LIV Golf’s quest for Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points for its players is here to stay for a while. The OWGR chairman, Trevor Immelman, revealed in early May that LIV Golf has “not put any application in,” leaving the future uncertain. This statement came after LIV Golf’s CEO Greg Norman withdrew the circuit’s application in May 2024. The OWGR had previously denied LIV’s original application in October 2023, citing concerns about fairly measuring the league alongside other tours due to its closed format and team scoring.
However, recent developments suggest the situation might finally be shifting in LIV Golf’s favor. As per the recent updates, the LIV Golf League made another attempt to gain recognition from the OWGR board, nearly two years after the board denied its previous request. The OWGR board shared this update on social media on July 11, with chairman Trevor Immelman noting that LIV submitted its bid on June 30.
In a recent post from the official account of OWGR, Immelman updated the golf world about the same and that the “review process has commenced.” He added, “The OWGR Board is committed to a thorough evaluation process of all applications, and LIV’s application will be reviewed in accordance with OWGR’s criteria to ensure fairness, integrity and consistency. We appreciate the interest of LIV Golf—and all the tours—in contributing to the global landscape of men’s professional golf through OWGR. Further updates will be provided as the review progresses.”
Statement from Trevor Immelman, Chairman, OWGR Board of Directorshttps://t.co/EDzoFQsaWH#OWGR#OfficialWorldGolfRanking pic.twitter.com/mBrAOhyGfK
— OWGR (@OWGRltd) July 11, 2025
Previously, the OWGR rejected LIV Golf’s application regarding its limited open qualification and the lack of cuts. This affected the LIV Golf pros substantially, with many pros being forced to play in the Asian Tour and the DP World Tour to qualify to men’s major. Of course, it has also affected big names like Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, and Brooks Koepka, among more.
The lack of OWGR points for LIV pros has taken a toll on their rankings. Jon Rahm has slipped out of the top 50, currently standing at 64, down from 3rd. Brooks Koepka has fallen even further, ranking 276, a massive drop from his PGA Tour era ranking of 19. Dustin Johnson’s ranking has also plummeted to 957, down from 13. On the other hand, Bryson DeChambeau is the only LIV golfer to crack the top 15 in OWGR rankings.
Now, the OWGR board is scheduled to meet during next week’s The Open Championship, but they are unlikely to make a decision at that time. The key question now is whether they can reach a ruling in time for LIV Golf’s 2026 season.
But whether that happens or not, golf fans are likely going to rally against the ruling.
Golf fans do not think LIV golfers are deserving of OWGR points at all
Many fans believe that LIV Golf falls short of meeting the specific criteria set by the Official World Golf Ranking, primarily due to its team format. The point? LIV golfers do not deserve the OWGR points for that reason. One fan said, “Every golfer should be able to register with them then. Cause what LIV does is not real golf.” PGA Tour pro, Michael S. Kim, discussed this recent news with Sports Business Journal‘s Josh Carpenter; however, he seemed to be onboard with the idea of LIV Golf pros receiving OWGR points.
Kim posed an interesting question to Carpenter following the news break, “What has changed since last time?” Carpenter replied, “Have to think parts of the actual application has changed. But you’ve also got a new front office at LIV that might look to handle things differently.” Early this year, Scott O’Neil replaced Greg Norman as the LIV Golf CEO. Could that help?
Kim doesn’t think so and points out that the OWGR needs to “have a set of requirements to get points? People in charge shouldn’t really affect the outcome in theory?” But he also pointed out, “Just to be clear before the bots go crazy, I do think they prob should get OWGR points at the top end.” So, what’s the deal against LIV Golf’s format?
When the OWGR rejected LIV Golf’s application in 2024, it highlighted several challenges primarily related to the league’s unconventional format, which features 54 holes, a limited field of 54 players, and no cuts. Although OWGR chairman Peter Dawson indicated that these format issues could potentially be resolved through mathematical adjustments, the core reasons for the denial were more fundamental: the absence of a promotion and relegation system and the league’s focus on team competition, which diverges from the traditional individual play that the OWGR typically recognizes.
Simply put, it wouldn’t be fair for other pros. And one fan pointed that out as well and said, “If they get points, then the champions tour should get points since both are 3 day tournaments,” while another said, “You shouldn’t get points unless it’s a 4 day tournament. Not fair.”
Here’s the thing: the senior tour has pretty much the same format as LIV Golf. The Champions Tour doesn’t award Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points because it doesn’t meet the OWGR’s criteria. Specifically, the tour features 54-hole events without cuts, whereas OWGR requires tournaments to be 72 holes long with a cut.
Lastly, a fan just said, “Hmmm, let’s see…that would be a hard NO!“ Well, let’s see what happens this time!
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