One of the biggest questions facing LIV Golf in 2023 was its status with the Official World Golf Ranking.
A player’s OWGR standing is critical to qualifying for the four major tournaments, and LIV golf events currently do not receive OWGR points. The round applied in July 2022 and is waiting for an announcement as part of an application process that will take up to, and even more than, a year.
In December, the OWGR announced that the Mexican golf tour with 54-hole events will begin receiving OWGR points in 2023 after a 16-month process, and the introduction of a 36-hole cut and open qualification was brought to – into the publication. While LIV events are still 54-hole without a cut, the league will implement promotion and (somewhat) a relegation element to fill their teams for 2024, meaning that there will be a few places available through qualification.
Formats and benchmarks aside, LIV believes its events deserve points after forming their “strategic alliance” with the MENA Development Tour in an attempt to force the OWGR’s hand.
Since joining the upstart league led by Greg Norman and funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, LIV players have been falling in the rankings, putting the main futures of their competition in danger.
Here’s a look at the 48 players on the team roster in 2023 and how their OWGR has fallen since joining LIV Golf.
OWGR Golf Movement LIV
|
a player |
OWGR before the first LIV event |
Current OWGR |
Change in rating |
|
Cameron Smith |
2 |
5 |
-3 |
|
Dustin Johnson |
15 |
62 |
-47 |
|
Joaquin Niemann |
19 |
26 |
-7 |
|
Brooks Koepka |
19 |
102 |
-83 |
|
Abraham Ancer |
22 |
30 |
-8 |
|
Louis Oosthuizen |
21 |
100 |
-79 |
|
Paul Casey |
31 |
94 |
-63 |
|
Bryson DeChambeau |
31 |
131 |
-100 |
|
Kevin Na |
34 |
84 |
-50 |
|
Talor Gooch |
35 |
49 |
-14 |
|
Thomas Pieters |
35 |
42 |
-7 |
|
Jason Kokrak |
36 |
74 |
-38 |
|
Patrick Reed |
39 |
65 |
-26 |
|
Harold Varner III |
46 |
51 |
-5 |
|
Mito Pereira |
50 |
50 |
0 |
|
Cameron Triangle |
55 |
86 |
-31 |
|
Sergio Garcia |
57 |
144 |
-87 |
|
Dean Burmester |
59 |
71 |
-12 |
|
Mark Leishman |
62 |
95 |
-33 |
|
Richard Bland |
67 |
107 |
-40 |
|
Matt Jones |
69 |
129 |
-60 |
|
Phil Mickelson |
72 |
352 |
-280 |
|
Scott Vincent |
91 |
117 |
-26 |
|
Matthew Wolff |
77 |
181 |
-104 |
|
Lee Westwood |
78 |
267 |
-189 |
|
Bubb Watson |
86 |
201 |
-115 |
|
Sam Horfield |
74 |
134 |
-60 |
|
Anirban Lahiri |
92 |
99 |
-7 |
|
John Poulter |
92 |
150 |
-58 |
|
Bernd Wiesberger |
94 |
149 |
-55 |
|
Sebastian Munoz |
98 |
106 |
-8 |
|
Brendan Steele |
122 |
119 |
+3 |
|
Brandon Grace |
123 |
221 |
-98 |
|
Charles Schwartzel |
126 |
197 |
-71 |
|
Carlos Ortiz |
119 |
270 |
-151 |
|
Traveler Kim |
139 |
238 |
-99 |
|
Pat Perez |
170 |
239 |
-69 |
|
Henrik Stenson |
173 |
175 |
-2 |
|
Charles Howell |
169 |
318 |
-149 |
|
Martin Kaymer |
215 |
625 |
-410 |
|
Jediah Morgan |
239 |
368 |
-129 |
|
Danny Lee |
267 |
268 |
-1 |
|
Peter Uihlein |
327 |
411 |
-84 |
|
Macdonald’s Grammar |
374 |
399 |
-25 |
|
Koepka ran |
1562 |
1331 |
+231 |
|
James Pitt |
1751 |
1155 |
+596 |
|
David Puig |
1751 |
1057 |
+694 |
|
Eugenio Chacarra |
1904 |
1732 |
+172 |
Of the 48 players on the roster this season, all but six have dropped in the rankings. After making their LIV debut in Mexico last month, Mito Pereira’s ranking has not yet moved, while new colleague Brendan Steele rose three places. Further down the rankings, three players in their second year of professional golf – Eugenio Chacarra (No. 1,732), James Piot (No. 1,155) and David Puig (No. 1,057) – have all moved up more than 100 spots due to a small sample of tournaments and a handful of starts on the Asian Tour. Chase Koepka struggled throughout his pre-LIV career, and has seen his ranking rise 231 spots but still finds himself No. 1,331.
Martin Kaymer has struggled with injuries over the past year and has seen the biggest drop of 410 spots in the rankings and now sits at No. 625. Phil Mickelson , against LIV Golf, has fallen 280 spots and is now at Number 352.
Only six players remain inside the top 50: Cameron Smith (No. 5), Joaquin Niemann (No. 26), Abraham Ancer (No. 30), Thomas Pieters (No. 42), Talor Gooch ( No. 49) and Mito Pereira (No. 50).
The LIV Golf League returns to action this week in Marana, Arizona, at the Gallery Golf Club with LIV Golf Tucson, the tour’s first event in the United States this season.
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The story first appeared on GolfWeek
