LIV Golf hits out despite being awarded world ranking points by OWGR amid ‘changing landscape’

LIV Golf has hit out at what it calls an «unprecedented» ruling that will see only the top 10 finishers awarded world ranking points at its events.

The Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) board revealed its decision to award LIV players points for the first time, on Tuesday.

However, while the Saudi Arabia-funded circuit, which starts its fifth season in Riyadh this week, has called the news a «long-overdue moment of recognition», it is unhappy at the limits put on the rankings points for its 57-man fields.

In all 24 other men’s professional golf tours that are part of the OWGR, all players who make the cut earn points.

In a statement, LIV said «this outcome is unprecedented», adding «no other competitive tour or league in OWGR history has been subjected to such a restriction».

«Under these rules, a player finishing 11th in a LIV Golf event is treated the same as a player finishing 57th. Limiting points to only the top 10 finishers disproportionately harms players who consistently perform at a high level but finish just outside that threshold.»

In its statement, the OWGR board said it was awarding points to LIV «in an effort to reflect the changing landscape of the men’s professional game».

However, it added that the points were being restricted to the top 10 finishers because it «recognises there are a number of areas where LIV Golf does not meet the eligibility standards set out by OWGR».

For the first time, LIV events will be played over four rounds in 2026, although they will still have no halfway cut.

«We expect this is merely a first step toward a structure that fully and fairly serves the players, the fans and the future of the sport,» added LIV in its statement.

«We entered this process in good faith and will continue to advocate for a ranking system that reflects performance over affiliation.

«The game deserves transparency. The fans deserve credibility. And the players deserve a system that treats them equally.»

The winner of this week’s opening event of the LIV Golf season is projected to receive 23.03 OWGR points, which is similar to European DP World Tour events (25).

The victor at this week’s PGA Tour event – the WM Phoenix Open – is expected to receive 59 points.

The winner of a PGA Tour signature event earns 66 points, while the FedEx Cup play-off events at the end of the season – with reduced fields and no cuts – will see 37 points awarded to the winner.

OWGR points are important to players because they are crucial in qualifying for the annual four majors.

England’s Tyrrell Hatton and American Bryson DeChambeau are, at 22nd and 33rd respectively, the only LIV players in the world’s top 50, with five others among the top 100, including Jon Rahm at 97th.

In recent weeks, five-times major winner Brooks Koepka and 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed have been two of the biggest stars to leave LIV in favour of a return to the PGA Tour.