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Will Zalatoris credited the “very stiff” competition as the reason that the PGA Tour has featured nine different winners this season.

Taken a step further, the average Official World Golf Ranking for the eight winners not named Nick Dunlap was 73. Dunlap, who won The American Express contested from Jan. 18-21, resides outside the top 4,000 in the OWGR.

“We’ve had quite a few first-time winners on Tour this year,” Zalatoris said. “You’ve got some tenured guys that are contending week in, week out. The Official World Golf Ranking is what it is right now.”

That answer by Zalatoris as he prepared to play this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Fla., prompted a follow-up question about the viability of the OWGR.

Zalatoris, 27, in turn, was quick to reference Joaquin Niemann. The Chilean captured his third LIV Golf title in three months and second in three outings Sunday after cruising to a four-stroke win at the LIV Golf Jeddah Invitational in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia.

“You see what Joaquin’s done this year, and he’s 73rd in the world (76th as of Tuesday). I’m not a guy who is on the policy board or involved with those rankings, but the guy’s played some really good golf,” he said.

“I think, you know, having to get a special exemption from Augusta, you know, it’s just, there’s some really good players, and there’s some guys that have gone around the world and played really good golf and I think that’s something that, once we get to the majors, it will be really fun to have us all back together. But, I know that that’s kind of the utopian goal for all of us right now is to have the best players in the world play week in, week out.”

The OWGR is a hot topic, with Sports Illustrated reporting Tuesday that LIV Golf had abandoned its effort to seek accreditation for its members.

Per the report, LIV commissioner and CEO Greg Norman informed league members by letter this week that “a resolution which protects the accuracy, credibility and integrity of the OWGR rankings no longer exists” and that the league had withdrawn its application to be recognized by the system.

–Field Level Media