Jon Rahm Lashes Out At World Rankings After LIV Golf Gives Up On Vying For Points Bid

Jon Rahm is currently gearing up for the inaugural LIV Golf Hong Kong event. Before the fourth tournament of the season, the Spaniard has fired shots against the Official World Golf Rankings. After a long fight, the Saudi-backed league has given up its bid to attain points for its players. However, the reigning Masters Champion was unaware of the fact that the league was still pursuing talks with the World Rankings board.

At present, the 29-year-old is ranked third in the world. However, with the league not being able to get points for its players, Rahm is certain to go down on the list. While speaking to the media before the Hong Kong event, the Spaniard said,

“The one thing I can say is I’m going to back to what I said two years ago in the DP World Tour Championship. I didn’t think it was a good system back then, and if anything, the more time that goes on, the more it proves to be wrong.”

The Legion XIII captain was speaking to the media alongside Crushers GC captain Bryson DeChambeau. However, this was not the first time that Rahm has lashed out at the Official World Golf Rankings. Back in 2022, when the OWGR made changes to grant points according to field size, he described it as a flawed system which was laughable for him.

Jon Rahm Says Joaquin Niemann Should Rank In The Top 10 OWGR

World Rankings have been a huge concern for the LIV Golf League since its inception. All of the players signed have consistently slipped on the Official World Golf Rankings list. However, for a player like Joaquin Niemann, his ranking does not justify the kind of form he has been in for quite some time now.

Jon Rahm underlined the fact that if anyone feels that Niemann does not deserve to be inside the top 10 in the world then they are watching a different game.

“If anybody in this world, for example, doesn’t think Joaco deserves to be in the top 10 or doesn’t know that he’s a top player in the world, I don’t know what game you’re watching,” Rahm said.

Later on, the Legion XII captain added that people who watch the game of golf can easily distinguish between the best players in the world. However, he said that, on the contrary, the OWGR portrays something else.

“We can tell. I think anybody who watches golf can tell who the best players in the world are, and obviously I don’t think the ranking is reflective of that right now to its entirety,” Rahm concluded.

Joaquin Niemann has won two out of the three LIV Golf events in the 2024 season. He was also the winner at the Australian Open on the DP World Tour earlier this year. However, he is ranked 76th in the world which does not really show present form. Let’s see what more adds up to the ongoing controversy between the LIV league and the OWGR.

About the author

Kunal Singh

Kunal is a golf journalist for The SportsRush. He is an avid golf fan with a huge inclination towards Rory McIlroy's drive and Phil Mickelson's short game. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and is currently pursuing a MBA in Media Management. Before joining The SportsRush, he has already penned over 1300 articles. If not covering stories on golf, you can find him brainstorming various fiction stories, composing music, and playing snooker.

Read More