LIV Golf’s four-year battle to be recognised by golf’s peak world rating physique has lastly produced a beneficial consequence for the Saudi-backed tour, albeit with a catch that it has labelled unfair.
The Official World Golf Rating will hand out world-ranking factors for the primary time this season, however solely to the highest 10 finishers.
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It implies that coming eleventh in a LIV occasion is similar as ending 57th — a name that LIV stated was “unprecedented” and “disproportionately harms gamers who persistently carry out at a excessive degree however end simply outdoors that threshold”.
Underneath the choice, LIV Golf occasions will probably be ranked as “small match fields”, that means that they won’t be awarded the complete allotment seen on the PGA or DP World Excursions.
Not solely will gamers outdoors the top-10 finishers not get any factors, however the winner this week in Saudi Arabia is projected to win 23 — lower than half of winners of full-field PGA Tour occasions.
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The choice barely opens the door for LIV Golf gamers to play themselves into the 4 majors primarily based on their world rating, albeit with a major restriction.
That’s regardless of LIV Golf’s resolution to develop its 54-hole format to 72 holes from this 12 months.
LIV Golf stated in an announcement that it had been handed a “lengthy‑overdue second of recognition, which affirms the elemental precept that efficiency on the course ought to matter, no matter the place the competitors takes place.”
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Nonetheless, the tour stays unhappy by the result.
“No different aggressive tour or league in OWGR historical past has been subjected to such a restriction,” the assertion stated.
“We count on that is merely a primary step towards a construction that absolutely and pretty serves the gamers, the followers, and the way forward for the game.
“We entered this course of in good religion and can proceed to advocate for a rating system that displays efficiency over affiliation. The sport deserves transparency. The followers deserve credibility. And the gamers deserve a system that treats them equally.”
In the meantime, a LIV Golf insider instructed The Telegraph that the OWGR resolution was a “ludicrous cop-out”.
Central to the OWGR’s resolution to not absolutely recognise LIV Golf occasions was the very fact it nonetheless doesn’t meet different essential standards, even after increasing to four-day tournaments.
Their fields of simply 57 gamers continues to be effectively under OWGR requirements of at the very least 75, whereas the dearth of a mid-tournament minimize stays a roadblock.
Moreover, the OWGR identified sure restrictions to gamers on the tour, stating some stars have been “self-selected” somewhat than incomes their spots, whereas others have misplaced out “primarily based on their nationality somewhat than for meritocratic causes.”
For instance, Japan’s Jinichiro Kozuma was dropped for this season regardless of ending thirty second on the LIV Golf standings to make room for Iron Heads GC to be rebranded as Korean Golf Membership.
“This has been an extremely complicated and difficult course of and one which we’ve got devoted an enormous period of time and vitality to resolving within the seven months since LIV Golf submitted their utility,” OWGR chairman Trevor Immelman stated in an announcement.
“We absolutely recognised the necessity to rank the highest males’s gamers on the earth however on the identical time needed to discover a means of doing in order that was equitable to the hundreds of different gamers competing on different excursions that function with established meritocratic pathways.
“We consider we’ve got discovered an answer that achieves these twin goals and allows the best-performing gamers at LIV Golf occasions to obtain OWGR factors.
“I wish to acknowledge the substantial and constructive efforts made by Scott O’Neil and the group at LIV Golf. We stay up for working with them on implementing this strategy with speedy impact for the 2026 LIV Golf season.”
In the meantime, the PGA Tour stated: “We respect in the present day’s resolution by the Official World Golf Rating (OWGR) Governing Board and the appreciable time the Board and Chairman Immelman dedicated to this course of.”
The choice provides additional intrigue to the futures of Jon Rahm and out-of-contract Bryson DeChambeau, who is alleged to be leveraging the departures of Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed by demanding a $500 million deal to remain on LIV Golf after this season.
Talking after taking part in the pro-am in Riyadh on Tuesday, DeChambeau stated he hadn’t been in a position to “digest” the OWGR resolution, however added: “At the very least we have been getting factors, proper?”
On his future, he stated that there had been some “progress made” on a brand new deal and that his intention was to remain on LIV Golf.
He added: “We, once more, are in negotiations, and I need what’s greatest for the sport of golf and for the league, in the end.
“We simply must proceed to align.
“And like I stated from day one, if we are able to get to an alignment level, like there’s little question that I’ll be right here subsequent 12 months. We simply must get there.”
LIV Golf first sought OWGR factors in July 2022, however was formally denied in October 2023.
Its utility was in the end withdrawn in March 2024, however was resubmitted in July 2025.