The LIV Golfers are finally getting ranking points, but the decision isn’t benefiting all the golfers. As per the current decision, only the players finishing inside the top ten of the LIV events will gain OWGR points.
The OWGR’s decision has stirred controversy and many LIV Golf professionals have called it unfair. In this article, we will look at five notable names who slammed the World Golf Rankings.
5 LIV Golf pros who questioned the OWGR
1) Jon Rahm
Jon Rahm was quite vocal against the OWGR’s decision and called out the unequal treatment.
“I don’t like how we’re not being treated the same as every other tour,” he said. “It seems like the rules that have been in place don’t really apply to us, with only 10 of us only getting points. It doesn’t seem fair. The small fields out there throughout the course of the year, their players get full points.”
The two time major champion added that there was more work to be done and the 11th‑placed player not receiving points was adding to the ‘divisor.’
“But I’m thankful that I would say LIV Golf got their foot in the door, and there’s a possibility for us to walk in the room and be recognized as a tour, as we should be,” he added.
2) Talor Gooch
Talor Gooch is another name who wasn’t happy with the OWGR’s decision. He said it wasn’t the right thing and that it wasn’t any different from what they had faced for the last five years.
“It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out. But I think anybody who says that the right thing was done and the fair thing was done, I don’t think they’re in tune with the reality of things. Hopefully there’s some improvement there. Time will tell,” he said.
3) Lee Westwood
Lee Westwood noted that, while it was a start, he called the OWGR biased.
“But if you think 11th in a Liv event doesn’t deserve @OWGRLtd points you’re more biased than I thought,” he wrote on X. “It’s the young guys that have chosen Liv as the pathway for their careers that will suffer most from this decision. Still couldn’t quite manage to do their job and fairly rank the best players in the world could they?!”
@ANTi_LIV It’s a start. But if you think 11th in a Liv event doesn’t deserve @OWGRltd points you’re more biased than I thought. It’s the young guys that have chosen Liv as the pathway for their careers that will suffer most from this decision. Still couldn’t quite manage to do their job
4) Ian Poulter
Ian Poulter called LIV Golf getting OWGR points a “massive plus’ but he wasn’t happy with limiting the points to just the top ten players.
“On the flip side, I’m not sure what algorithm they’ve used to work out the points,” he said.
5) Martin Kaymer
Martin Kaymer noted that it was a step in the right direction, but he also wasn’t too happy with the overall decision.
“On the other hand, it would have been nice if more players got world ranking points, finishing 11th or top 15 in some events. It’s a great effort, it’s a good achievement, and that gives you zero points. So that is a downside of it.”
However, he added that they needed to focus on the positive.