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LIV Golf players plummet in Official World Golf Ranking

Phil Mickelson supports MENA Tour alliance for OWGR points

One of the biggest questions facing LIV Golf in 2023 was its status with the Official World Golf Ranking.

A player’s OWGR standing is key for access to the four major championships, and LIV Golf events currently do not receive OWGR points. The circuit applied in July of 2022 and is awaiting word as part of an application process that can take up to, and even more than, a year.

In December, the OWGR announced a Mexican golf tour with 54-hole events will start to receive OWGR points in 2023 after a 16-month process, and the tour’s inclusion of a 36-hole cut and open qualifying were noted in the release. While LIV events are still 54-holes without a cut, the league will implement a promotion and (somewhat) relegation element to fill out its teams for 2024, meaning a few spots will be available via qualifying.

Formats and criteria aside, LIV believes its events deserve points after the formation of its “strategic alliance” with the developmental MENA Tour in an attempt to force the OWGR’s hand.

Since they joined the upstart league led by Greg Norman and financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, LIV players have been plummeting in the ranking, putting their major championship futures in jeopardy.

Here’s a look at the 48 players on a team roster in 2023 and how their OWGR has fallen since they joined LIV Golf.

LIV Golf OWGR movement

Player OWGR before first LIV event Current OWGR Change in ranking
Cameron Smith 2 5 -3
Dustin Johnson 15 62 -47
Joaquin Niemann 19 26 -7
Brooks Koepka 19 102 -83
Abraham Ancer 22 30 -8
Louis Oosthuizen 21 100 -79
Paul Casey 31 94 -63
Bryson DeChambeau 31 131 -100
Kevin Na 34 84 -50
Talor Gooch 35 49 -14
Thomas Pieters 35 42 -7
Jason Kokrak 36 74 -38
Patrick Reed 39 65 -26
Harold Varner III 46 51 -5
Mito Pereira 50 50 0
Cameron Tringale 55 86 -31
Sergio Garcia 57 144 -87
Dean Burmester 59 71 -12
Marc Leishman 62 95 -33
Richard Bland 67 107 -40
Matt Jones 69 129 -60
Phil Mickelson 72 352 -280
Scott Vincent 91 117 -26
Matthew Wolff 77 181 -104
Lee Westwood 78 267 -189
Bubba Watson 86 201 -115
Sam Horsfield 74 134 -60
Anirban Lahiri 92 99 -7
Ian Poulter 92 150 -58
Bernd Wiesberger 94 149 -55
Sebastian Munoz 98 106 -8
Brendan Steele 122 119 +3
Branden Grace 123 221 -98
Charl Schwartzel 126 197 -71
Carlos Ortiz 119 270 -151
Sihwan Kim 139 238 -99
Pat Perez 170 239 -69
Henrik Stenson 173 175 -2
Charles Howell 169 318 -149
Martin…

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