LIV Golf has been constantly fighting to earn Official World Golf Rankings points since its inception. Although it has offered huge sums of money to its players, the league has consistently failed to negotiate to get its players on the OWGR. Last year, their application was officially rejected by the OWGR board.
The debate around whether the Saudi-backed league players should get world rankings points has been around for quite some time now. It intensified last week after both Joaquin Niemann and Wyndham Clark won a 54-hole tournament. However, the latter was rewarded with fully allocated rankings points for winning the PGA Tour-hosted AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
OWGR holds a significant place in golf. The biggest reason behind this is that it can offer a place in four of the major tournaments. Since LIV Golfers are unable to earn ranking points, their only way to earn an entry into the majors are either through exemptions or entering through qualifying tournaments.
Many players have slipped on the OWGR ever since they joined LIV. So let’s take a look at some LIV golfers who have been constantly going down oj the OWGR:
Bryson DeChambeau
The former US Open Champion, Bryson DeChambeau, was ranked 28th in the World before he joined the LIV Golf. His rankings have drastically decreased ever since then and he is now placed 167th in the World. For a player who shot a sensation record round of 58 last year in Greenbrier, the OWGR does not justify his skillset.
Sergio Garcia
The legendary Spaniard’s decision to make a switch to LIV Golf may have earned him millions of dollars but has slipped him down the OWGR. Before joining the league, he was ranked 57th in the world and now he is ranked 575th.
Apart from the Masters Tournament, Sergio Garcia is now ineligible to compete in any other major tournaments.
Talor Gooch
The 2023 LIV Golf season’s Individual Winner, Talor Gooch, earned almost what the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Champion, Viktor Hovland, earned. While Hovland is ranked fourth on the OWGR, Gooch is placed on 394th rank.
Before making a switch to the league, Gooch was placed 35th in the world. Despite playing seven tournaments that offer world ranking points, it has not benefitted the golfer much.
Martin Kaymer
Once ranked no. 1 in the World, Martin Kaymer may have already forgotten to regain that spot after the made a LIV Golf switch. The German golfer is currently placed on 2,858th in the OWGR and before joining the league, he stood at 218th rank. Despite playing in two world rankings events since joining the league, it has not benefitted him much.
Lee Westwood
The famous English golfer was considered one of the top players ever to grace the No. 1 rank in the World. Lee Westwood has drastically slipped from the 78th rank before joining LIV Golf to the 803rd rank currently.
Westwood missed out on receiving an invite to any major tournaments last year. Even in 2024, he is most unlikely to make an entry.
Dustin Johnson
The former World No. 1, Dustin Johnson, is another name on the list who has seen the wrath of slipping on the OWGR. He does have exemptions left in a few major tournaments. But, if LIV Golf fails to provide its players ranking points, he is most likely to miss the major tournaments such as The Open Championship and the PGA Championship in the future.
Dustin Johnson was ranked 11th in the World before he joined the league. Now, he stands at 218th rank in the world.
It’s not just the above mentioned players who’ve slipped on the OWGR, but all the other players who have been associated with LIV Golf have slipped drastically. It is just a matter of when fans would see current World No. 3 Jon Rahm going down in the rankings as well.
