Several LIV Golf members enjoyed a surge in the world rankings this week following the season-opening tournament in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) announced last week that players in the Saudi-backed circuit would start receiving rankings points for the first time, although the benefits are limited to each event’s top-10 finishers.
LIV Golf rookie Elvis Smylie of Australia jumped from 133rd in the rankings to 77th after winning his LIV debut in Riyadh.
“It’s a by-product of the great work I’m doing with my team and the good golf that I’m playing,” said Smylie, 23. “If I continue to do that, then all that stuff will take care of itself. But it’s definitely motivating for me to try to get into the Masters.”
Riyadh runner-up and former World No. 1 Jon Rahm of Spain climbed from 93rd to 67th. Also seeing significant rises were Sebastian Munoz of Colombia (767th to 566th), Abraham Ancer (616th to 449th) and Thomas Pieters of Belgium (564th to 419th).
The lone exception was LIV rookie Thomas Detry, who finished seventh in Riyadh. He fell form 62nd to 63rd while not defending his maiden PGA Tour victory at the WM Phoenix Open.
OWGR points are critical for earning entries into the season’s four major tournaments. The top 50 the week before the Masters (rankings released March 30) will earn entries to Augusta, as will the top 60 ahead of the U.S. Open (May 18) and the top 50 for The Open Championship (May 25). The OWGR does not have an official exemption for the PGA Championship, where the top 100 typically are invited.
LIV Golf has been seeking OWGR points since its debut season in 2022. However, Rahm and CEO Scott O’Neil were among those who were highly critical of the league only receiving points for top-10 finishers.
“Yeah, it’s fantastic that we’re getting points,” Rahm said on LIV’s broadcast after the first round in Riyadh. “It’s fantastic that we’re being recognized in a way. With that said, I don’t like how we’re not being treated the same as every other tour.
“It seems like the rules that have been in place aren’t really applied to us, with only 10 of us getting points, it doesn’t seem fair. There are small fields out there throughout the course of the year that get full points, or full players get points, right? So, there’s work to be done.”
LIV moved from a 54-hole format to 72 holes this season in an effort to obtain OWGR points, but issued a statement making the league’s discontent with the depth of points available clear.
“We acknowledge this long-overdue moment of recognition, which affirms the fundamental principle that performance on the course should matter, regardless of where the competition takes place,” LIV Golf said in a statement last week.
“However, this outcome is unprecedented. Under these rules, a player finishing 11th in a LIV Golf event is treated the same as a player finishing 57th. Limiting points to only the top 10 finishers disproportionately harms players who consistently perform at a high level but finish just outside that threshold, as well as emerging talent working to establish themselves on the world stage-precisely the players a fair and meritocratic ranking system is designed to recognize.
“No other competitive tour or league in OWGR history has been subjected to such a restriction. We expect this is merely a first step toward a structure that fully and fairly serves the players, the fans, and the future of the sport.
“We entered this process in good faith and will continue to advocate for a ranking system that reflects performance over affiliation. The game deserves transparency. The fans deserve credibility. And the players deserve a system that treats them equally.”
–Field Level Media
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