With the inception of LIV Golf, many PGAT pros chose to defect to the breakaway league. But their choice came at a cost—the loss of OWGR points. The disruptive league has been repeatedly denied OWGR points, which has had major repercussions on the world rankings of LIV golfers. Subsequently, it has also made their road to the majors extremely difficult.

The LIV Golf CEO, Greg Norman, has numerous times spoken about the plight of the LIV golfers. However, after constantly being denied the OWGR points, Norman has finally chosen to withdraw the OWGR application. However, a piece of recent news alludes to the fact that things might be a bit more hopeful for the LIV pros when it comes to participating in the British Open.

The British Open to expand their qualifying format

Bob Harig recently took to his official X handle (formerly known as Twitter) and shared a post regarding the expansion in the qualifying opportunities for the British Open made by the R&A head, which could positively impact the LIV Golfers and stated, “British Open Expands Qualifying Opportunities, Which Could Benefit LIV Golf.” 

Martin Slumbers, the CEO of R&A, said, “We decided to create those opportunities. And I’d add there are a minimum of 16 players in final qualifying (two weeks prior to the Open). We felt that is the next best step of progression on this road.” However, he even added that they are pretty much neutral about the leagues and only want the most deserving players to get the spots.

He further spoke about the change in OWGR methodology two years ago that led to the creation of the federated list. The said list was created to ensure that there was a significant separation of the rankings for the non-main tours. LIV Golfers haven’t shied away from sharing their plight about their rapidly falling world ranking or their slim chances of playing in the prestigious majors. It looks like the Shark has finally chosen to put an end to the OWGR tussle.

Greg Norman says no to the OWGR

Reportedly, Norman sent a letter to the players addressing the reason behind the decision to withdraw the application to attain OWGR points, as the CEO stated, “The OWGR has shown little willingness to productively work with us”. According to the Aussie, “The rankings are structured to penalize anyone who has not played regularly on an “eligible Tour” with the field ratings disproportionately rewarding play on the PGA Tour.” This is not the first time that Norman has called out the OWGR, as recently he also shared a post on his Instagram highlighting the same. The caption of the post stated, “LIV would have 2 players in the top 50 OWGR if you exclude recent signees!”

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The post consisted of the top 50 players on different world ranking systems, which included the Universal Golf Rankings, the Sports Illustrated Rankings, the Data Golf Rankings, and the Official World Golf Rankings. The Shark drew a comparison between them and highlighted how the denial of the OWGR points has drastically affected the LIV golfers’ Official World Rankings. All the while sharing his disapproval of the decision to deny points to the PIF-funded league. Was Norman’s decision correct? Do you think the LIV golfers should be granted the OWGR points? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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