LIV Golf withdraws its application for entry to the World Golf Ranking

LIV Golf has formally withdrawn its request to be included within the World Golf Rating this Tuesday, explaining in its assertion that the OWGR (its acronym in English) can’t be an “official” rating system as a result of it has not recognised the performances of LIV golfers lately.

LIV first requested its inclusion in July 2022, lower than a month after launching its invitation league. Final October the OWGR formally denied the request, citing among the many arguments the shortage of entry and exit routes from the circuit.

In a letter accessed by Sports activities Illustrated and despatched to LIV gamers competing this week in Hong Kong, CEO and Commissioner Greg Norman wrote that “the world rating classification lacks accuracy, credibility and integrity. We’ve got made vital efforts to struggle for you and make sure that your achievements are recognised throughout the present rating system. Sadly, OWGR has proven little willingness to work productively with us”.

In line with a senior LIV official, the World Rating, an establishment chaired by the foremost skilled golf circuits and the Majors, informed LIV a 12 months in the past that it had an issue with the entry routes to the circuit. LIV was in its first full 12 months as a league and introduced plans to have a Promotion College through which three new gamers would be part of the circuit by means of a qualifying event, along with granting a spot to the winner of the Order of Advantage of the Worldwide Collection. The official mentioned that makes an attempt to acquire data on what was wanted to fulfill the standards had been unsuccessful.

LIV Golf has additionally been criticised for not having participant rotation between tournaments, as its subject of 54 gamers is virtually closed, past adjustments on account of harm or sickness. The staff format was additionally questioned, though LIV Golf maintains that its participant laws require enjoying in response to the Guidelines of Golf, which don’t enable giving recommendation in a person competitors.

LIV Golf’s opinion has lengthy been that the OWGR – in response to its personal tips – doesn’t require any future circuit to fulfill all its necessities. And it factors out that you would be able to get all or nothing and that the choice is completely as much as the OWGR board.

This seven-member board is made up of representatives from every of the 4 Majors, in addition to Jay Monahan, commissioner of the PGA Tour, Keith Pelley, CEO of the DP World Tour, and Keith Waters, govt of the DP World Tour overseeing worldwide skilled associations. These final three abstained from voting on the inclusion of LIV within the World Rating, leaving the choice within the palms of the Majors representatives.

“We’re not at conflict with them,” mentioned the chairman of the OWGR board, Peter Dawson, former CEO of the R&A, interviewed by Related Press after rejecting LIV’s candidacy final 12 months. “The choice to not make them eligible is just not political. It’s completely technical. It’s clear that LIV gamers are ok to be ranked. They simply don’t play in a format the place they are often pretty ranked with the opposite 24 circuits and hundreds of gamers competing in them”.

Dawson cited on the time that sure tips that LIV Golf doesn’t meet, corresponding to 36-hole cuts, 72-hole tournaments and a median participation of 75 gamers, weren’t essentially an issue, as they might be solved by means of a mathematical format. The issue was quite the shortage of participant rotation, in addition to the absence of promotions and demotions on the finish of the season.

Nonetheless, Dawson acknowledged that high-profile LIV gamers dropping within the World Rating is an issue. Proper now, there are solely 4 LIV golfers among the many prime 50 on this planet, three of whom have gained Majors within the final two years. The remainder are PGA Tour gamers, so the LIV govt instructed which means the OWGR is a “PGA Tour rating”.

“Dustin Johnson, Sergio García, in fact they need to be within the rating,” mentioned Dawson. “We’ve got to discover a strategy to obtain it. I hope LIV can discover a answer – not a lot its format; that may be solved with a mathematical components – however the classification and relegation”. The LIV govt mentioned that OWGR by no means gave him any particular reply about what would work.

And Norman, in his letter, instructed that the OWGR system has unnoticed LIV gamers for therefore lengthy that, anyway, it might be troublesome to make up misplaced floor. “The rankings are structured to penalise anybody who has not frequently performed on an “Eligible Tour” with the factors scales disproportionately rewarding the PGA Tour,” wrote Norman. “That is illustrated by the truth that solely 4 gamers throughout the prime 50 usually are not PGA Tour gamers (Jon Rahm (3), Tyrrell Hatton (17), Brooks Koepka (30) and Cam Smith (45). Even when LIV Golf occasions instantly obtained factors, the World Rating system is designed in such a approach that it might be functionally unattainable so that you can regain positions near the highest of the rating”.

Norman known as for an unbiased rating system and mentioned the league continues “working to hunt a direct rating system with the Majors to make sure that LIV golfers are pretty represented and that golf followers world wide have the chance to see the very best competitors”.

It’s unclear how a lot communication there was between LIV Golf and every of the Majors. However the identical officers of the Majors are additionally those who denied the OWGR candidacy. As well as, by inviting Joaquín Niemann to this 12 months’s Masters, Augusta Nationwide chairman Fred Ridley cited his victory within the Australian Open and mentioned nothing about his achievements in LIV Golf, despite the fact that he had simply gained in Mayakoba.

The PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and the Saudi Public Funding Fund, which funds LIV Golf, proceed to claim that they’re engaged on an settlement that unites all events. Earlier this 12 months, the PGA Tour introduced that it was going to hitch forces with Strategic Sports activities Group to assist finance its new for-profit enterprise PGA Tour Enterprises, through which, in concept, the PIF would additionally take part. In the meantime, the circuits proceed to function individually.

It shouldn’t be dominated out that this resolution by LIV to withdraw the proposal to the World Rating has to do with the talks they’re having with the Majors, though in the mean time there’s nothing concrete, or the negotiations which might be being carried out with the PGA Tour.