Jon Rahm Update: LIV Golf Pro’s Woes Pile Up Amid Latest OWGR Controversy

The former World No. 1 and now World No. 3 seem to be taking blow after blow of late. Ever since Jon Rahm jumped ship and moved to LIV Golf, he’s had a tough time on the PGA Tour front. Thanks to his defection and the bans that came with it, he was unable to take part in any of the events on the 2024 PGA Tour calendar. And now it’s as though the series of heartaches just keeps on coming for the Spaniard, this time courtesy of the Official World Golf Rankings.

A tweet was shared on X (previously known as Twitter) highlighting the discrepancy in the points being awarded to the 2024 Genesis Invitational. Interestingly, it also pointed out how the Spaniard went ahead to suffer another woeful situation amid experiencing the suspension from the PGA Tour, which even stopped him from attempting to defend his title at the Genesis Invitational this week.

Jon Rahm’s unpleasant OWGR setback

Golf enthusiast John Conrad recently took to Twitter to mention how Rahm won the 2023 edition of the Genesis Invitational back when it was a full-field event, all the while ranking in at 67.19877 OWGR points. However, this time around, the winner of the tournament would receive figures of 68.5457, an addition of 1.34693.

A prick in the heart for Rahm? Well, he was only able to receive fewer points for a full-field event with a stronger field rating. Meanwhile, the champ of the same tourney with a “much smaller and, by field rating, weaker field” is set to earn considerably more. “That’s in conflict with the foundational concept of the new OWGR system,” added the golfing enthusiast on X.

The Spanish professional had emerged victorious at the 2023 edition of the tournament while raking in a total of $3.6 million along with 550 points in the FedEx Cup standings. Moreover, he managed to do so by scoring a total of 17 under 267, registering numbers of 65-68-65-69 on the par-71 Riviera Country Club in California.

It was nothing short of disheartening for the 29-year-old. But even so, it wasn’t the first time that Jon Rahm was forced to endure such an indirect slap in the face. He had already been subjected to such an unfair situation since the start of the 2024 calendar year.

Rahm’s never-ending blows, courtesy of OWGR

The 2-time major champ had emerged victorious a total of four times in the previous season, including the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the American Express, the Genesis Invitational, and the iconic Masters Tournament. He managed to rake in figures of 37.67530, 52.63599, 67.19877, and 100 points on the OWGR, respectively, all thanks to his wins. However, this season saw a tremendous increase in numbers for the same.

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Chris Kirk, who won the Sentry in January, was awarded 60.00488 points for his victory, along with 4 additional points as a multi-win bonus, almost double what the Spaniard received. Meanwhile, Nick Dunlap, the amateur PGAT champ of the American Express, won 55,68925 points, an increase of 3.05326. Although the major is slated to see an equal number of points being offered, the rest of the figures can’t help but throw concern over the future of the LIV golfer. Nevertheless, one can hope everything turns out well and the Saudi-backed league gets proper recognition following the merger!

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