LIV Golf is done with trying to validate the league in the eyes of the Official World Golf Ranking, and Jon Rahm, one of the circuit’s biggest stars, is OK with that.
The Spaniard discussed the development on Wednesday (local time) at Hong Kong Golf Club, where the next LIV event is set to tee off on Friday.
LIV CEO Greg Norman sent a letter to the tour’s membership on Tuesday, informing them that the circuit will no longer be attempting to qualify for OWGR points, which determine invitations and exemptions into major championships.
“We have made significant efforts to fight for you and ensure your accomplishments are recognized within the existing ranking system,” Norman wrote in his letter, according to multiple media reports. “Unfortunately, OWGR has shown little willingness to productively work with us.”
Asked about the decision, Rahm said, “I haven’t talked to anybody about this or seen any responses (to Norman’s letter), but I’m going to be honest, I didn’t know they were still trying to get World Ranking points. But 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.”
Rahm keyed in on Chilean Joaquin Niemann’s absence from the top 10 of the OWGR as an example of just how faulty the point system is. Niemann has taken the individual title at two of three LIV Golf events this season, winning at Mayakoba and Jeddah. He finished tied for 30th at Las Vegas.
“If anybody in this world, for example, doesn’t think (Niemann) 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. “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.”
Who should be ranked where aside, LIV member Bryson DeChambeau also believes that preventing his tour’s players from getting OWGR points is just bad for the sport in general.
“I mean, there’s a lot of ways you can think about it,” DeChambeau said. “From certain people’s perspectives, though, we came over here, and we don’t deserve to have ranking points, for whatever their reasons are. Is it right? I don’t know.
“I just think what’s right is in the best interest of the game, and we should focus on having the best players at the majors, and continuing to have that around the game of golf is only important to growing the game of golf and to make the game of golf continue to be as relevant as it is now and even more in the future.”
DeChambeau is hoping there are still conversations to be had about OWGR eligibility.
“What I think about it is we need to find a collective way, all the governing bodies, everybody, come together, sit down and figure this out,” he said. “Because we need to do this for the fans.”
LIV Golf Hong Kong runs Friday through Sunday. It features a 54-player field with a $25 million purse — $20 million to be dispensed among individuals, $5 million to be distributed among teams.
The individual winner will receive $4 million, with the winning team getting $3 million.
–Field Level Media
