LIV Golf will begin receiving Official World Golf Ranking points this season, but its players still may not be happy.
That’s because points will only be awarded to the top 10 finishers in the 57-man field. Previously, of the other 24 men’s professional golf tours that are part of the OWGR, all players who make the cut earn Ranking Points.
The points awarded to LIV may not also be high enough to help its players qualify for majors unless they go on quite a run of form. The winner of LIV Riyadh, the first of 14 events on the schedule, is projected to receive 23.03 OWGR points, which is similar to PGA Tour opposite-field events and DPWT Events (25); less than FedEx Cup Fall events (37); and less than half of points received for PGA Tour signature events (66). The winner of the WM Phoenix Open, by comparison, is expected to receive 59 points.
“This has been an incredibly complex and challenging process and one which we have devoted a huge amount of time and energy to resolving in the seven months since LIV Golf submitted their application. We fully recognized the need to rank the top men’s players in the world but at the same time had to find a way of doing so that was equitable to the thousands of other players competing on other tours that operate with established meritocratic pathways,” Trevor Immelman, chairman of OWGR, said. “We believe we have found a solution that achieves these twin aims and enables the best-performing players at LIV Golf events to receive OWGR points. I would like to acknowledge the substantial and constructive efforts made by Scott O’Neil and the team at LIV Golf. We look forward to working with them on implementing this approach with immediate effect for the 2026 LIV Golf season.”
The OWGR release spells out the deficiencies in LIV’s model that led to its decision. “The Board’s overriding aim was to identify an equitable way of ranking the best men’s players in the world, including the top performing players in LIV Golf, while taking account of the eligibility standards that LIV Golf does not currently meet and the fact that it operates differently from other ranked tours in a number of respects,” the OWGR wrote in a release. “This includes LIV Golf’s average field size of 57 for 2026 versus the minimum of 75 set out in OWGR Regulations; exclusively no-cut events; the restrictive pathways to join LIV Golf with two spots filled from the Asian Tour’s International Series and three from a “closed” promotions event which does not offset the turnover of players exiting the league; self-selection of players with players being recruited rather than earning their place on the tour in many cases and, in recent days, the addition/removal of players to/from teams based on their nationality rather than for meritocratic reasons.
A letter from former OWGR chairman Peter Dawson dated Oct. 10, 2023, outlined that LIV’s structure for relegation and meritocracy fell short of the threshold required for any inclusion as an OWGR Eligible Tour (the letter remains available for public viewing on the OWGR’s website): “In order to obtain inclusion in the OWGR system, it is necessary for you to develop a structure that invites new players based on objective, recent performance and relegates under-performing players more quickly and equitably,” Dawson wrote.
Little has been done to change things. During the LIV Application Committee review of the previous LIV Golf application, LIV Golf’s pathways included three players from its Promotions Event and one from the International Series, for a total of four spots in fields of 54 (7.5%). LIV Golf’s current application includes three players from its Promotions Event and two from the International Series, for a total of five spots in fields of 57 (8.8%). Since 2023, LIV Golf has added one playing spot to its pathway structure. The total promotion of five spots (8.8%) remains low compared to the Tour’s (22%) and that of other Tours is even higher. The OWGR evaluated the changes and concluded that LIV continues to prioritize self-selection of players and guaranteed playing opportunities through contracts.
The OWGR didn’t have to look farther than four players in 2025 who finished in LIV’s “open zone” being dismissed by their teams despite finishing ahead of others not losing their spot, including Japan’s Jinichiro Kozuma, who found out on social media that he was not being retained by Iron Heads GC, which has since been re-branded as the Korean Golf Club. Other players impacted include Matt Jones, Kevin Na and Max Lee. In contrast, Luis Masaveu finished 52nd in points (below the “drop zone”) but was still retained by the Fireballs. These examples point to discriminatory practices with six of 13 teams being nationality based. Additional examples include the re-brand of the all South African Southern Guards Golf Club, and the composition of the Fireballs Golf Club, the Majesticks Golf Club and the Ripper Golf Club, which are inconsistent with OWGR’s Tour Eligibility Standards for non-discrimination.
LIV initially applied for OWGR points before the 2022 British Open but were rejected in October 2023. The decision infuriated former LIV commissioner Greg Norman and the league formally withdrew its application in 2024. Norman’s replacement, Scott O’Neil, resubmitted LIV’s bid before the 2025 Masters.
Ahead of this season LIV took steps deemed necessary to improving its chances of gaining OWGR points. That included announcing greater turnover at the end of the year and expanding tournaments from 54 to 72 holes. LIV expressed its displeasure with the result in a statement: “Limiting points to only the top 10 finishers disproportionately harms players who consistently perform at a high level but finish just outside that threshold, as well as emerging talent working to establish themselves on the world stage—precisely the players a fair and meritocratic ranking system is designed to recognize. No other competitive tour or league in OWGR history has been subjected to such a restriction. We expect this is merely a first step toward a structure that fully and fairly serves the players, the fans, and the future of the sport.”
The PGA Tour issued its own official statement: “We respect today’s decision by the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) Governing Board and the considerable time the Board and Chairman Immelman committed to this process.”
Article originally appeared on: Golfweek.usatoday.com