LIV Golf Secures Official World Golf Ranking Points in Landmark Decision
In a significant development for professional golf, the Saudi-funded LIV Golf league has received approval from the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to award ranking points for the first time. This unanimous decision by the OWGR board, announced on Tuesday local time, comes just as LIV prepares to launch its fifth season, offering a potential boost to Australian stars including Cameron Smith and his compatriots.
Conditions Attached to the Historic Ruling
The OWGR's approval is not without stipulations. Points will be distributed exclusively for top-10 finishes and ties within LIV's 57-player league. This contrasts sharply with other tours, which typically have smaller fields and only exclude the lowest finishers. LIV Golf will be categorised under the 'Small Field Tournament' classification, a grouping that also includes events like the Tour Championship and the PGA Tour's signature tournaments that operate without a cut.
LIV Golf responded to the decision by calling it a "moment of recognition" that was "long overdue," while simultaneously describing the outcome as "unprecedented." The league expressed concerns about the limitations, stating in an official release: "Limiting points to only the top 10 finishers disproportionately harms players who consistently perform at a high level but finish just outside that threshold, as well as emerging talent working to establish themselves on the world stage — precisely the players a fair and meritocratic ranking system is designed to recognise."
A Long-Awaited Step for Players and Fans
The league further argued that no other competitive tour in OWGR history has faced such a restriction. "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," the statement continued. "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."
This ruling is effective immediately, coinciding with LIV Golf's season opener in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Trevor Immelman, a former Masters champion and the current OWGR chairman, described the decision as a positive milestone. "It's a big day, and a positive day in my mind," Immelman stated in a telephone interview. "It's been a long process, it's been exhausting in many ways, with a whole host of people from outside being involved and working around the clock to make this decision before LIV plays its first event."
Impact on Rankings and Major Championships
Since its inception in 2022, LIV Golf has operated without OWGR points, leaving its players at a significant disadvantage in the global rankings. Currently, only two LIV golfers, Tyrrell Hatton at world number 22 and Bryson DeChambeau at number 33, reside within the top 50. Five others are ranked among the top 100, while former world number one Jon Rahm has slipped to 97th.
The world ranking is critically important as the four major championships—the Masters, PGA Championship, US Open, and British Open—use it to help determine their fields. In the absence of ranking points, the US Open and British Open had created special categories for LIV players, while the Masters and PGA Championship extended special invitations to worthy competitors.
"We fully recognised the need to rank the top men's players in the world but at the same time had to find a way of doing so that was equitable to the thousands of other players competing on other tours that operate with established meritocratic pathways," Immelman explained in the official OWGR announcement. "We believe we have found a solution that achieves these twin aims."
Australian Contingent Poised for Advantage
Australian golfers are prominent figures on the LIV circuit and stand to benefit directly from this new ruling. Former British Open champion Cameron Smith leads the charge, teaming up with fellow Australians Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert, and Elvis Smylie in the Ripper GC team. They will be joined at this week's season-opening event in Riyadh by Matt Jones, who was replaced in the Ripper team this year by Smylie.
While the points allocation for LIV events will be modest compared to some PGA Tour stops—the winner in Riyadh is projected to receive about 23 points, compared to 59 points for the Phoenix Open winner—it represents a crucial step. This system could provide a significant boost for LIV players who string together strong performances, such as Joaquin Niemann, who won five times last year, or Rahm, who finished in the top ten in twelve of his thirteen events.
The decision marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing evolution of professional golf, offering a new pathway for recognition and competition for players across all tours.
