LIV Golf Denied OWGR Points: What Does It Mean?

It’s been a day since news dropped that LIV Golf has been denied Official World Golf Ranking points and there’s one inescapable conclusion:

The powers that be in the OWGR consider LIV to be exhibition golf.

OWGR Chairman Peter Dawson, in a letter to LIV CEO Greg Norman and COO Gary Davidson, didn’t use those words. But he did use these:

“The (OWGR) Board Committee has determined the current structure (of LIV) is not consistent with the underlying principles of fairness and meritocracy on which the OWGR system is based.”

The key word here is “meritocracy.” As in LIV isn’t one.

LIV Denied

While LIV’s 54-hole, no-cut, limited-field format was a concern, the deal breaker for the OWGR was LIV’s eligibility rules. Specifically, the objection was the number of players guaranteed spots on the Tour regardless of performance, plus the lack of pathways for players to earn their way in.

“The Board Committee has concluded that LIV’s rules for playing on and playing off its tour precludes inclusion as an Eligible Golf Tour,” the letter stated.

“Simply put, the Board Committee does not believe it equitable to thousands of players who strive every day to get starts in OWGR Eligible Tournaments to have a tour operate in this mostly closed fashion where it is not possible to fairly assess what it means to win a LIV event relative to other tournaments around the world.”

Additionally, Dawson said OWGR was concerned about individual and team competitions played simultaneously. OWGR’s rules specifically preclude team events.

Dawson’s letter does leave a wide-open door for LIV to reapply. OWGR says a math formula can be used to determine points for LIV’s 54-hole, no-cut, limited-field format. But LIV would have to modify its eligibility process.

“We believe it’s necessary for you to develop a structure that invites new players based on objective, recent performance and relegates underperforming players more quickly and equitably.”

LIV Responds

LIV responded pretty much how you’d expect. It wasn’t pleased.

“OWGR’s sole objective is to rank the best players across the globe. Today’s communication makes it clear that it can no longer deliver that objective.

“Players have historically remained subject to a single world ranking to quality for Major Championships, the biggest events and for corporate sponsorship contract value. A ranking which fails to represent all participants, regardless of where in the world they play golf, robs fans, players and all of golf’s stakeholders of the objective basis underpinning any accurate recognition of the world’s best player performances. It also robs some traditional tournaments of the best fields possible.”

Noticeably absent from LIV’s response, however, is any direct comment on OWGR’s specific concerns regarding eligibility.

“Professional golf is now without a true or global scoring and ranking system,” LIV goes on to say. “There is no benefit for fans or players from the lack of trust or clarity as long as the best player performances are not recognized.”

What Does It All Mean?

By any objective standard, Dawson’s letter explains specifically why LIV was denied. It cites LIV’s own admission that at least 14 LIV players would stay on tour regardless of performance. Additionally, Dawson references LIV’s policy that only four new players could actually earn their way in annually.

LIV did not address any of those specifics. Instead, its response reads as if LIV is saying, “Everyone knows we have great players; therefore, we should get OWGR points no matter what.”

Dawson agrees with the “great player” part.

“LIV players are self-evidently good enough to be ranked,” he told the Associated Press. “They’re just not playing in a format where they can be ranked equitably with the other 24 tours and thousands of players that compete on them.

“Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia … of course, they should be in the ranking. We need to find a way to get that done. I hope that LIV can find a solution.”

How this impacts the “framework agreement” between the PGA TOUR, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is anyone’s guess. The trio has a self-imposed end-of-year deadline to formalize their deal but that could be extended. LIV is planning a full 2024 schedule but it’s unclear where LIV fits into the new world order after that.

The Saudis, of course, love LIV and would no doubt like to see a return on their multi-billion-dollar investment. LIV Commissioner Greg Norman promised his players they’d get OWGR points but that’s not happening. That doesn’t bode well for LIV if the agreement doesn’t go through as it would make recruiting new big-name players virtually impossible.

The logical approach would be to develop a broader eligibility system. That, however, is seemingly at odds with LIV’s current format.

Why the OWGR Matters

The Official World Golf Ranking system matters for one very good reason: Golf’s powers that be agree that it is, in fact, the official world golf ranking system. The OWGR as we know it dates back to the mid-1980s. At the time, the R&A was looking for a way to equitably dole out invitations to the Open Championship. The R&A worked with uber-agent Mark McCormick, who had developed his unofficial world golf ranking system 20 years earlier.

In today’s world, OWGR points dictate automatic invitations to all four majors and other high-profile tournaments. And high rankings certainly help players with their sponsorship deals. Since joining LIV, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau have fallen out of the top 100. Cam Smith and Brooks Koepka, however, still rank highly. Without OWGR points, it’ll be harder for LIV players to qualify for majors, particularly the Masters. Many LIV players will find themselves having to go through qualifying tournaments for the U.S. Open and the Open Championship.

For the conspiracy-minded, it may be of interest to note the OWGR’s seven member organizations. They are the PGA of America, the USGA, Augusta National, the R&A, the PGA TOUR, The DP World Tour and the International Federation of PGA Tours.

Sports Illustrated’s Bob Harig reports that Jay Monahan (PGA TOUR), Keith Pelley (DP World Tour) and Keith Waters (International Federation of PGA Tours) all recused themselves from the LIV Golf deliberations to avoid a conflict of interest.

What Happens Next?

Dawson has undoubtedly left the door open for LIV. All it has to do is come up with a play-in/play-out system that satisfies the OWGR. That may be easier said than done.

It does, however, give new urgency to the “framework agreement” between the PGA TOUR, DP World Tour and PIF. It would be easier to develop a meritocracy if all the tours of the world were on the same side. Additionally, peace in the valley could let LIV do what it does best. It could simply be a global, team-oriented exhibition series between the season-ending TOUR Championship and the new season in January.

In closing his letter to Norman and Davidson, Dawson left the door open for LIV to try again. But he also made it clear, quite diplomatically, that the OWGR wasn’t going to budge.

“The decision to respectfully decline LIV’s application … is not meant to discourage our efforts to innovate men’s professional golf and/or cause you to make changes you may not believe to be in the best interests of your tour and events.

“We recognize that not every player is interested in competing in (the traditional) way, and we would encourage athletes to pursue whatever platform best suits their individual preferences and goals. However … the Board Committee has not found what it believes is a fair and equitable way to assess the performance of players at LIV events relative to players playing on OWGR Eligible Tours.”

Translation: Do what you want. But if you want points, you know what you have to do.