'We are not at war' - OWGR chairman Peter Dawson confirms LIV Golf players will not earn ranking points
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Updated 10/10/2023 at 20:15 GMT+1
LIV Golf players will only “play for cash” and will not receive ranking points, Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) Peter Dawson has confirmed. OWGR “can not fairly measure the 48-man league with the other 24 tours around the world.” On the decision, Dawson said: “We are not at war with them, this decision not to make them eligible is not political. It is entirely technical.”
SUGAR GROVE, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 24: Dustin Johnson plays his shot from the second tee during day three of the LIV Golf Invitational - Chicago at Rich Harvest Farms on September 24, 2023 in Sugar Grove, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
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LIV Golf will not earn ranking points, Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) chairman Peter Dawson has confirmed.
Players such as Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith and Phil Mickelson will only play for “cash” and not world ranking points.
“We are not at war with them,” Dawson, a non-voting member of OWGR, explained. “This decision not to make them eligible is not political. It is entirely technical.
“LIV players are self-evidently good enough to be ranked. They’re just not playing in a format where they can be ranked equitably with the other 24 tours and thousands of players trying to compete on them.”
The application, submitted by LIV Golf in July 2022 after two of its 54-hole, no-cut events had already been played, has been officially rejected by the OWGR.
LIV Golf is nearing the end of its second season and has two events remaining with 48 players competing over 54 holes with no cut and a $20 million purse, plus $5 million up for grabs in a simultaneous team competition.
Dawson also revealed that the OWGR would be able to work around some of the requirements such as a 36-hole cut with an average field size of 75 players, however, the voting committee “could not get past what amounts to a closed shop.”
A handful of LIV Golf’s players are on beneficial contracts which will see them guaranteed a spot on the tour the following season despite their performances on the course, while the top 24 players also confirm a spot.
Apart from injury replacements, LIV has the same 48 players for the entire season.
Mickelson, alongside Lee Westwood, Bubba Watson, Paul Casey and Ian Poulter are all currently outside of the top 24 as the campaign edges to its conclusion.
Johnson is one of LIV’s players who has already dropped outside of the top 100-ranked players in the world.
“Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, of course, they should be in the ranking,” Dawson added. “We need to find a way to get that done.
“I hope that LIV can find a solution — not so much their format; that can be dealt with through a mathematical formula — but the qualification and relegation.”
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