19th Hole
Report: The ‘primary issue’ why LIV Golf has yet to receive ranking points
LIV Golf and the OWGR ranking points system — a saga that looks as if it may never end.
Within the last year or so, we’ve had the Greg Norman-led tour create a “strategic alliance” with the third-tier MENA Tour, something Atul Khosla, the then President and COO of LIV Golf, said was, “to create pathways that give more opportunities for young players, while also giving fans rankings that include all the world’s best golfers.”
Within a few days, high-ranking PGA Tour players joined in with their views, with 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama amongst those believing those that had left the PGA and DPWT tours “should be able to.”
However, for all the camaraderie, Deki, alongside Rory McIlroy, and Viktor Hovland agreed with the latter’s statement, “They [LIV] obviously have to follow the process, whatever the process might be.”
Confused?
Amongst the broken rules of the “process” seemed to be the shotgun starts and the 54-hole style of tournament, something that was negated once the OWGR, the leading golf rankings organization, awarded ranking points to the three-round Gira de Golf Professional de Mexicana at the turn of the year.
The move understandably irked LIV, particularly just a few weeks after Norman had said
“I understand they have a process. I get all that. But the OWGR was never prepared for a new entity like LIV Golf. You have to expect the unexpected sometimes. When somebody comes along with an incredible business model that is working and, as we’ve shown, you’ve got to have that flexibility and adaptability to allow a new entity coming along.”
“OWGR was never, ever ready for that type of approach.”
Of course, all LIV players have given their opinion, and understandably have attacked the OWGR for its continual refusal to at least acknowledge the winners of their events.
Last week, Phil Mickelson, the first golfer to sign for LIV all those months ago, gave a passionate response to Colt Knost’s question as to why the tour just didn’t simply meet the OWGR criteria from the start.
“Colt, it is not our job,” wrote the six-time major champion. “It is the OWGR’s job to rank ALL the players in the world. Maybe they can do THEIR job and figure it out like they do for multiple tours with hundreds of players not even close to as good.But that would hurt the PGA’s revenue from CBS so the leaders won’t.”
Then just a week ago, Firepit Collective contributor, Alan Shipnuck, suggested that the lines between the PGA and LIV tours were becoming blurred and that ranking points are almost certain to be awarded soon. Somehow. If they meet a criteria, I guess.
In his Ask Alan column, the author of the unauthorized biography of Phil Mickelson stated that, in his opinion, “An extra round gives the best player more opportunity to separate himself, but 54 holes has a certain urgency and demands three good scores with little room for error.”
Indeed, he states, “Next year, nine of the 12 elevated events won’t have a cut, which means…more guaranteed money for the players. So the LIV and Tour products are becoming increasingly similar.”
As for ranking LIV players,
“The OWGR had a set of pre-established criteria, and the governing board is following it to the letter. July will be one year since LIV put in its application,” and that, having spoken to those at the top,
“the primary issue is that LIV doesn’t meet the average field size of 75.”
That shouldn’t stop points being awarded, however, as “the ranking itself will automatically penalize LIV, based on the revised algorithm—announced in August 2021, before LIV had launched—that favors full fields over smaller one.”
Shipnuck explains how the “major championships control the OWGR,” and “are inherently selfish and want what’s best for their respective tournaments.”
The official list simply makes no sense as a barometer of where a player is ranked, which is why we see the likes of LIV points leader Talor Gooch – one of the hottest players in the game – fall from 57th to 63rd despite consecutive wins at LIV Adelaide and LIV Singapore.
More and more pundits and fans are turning to Data Golf to rank the players in order of current ability, a site on which Gooch ranks 27th, two behind Dustin Johnson, 81st on the OWGR.
Shipnuck concludes that things will soon have to aline:
“A more inclusive OWGR is the only thing that makes sense. Anti-LIV folks can get hung up on specific wording in the moldy criteria of the OWGR bylaws, but these are unprecedented times and a little flexibility is the best path forward…especially for the OWGR, which will render itself obsolete if it doesn’t follow its mission to rank all professional golfers.”
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19th Hole
Phil Mickelson reveals he won’t be pursuing broadcasting career when he retires from golf
On Tuesday, Chris McKee, a Toronto writer and radio host, wondered aloud on his X account if Phil Mickelson will be a commentator after his playing days are over.
The second Phil Mickelson retires he'll instantly become the most sought after TV analyst in golf. Would any PGA Tour broadcaster (CBS, ESPN, NBC or Sky) bring him in or would he have to stick to LIV broadcasts? #LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/ulrtBHcyB6
— Chris McKee (@mrmckee) May 7, 2024
“The second Phil Mickelson retires he’ll instantly become the most sought after TV analyst in golf. Would any PGA Tour broadcaster (CBS, ESPN, NBC or Sky) bring him in or would he have to stick to LIV broadcasts? #LIVGolf”
Mickelson saw the post and responded, saying he’s not interested in moving from the course to the broadcast booth.
Thank you for the kind words. However, just cuz someone CAN do something doesn’t mean they SHOULD do it. Instead of commentating, I’m going to shoot some Pros vs Schmos 9 hole matches. I’ll share insights throughout as well as talk a little smack. It won’t be the highest quality…
— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) May 8, 2024
“Thank you for the kind words. However, just cuz someone CAN do something doesn’t mean they SHOULD do it. Instead of commentating, I’m going to shoot some Pros vs Schmos 9 hole matches. I’ll share insights throughout as well as talk a little smack. It won’t be the highest quality video but it’ll be fun for me to do and fun to watch I think too.”
While I believe many fans would like to see Phil in the booth, his idea of “Pro’s vs Schmo’s” could certainly be intriguing.
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- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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19th Hole
PGA Tour pro sounds off on ‘unfair’ PGA Championship invites
This week, the PGA of America made some surprising announcements regarding the field of next week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla.
The event now will feature 16 LIV players with Talor Gooch, Dean Burmester, David Puig, Adrian Meronk and Patrick Reed receiving special exemptions.
PGA Tour player, Dylan Wu, took issue with how the exemptions were used and went to X to share his thoughts.
Why is there never “real” qualifications for the PGA Championship? You have a points list and World ranking invite. Usually just outside top 100 in OWGR gets in. Chan Kim ranked 104th in OWGR doesn’t get in. SH Kim at 107th isn’t in. @NUCLRGOLF @Daniel_Rapaport @PGA https://t.co/8Snkq0l2Vg
— Dylan Wu (@dylan_wu59) May 7, 2024
Jesper Svennson ranked 108th gets in. Tim Widing 120th gets in. Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald gets a spot. A bunch of guys get leapfrogged even though they’re ranked higher than others. Seems like they just invite whoever they want. Unfair to the guys on the edge like Chan and SH
— Dylan Wu (@dylan_wu59) May 7, 2024
Just seems like the world of professional golf is in a weird spot and I love that the tournament invited a handful of great LIV players but figure out a correct system for a major championship where guys know they’ll be in or not. ???? @NUCLRGOLF @Daniel_Rapaport @acaseofthegolf1
— Dylan Wu (@dylan_wu59) May 7, 2024
“Why is there never “real” qualifications for the PGA Championship? You have a points list and World ranking invite. Usually just outside top 100 in OWGR gets in. Chan Kim ranked 104th in OWGR doesn’t get in. SH Kim at 107th isn’t in.”
“Jesper Svennson ranked 108th gets in. Tim Widing 120th gets in. Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald gets a spot. A bunch of guys get leapfrogged even though they’re ranked higher than others. Seems like they just invite whoever they want. Unfair to the guys on the edge like Chan and SH”
“Just seems like the world of professional golf is in a weird spot and I love that the tournament invited a handful of great LIV players but figure out a correct system for a major championship where guys know they’ll be in or not. ????”
Fans who replied to Wu seemed to agree that a more definitive ranking system for the PGA Championship should be established.
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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Report: LIV star turns down PGA Championship invite due to ‘personal commitments’
On Tuesday, the full field for the PGA Championship at Valhalla was released. In some surprising news, a handful of LIV players were granted exemptions including Dean Burmester, Patrick Reed, Lucas Herbert and Adrian Meronk.
The most surprising omission was Louis Oosthuizen. The South African has been one of the most consistent players on LIV this season, and also won two DP World Tour events in the fall.
According to the AP’s Doug Ferguson, Oosthuizen was actually given an invitation, but declined due to “personal commitments”.
Turns out PGA offered Oosthuizen an invitation. He turned it down because of personal commitments. Not sure what those were.
— Doug Ferguson (@dougferguson405) May 7, 2024
In total, there will be 16 LIV golfers teeing it up next week at Valhalla.
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- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
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