LIV Golf rebels dealt major blow as bid rejected to leave future uncertain

LIV Golf players will not be able to acquire world-ranking points during events, it has been confirmed. The decision was announced by the Official World Golf Ranking Board (OWGR) on Tuesday.

In 2022, a number of golf’s biggest stars opted to leave the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour in favor of playing on the LIV Golf circuit. Such stars include Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter, among others.

As a result, there has been an ongoing feud between the Saudi-funded breakaway league and the PGA Tour. Tour players, such as Rory McIlroy, have been outspoken against LIV Golf over the past 18 months and have defended the PGA Tour.

On Tuesday, it was announced by the OWGR that players competing for LIV Golf will not be able to earn world-ranking points, after the league had submitted a request in September 2022. OWGR chairman Peter Dawson explained the reasoning behind the decision, including how the league compares to other tours including the PGA Tour.

“We are not at war with them,” Dawson told The Associated Press. “This decision not to make them eligible is not political. It is entirely technical.

“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.”

LIV Golf events each feature a field of 48 players that play a total of 54 holes, as opposed to 72, that run from from Friday to Sunday. All LIV tournaments are no-cut events, with the same 48 players featuring all season, while the top 24 players are guaranteed their spot for the following year.

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The application submitted to the OWGR was assessed by the committee which featured leaders from Augusta National, the PGA of America, the U.S. Golf Association, and The R&A. It has been stated in the report by The Associated Press that the committee could not look past the fact that LIV Golf works as a “closed shop”.

A lack of world-ranking points for players on LIV Golf has already been noticeable. Most recently, the 2023 Ryder Cup featured only one player from the Saudi-funded league.

Brooks Koepka played for Team USA, but he did so after being a captain’s pick for Zach Johnson. Koepka had not managed to acquire any ranking points to qualify automatically, while other players such as Garcia, Dustin Johnson, DeChambeau, Mickelson, Lee Westwood, and Ian Poulter all missed out.

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