The Tiger Woods Effect! Hero World Challenge Reportedly Wins One Over the DP World Tour After the Debated OWGR Blow

Another OWGR snub is waiting for the DP World Tour. This time, it might be at the hands of Tiger Woods. Reportedly, the European Tour’s two events combined will have a lesser field rating than the Woods-hosted Hero World Challenge. That’s despite the latter being an unofficial event on the PGA Tour calendar.

The news comes just weeks after the points disparity between the PGA Tour’s RSM Classic and the European Tour’s prestigious DP World Tour Championship. OWGR’s ranking system didn’t sit well with many. This time Tiger Woods’ grand comeback at the Hero World Challenge with a heavily start-studded field has outshined two DP World Tour events.

Another OWGR ‘Discrimination’ for the DP World Tour?

Popular X (formerly Twitter) account Nosferatu, famous for OWGR predictions on the social media platform, tweeted the possible points divide for the three simultaneous tournaments. As per them, the ISPS Handa Australian Open will receive 14.7 points from OWGR, while the Investec South African Open Championship will get 11.5 points.

Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott, Ryder Cupper, Robert McIntyre, LIV Golf stars Cameron Smith and Joaquin Niemman, and previous winners Adam Scott and Adrian Meronk will headline the ISPS Handa Australian Open. Although the full field of the South African Open has not yet been finalized, 168 golfers are set to tee off at the $1.5 million event. Thriston Lawrence, Dean Burmester, and Charl Schwartzel are some of the big names on the field.

On the other hand, the Hero World Challenge, with a field strength of twenty players that includes tournament host Tiger Woods himself, will be awarded 30.099 points. That is more than double the amount of either of the two DP World Tour tournaments. It should be noted that the field for the Hero World Challenge is considerably tougher, with 16 players from OWGR 25 teeing off for the Tiger Trophy. However, the tournament receiving more points despite not being an official event on the PGAT calendar has sparked a debate.

This comes after fans and players bashed OWGR for its allegedly skewed and flawed ranking system last month. Apparently, the points-giving authority’s methodology fails to achieve parity while determining the field strength.

Read More: Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge Enjoys OWGR Supremacy Over LIV Golf Despite Its 20-Man Field; Here’s Why

RSM Classic vs. DP World Tour Championship 

There has been much criticism since OWGR took over determining field strength for men’s golf. Recently, OWGR awarded a 217.01 field rating to the RSM Classic, a run-of-the-mill event, reserving 37.32 points for the winner. On the other hand, the DP World Tour Championship, featuring three of the world’s top four, received 153.84 points. The winner, Nicolai Hojgaard, bagged only 27.72 OWGR points.

Comparably, the PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship had a field rating of 214.36, with 35.29 points for Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler for finishing tied at the 72nd hole. The apparent ‘discrimination’ irked many fans. Interestingly, Rory McIlroy earlier supported the system’s methodology, while his fellow peer and OWGR 3, Jon Rahm, dubbed it “laughable.” Whose side are you on?

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