The arrival a year ago of Scott O’Neil as CEO of LIV Golf was intended to give a major boost to a tour that has only been running for four years. One of the measures the manager took was to reapply for world ranking points (OWGR) and, more recently, it was announced that tournaments in this competition would increase from 54 to 72 holes. It seemed an essential requirement for the OWGR to consider its request
Along the way, Brooks Koepka has left, leaving the league despite having a year left on his contract. In 2026, several stars will finish their relationship with LIV, and it is essential to give players certain incentives that value their performance not only in monetary terms. That golfers can earn ranking points through LIV tournaments is vital to the growth of the circuit.
On Tuesday, LIV Golf received news about its application for points. It’s not that these were positive, but at least they were neutral and it seems that the OWGR wants to come to some sort of solution. OWGR chairman Trevor Immelman made a statement: “Since late June, the Board has been working hard to thoroughly evaluate LIV Golf’s application. We remain committed to OWGR’s mission, which requires us to honor the meritocracy inherent in professional golf. Therefore, discussions have been regular and are ongoing. It should be clarified that progress has been made, but there is no decision to share at this time. We will continue to work closely with LIV Golf as it evolves to ensure that its application is handled fairly, with integrity and consistency, as previously stated.”
Ironically, in Immelman’s statement on the status of LIV’s application, “updates on how 54-hole tournaments and other reduced events will be calculated going forward” were announced. That is to say, we are not only talking about those who for a certain reason are forced to go from 72 to 54 or 36 holes. There is the case of “all scheduled 54-hole events, which will receive 75% of the original calculated score and ranking point distribution”.“It was necessary to address the events of less than 72 holes,” Immelman said in the statement. When the OWGR Board denied LIV Golf’s initial application in 2023, they cited the league’s tournament format (54 holes, no cuts, with a total of 48 players) and limited promotion and relegation structure as the two main obstacles. There has certainly been progress on LIV’s part (except for the cut) and therefore the rigidity of the world ranking would not make sense for a competition that deserves to be valued sportingly like any other.
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