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Players in the Saudi-backed league have experienced their fair share of obstacles off the course. Moreover, LIV Golf received a smack to the head with the recent rulings put forward by the Official World Golf Rankings. However, surprisingly, in an exclusive chat with EssentiallySports, the iconic coach of Brooks Koepka, Pete Cowen, spoke to Noah Lack about how the world rankings are nothing but “a joke.”

The inception of the PIF-funded circuit in 2021 led to many golfers jumping ships to the same. This led to the players in the league dropping down in the rankings. The Englishman, a while back, had a lot to say about LIV Golf and its players as he shared a hot take on the same, dubbing the likes of Dustin Johnson as one of “the best players” in the world no less!

Pete Cowen comments on the quality of LIV golfers including Dustin Johnson

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The athletes from the alternate circuit had been denied points on the OWGR from the moment they switched from the other Tours. Moreover, in a recent ruling, they decided not to award the same, citing various reasons including that of an unequal comparison between them and the other players on the Tours, and of a different format from the usual 72-hole one. And Cowen, in the EssentiallySports Exclusive, had a lot to say regarding the same.

ALSO READ – Owing to Recent OWGR Setback, Phil Mickelson Swats PGA Tour for Pulling Strings ‘Behind the Scenes’ Against LIV Golf

The pro-turned-coach mentioned, during the ES Exclusive, how the Saudi-backed league’s golfers play the game and duke it out against good players “every week,” unlike the PGA Tour which gets points from the OWGR. The trainer pointed out the absurdity of the standings as he said, “To say that Dustin Johnson is on the 150th on the world ranking is a joke,” all the while taking a jab at the system.

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Continuing on with his opinion in the EssentiallySports FanCast, Koepka’s coach indicated how the “world rankings aren’t the world rankings anymore” alluding to how golfers like Bryson DeChambeau and Johnson are at 144 and 141 respectively on the standings. He further pointed out the same with the Scientist’s feat of 58 during the LIV Golf event at the Old White at Greenbrier, a course where “PGA Tour had been playing year on year out” despite none of the professionals pulling out a similar feat.

Moreover, the trainer didn’t forget to point out how it is nothing short of “a shame” that the athletes from the PIF-funded league can’t play together with the other Tours. Adding on, he expressed the need for the players to “come together” to get the world ranking points back in a bid to find out who “the best players really are,” for the “sake of golf.”

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Well, it makes sense when the LIV golfer’s instructor puts forward such a thought since a lot of the players on the Middle Eastern circuit including Koepka, DeChambeau, and even the 2023 Champion Talor Gooch are but top talents of the game. Denying them points would only affect the game and “short-change” golf fans, as per Cowen. A hot take, no doubt!

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