Do LIV Golf players have no hope of getting OWGR points anymore? Ever since their inception in 2022, LIV Golf and its players have been under scrutiny for their less-than-traditional approach to golf. This has pushed them away from recognition in professional golf.

How, you ask? Well, the LIV Golf events aren’t recognized as official golf tournaments that warrant a status on the OWGR. The same goes for its players, who are not awarded any points for their performance in the Saudi-based promotions.

Many PGA Tour loyalists have constantly painted LIV Golf as an unauthorized league. This includes those involved in the sport as well. And now one such individual is in line to take up a seat on the OWGR board.

The person in question is the 2008 Masters Tournament winner, Trevor Immelman. As shared by @NUCLRGOLF on the X account, “🚨🪑⛳️ #NEW: Trevor Immelman to be appointed chairman of the Official World Golf Ranking in April.” This confirms his hiring as the head of the table at OWGR.

No one can question the abilities of Immelman. After all, he was the man who tamed the Tiger (Woods) to win the first and only major of his career. But he has still been under the spotlight for his views on LIV Golf, or more accurately, his disregard for the PIF-funded league.

During an interview for Golfweek back in August 2022, Immelman was asked about his views on LIV Golf. That is when he mentioned how Greg Norman’s league is causing a major divide in the golf community and the players, citing that “all everybody’s talking about is the other tour.” This was in regards to how the PGA Tour & DP World Tour’s growth is being restricted by the existence of LIV Golf.

In fact, the 1x major winner seems to also have disdain towards the commissioner of LIV Golf, Greg Norman. Just a few weeks after the interview with Golfweek, Norman shared a post on his X account dedicated to Trevor Immelman & his 1998 Presidents Cup team.

The caption to the tweet read, “Outside of all this angst – golf is golf, competition is competition; something every golfer thrives on. As a former player & Captain of the International Team, I wish @TrevorImmelman & his entire team the very best in repeating our only 1998 @PresidentsCup success in Melbourne.” While it may seem like a sweet gesture to others, Immelman’s “LOL” showed how much he valued the Australian golfer’s opinion.

Now that Trevor Immelman’s hiring is confirmed, it wouldn’t be so hard to imagine that LIV Golf players might not be getting close to securing OWGR points for participating in the Saudi-based promotion’s events. This can be considered a major loss for LIV Golf and a big win for their rivals in the USA.

However, the OWGR committee had previously provided an explanation as to why they do not award LIV Golf players points. Let’s take a look at what they had to say.

Is LIV Golf never going to get OWGR points?

That’s what one of the spokespersons for OWGR believes. Back in March 2024, the current chairman of OWGR, Peter Dawson spoke about the LIV Golf situation in detail. During his statement, he mentioned “This decision not to make them eligible is not political. It is entirely technical. LIV players are self-evidently good enough to be ranked,” confirming that LIV Golf pros are highly skilled and some of the best players in the sport.

However, the reason behind them not being awarded OWGR points is that “They’re just not playing in a format where they can be ranked equitably with the other 24 tours and thousands of players to compete on them.” Indirectly, Dawson has blamed the 54-hole format of the league they play for being the reason behind their exclusion from the rankings stating that it was more of a “technical” limitation than a “political” inclination favoring the PGA Tour. Sounds like one simple change for LIV Golf can help its players succeed in professional golf. However, we’re not sure if OWGR will stick to this statement and allow the players to get rewarded points if LIV Golf does make the change to 72 holes. Especially once Trevor Immelman sits at the helm.

Do you think LIV Golf players will deserve to be part of the OWGR rankings? Share your views in the comments section.