The default strategy of blowhard narcissists is to declare any rules or institutions hindering their agenda to be invalid and unfair, an argument invariably mounted via a firehose of horseshit that’s nevertheless accepted by credulous conspiracy theorists. So it is with Greg Norman and the Official World Golf Ranking, which has declined to recognize Norman’s LIV Golf tournaments.
Gaslightin’ Greg says it’s “laughable” that LIV would feature just two of the world’s top 50 golfers if not for recent signings. The insinuation is obvious: the OWGR is discriminating against LIV, and the ranking is obsolete — charges dutifully repeated by his lunkhead loyalists, who probably think critical faculty refers to the frustrated high school teachers who couldn’t help them to a passing grade.
The OWGR denied LIV’s application for recognition last October, and the organization’s chairman, Peter Dawson, carefully explained the decision. Concerns included the relegation process, whereby a player who finishes 25th might lose status while one who finishes last doesn’t because he’s contractually exempt from being booted.
Another issue was LIV playing individual and team events simultaneously. Dawson singled out comments by Sebastian Munoz, who admitted he backed off a chance to win an individual title last spring so as to protect a lead in the team affair. The possibility of teammates being paired together was also raised, since those players might be incentivized to overlook untoward conduct (not that anyone at LIV has a reputation for dodgy rules infractions, right counselor Klayman?).
The OWGR signposted what steps LIV could take to be eligible for ranking points; LIV said it will not comply. Those are the basic facts. Norman, however, is relying on brazen misrepresentation. He claims the function of the OWGR is to rank the best golfers in the world. It is not. Its function is to rank the best golfers competing on tours whose competitive integrity can be vouched for. That’s a crucial caveat conveniently omitted by the flaxen-haired finger puppet.
Norman and LIV are clinging to the risible notion that golfers are entitled to ranking points on name recognition and reputation alone, as though star power renders irrelevant the competitive integrity of where they play. There are no stars competing on the Nordic Golf League and Big Easy Tour, but both are recognized by the OWGR because they observe the necessary criteria. LIV isn’t because it…
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