Rory McIlroy was blatantly honest when the press asked him about the Official World Ranking Points and their fiasco with the Greg Norman-headed league, LIV Golf. As is very well known, the OWGR rejected the plea of the breakaway circuit, giving many parameters that the league couldn’t match. Thus, the 54 golfers on it cannot get ranking points (to be ranked) and cannot qualify for the Olympics.

Despite the Northern Irishman’s understanding of the lucrative move many pros made, he also understands why there shouldn’t be any other way to qualify for majors, the Olympics, or the Ryder Cup. So, when he was asked at Le Golf National’s presser of any other way, the 4-time major winner took a dig at LIV players and said, “I don’t think there’s any other way to do it because it’s hard to compare the golf that they play to the golf that we play,” adding further that that’s why they weren’t given the ranking points. After all, they play 54 holes, while the PGA Tour and other OWGR-qualified circuits play 72.

So whether they wanted to qualify for the Summer Games or wish to be a part of the 2025 Ryder Cup, McIlroy said that they knew what they had to do, implying not leaving the PGA Tour as it offers the OWGR points. His attitude toward the defectors has changed since last year, and he has opined for a united golf front in the future. Yet he reminded the other side that the Olympics snub was their responsibility by saying, “They were very aware of the decision they made when they did,” which was to move to LIV and shun themselves of the ranking points.

And it’s not just the 26-time PGA Tour winner who has expressed that the breakaway circuit play was aware of their decisions and the result in their career. The two-time US Open winner sort of agreed with McIlroy that he reaped what he sowed in the 2022 season.

DeChambeau’s confession backs Rory McIlroy’s harsh statements

Not in one, but Bryson DeChambeau had top performances in three majors, including the glorious victory at Pinehurst No. 2. Despite it, the OWGR points the 30-year-old earned were only enough to crown him as world no. 9, which was not enough to make it to the American Team sent to Le Golf National, even though fans wanted him to replace Wyndham Clark. Even at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, DeChambeau missed the golf games as he was diagnosed with COVID-19 just before the event started and had to withdraw.

Hence, missing the Olympics the second time was “frustrating and disappointing,” said the 30-year-old. However, the 2-time major winner accepted that he knew about the consequences that moving to LIV Golf would have that were jeopardizing his Olympic chances. DeChambeau said, “I understand the decisions I made, and the way things have played out has not been necessarily perfectly according to plan. Again, I respect the decision that I made, and it is what it is.” 

He accepted that, despite all, it hurt not to represent the USA in the Olympics, the reigning US Open champion was not hopeless. He was already looking forward to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, saying, “Hopefully 2028 will be a little different situation, and it will make it that much sweeter.” By then, the PGA Tour and PIF might come to finalize the $3 billion, which has been in talks since June 6th, 2023. Only then, DeChambeau and other pros from LIV Golf may get the OWGR points and eventually qualify for the Olympics or other elevated events.