticism of the OWGR ranking system. After The Sentry event concluded, the OWGR rankings were updated with a notable numerical error.
Highlighting the organization's ranking error, the 48-year-old golfer, who was already frustrated with the OWGR for not allocating ranking points to the LIV league, took to his X (formerly Twitter) and mocked them.
Ian Poulter wrote:
"What [an] Organization… What’s a couple of numbers between friends."
After The Sentry event, the OWGR issued updated rankings to players based on their event scores. Chris Kirk, the event winner, earned a new position, securing the 25th spot.
Nevertheless, four days later, the OWGR issued a statement acknowledging their miscalculation. According to them, they forgot to count Kirk's multi-win bonus.
For the uninitiated, a multi-win bonus is a reward specifically designed to compensate players with multiple victories in a 52-week window. There will be a 70 percent points bonus and four ranking points provided to those who win three or more times in this timeframe.
The OWGR took to X handle and wrote:
"OWGR has re-issued its Week 1 Ranking due to an error found in the averaging of Total Points after applying Chris Kirk’s multi-win bonus."
They added:
"Following the correction, please note Kirk has moved to OWGR No. 21 instead of No. 25, as previously published."
LIV league golfers including Ian Poulter still out of the OWGR ranking
The LIV league commenced its tour's first season in June 2022, and during the same time, they submitted an application to the OWGR seeking approval to earn world rankings.
However, last year in October, OWGR Chairman Peter Dawson explicitly conveyed to the golf circuit that LIV golfers would not accrue any ranking points during their participation in LIV events.
Dawson also clarified that while there is no hostility toward the Saudi-backed league, the format played on the tour is not conducive to being ranked or judged by the OWGR.
Peter Dawson said (via Eurosport.com):
“We are not at war with them. This decision not to make them eligible is not political. It is entirely technical.”
He added:
“LIV players are self-evidently good enough to be ranked. They’re just not playing in a format where they can be ranked equitably with the other 24 tours and thousands of players trying to compete on them.”
Despite the OWGR rejecting the LIV league's application, it's important to highlight that the tour is set to kick off the first event of its third season in February 2024.
Furthermore, Jon Rahm, who played on the PGA Tour until last season, has also joined the LIV league and is set to have his team in the league.