On its way to being recognized as a legitimate league, the LIV Golf Invitational Series will apply for Official World Golf Ranking Points this week. CEO of LIV Golf Greg Norman said that the tour has a “very compelling” case to be granted points to allow their golfers to be officially ranked within the Official World Rankings.
Norman also referenced the fact that he is unsure if PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monohan would exclude himself from voting on LIV Golf’s application. Monahan is one of the eight members of the OWGR board of governors. “It’ll be interesting to see if Jay Monahan recuses himself from that vote because of what he said on television with Jim Nantz the other day,” Norman said. “So, it’s very interesting and it’s sad to be, you know, putting that additional exerting pressure on it because our tour is a good tour. It’s supported, it’s got an incredible field. Our point should be that if we get the OWGR points, then everything else takes care of itself.”
Monahan had been steadfast in his opposition to the newly formed LIV Golf Series. He has already suspended 17 players who have left the PGA Tour to join the Saudi-financed league. Reportedly, there will be additional PGA Tour players, including 2018 Masters winner Patrick Reed and 2020 U.S. Open champ Bryson DeChambeau will be playing in LIV Golf’s first United States event on June 30. These players haven’t formally left the PGA Tour, however, Moynahan said that their informal absence from PGA events would bring about the same punishment that the 17 suspended players received.
“Why do they need us so badly? Because those players have chosen to sign multiyear lucrative contracts to play in a series of exhibition matches against the same players over and over again. You look at that versus what we see here today and that’s why they need us so badly. You’ve got true, pure competition. The best players in the world are here at the RBC Canadian Open, with millions of fans watching, and in this game, it’s a true and pure competition that creates the profile in the presence of the world’s greatest players. And that’s why they need us. That’s what we do. But we’re not going to allow players to free-ride off of our loyal members, the best players in the world,” Moynahan said in a June 12 interview with CBS Sports.
If LIV were granted recognition by the OGWR, it is likely that its players would receive fewer points due to its difference in format from the PGA Tour. The PGA consists of 72 holes with 156-man fields while the LIV only has 54 holes in 48-man fields.
