Talor Gooch responds to LIV Golf's withdrawal of OWGR application - “If it’s not retroactive and full points, it’s not right and it screws us players”

Talor Gooch did not take long to express his opinion about LIV Golf's decision not to insist on points for the current world ranking. "If it's not retroactive and full points, it's not right and it screws us players," Gooch said.

Like all LIV Golf players, Talor Gooch received word on Tuesday, March 5, that the circuit withdrew his request to be included in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points distribution system. Gooch was the 2023 individual champion, but is currently ranked 476th in the OWGR.

After Greg Norman's communication about withdrawing his application for OWGR points was made public, Talor Gooch gave an exclusive statement to the Flushing It podcast. This was part of what he said:

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"In my opinion, the only way OWGR works for LIV is if they retroactively awards points and don’t deduct points from events for some reason. Like no cut, 3 days, etc. If it’s not retroactive and full points, it’s not right and it screws us players."

"Very few people or organisations have done the right or just thing, in any situation, the last two years. So it’s highly unlikely the OWGR would do the right and just thing in this circumstance. Especially considering their choices, behavior and alliances etc. So it’s time to move on."

LIV Golf formally applied for inclusion in the OWGR point distribution system in July 2022. The application was denied in October 2023.

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Talor Gooch, the OWGR and other world rankings

Following the controversy between LIV Golf and the OWGR, many experts, players and fans have expressed doubts about the accuracy of the official ranking. In turn, this has led to the popularization of other world rankings that have been in existence for several years.

Specifically, there are two other world rankings among which preferences are debated against the OWGR. These are The Universal Golf Ranking (TUGR) and Data Golf.

These two world rankings rank Talor Gooch in a much more privileged position than the OWGR (until March 4, 2024). According to TUGR, Gooch is ranked 15th with 1.29 Relative Strokes, while Data Golf places him 33rd.

Both TUGR and Data Golf consider Scottie Scheffler as the top ranked golfer in the world (as does OWGR). Both rankings also coincide with most of the players that make up their respective Top 10s, although they differ in the places they assign to each of them.

TUGR Top 10:

1. Scottie Scheffler
2. Xander Schauffele
3. Patrick Cantlay
4. Jon Rahm
5. Rory McIlroy
6. Viktor Hovland
7. Collin Morikawa
8. Tommy Fleetwood
9. Tyrrell Hatton
10. Ludvig Aberg

Data Golf Top 10:

1. Scottie Scheffler
2. Xander Schauffele
3. Rory McIlroy
4. Jon Rahm
5. Viktor Hovland
6. Patrick Cantlay
7. Collin Morikawa
8. Tommy Fleetwood
9. Sam Burns
10. Ludvig Aberg

All of these players are also well ranked in the OWGR, although the current LIV players (Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton) face the possibility of dropping quickly, due to the fact that LIV events do not distribute points for that ranking.

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