Long before LIV Golf ever existed, the Official World Golf Rankings were largely used as a tool to determine who the best golfers in the world were. But given the fact that LIV Golf players are unable to earn OWGR points on the LIV tour, Lee Westwood believes that the OWGR has turned into a “mockery” that doesn’t tell the true story of the modern era of golf.
Prior to The Open Championship this past season, Westwood was ranked the No. 4,689th best player in the world. This was actually lower than his son, Sam, who is a mini-tour player yet to make his mark on the game of golf.
Fortunately, thanks to 34th place finish, Westwood was able to shoot up to No. 930th best player in the world based on the OWGR system. But given how important someone like Westwood has been to the state of European golf over the years, he believes that the OWGR system is largely a joke that no longer accurately depicts how good golfers are.
“I think that just proves that without world ranking points it makes a bit of a mockery of the system,” said Westwood on Wednesday about the Official Golf World Rankings, via ESPN.
LIV Golf has tried to amend this, reapplying for submission to the OWGR last month in order for players on the tour to start receiving points. But thus far, that submission is still under review.
This means that LIV Golf players without an exemption are largely ineligible to play in major championships, which again largely serves as a disservice to the game of golf as a whole. And according to Westwood, something needs to change soon in order for the best players in the world to all be able to face off against one another in major championships in the future.
“I think mainly it relates back to wanting the best players in the major championships, not wanting this conversation where there’s a few people missing out because we don’t get world ranking points on LIV,” said Westwood. “We either start to get world ranking points on LIV or the major championships have to revise their qualification system, which they seem — some of them seem to want to do but some seem reluctant to do, and they’d have to have a separate qualification system for LIV players, which I don’t think anybody particularly wants. You want it all to be based off the same system.”
Only time will tell whether LIV Golf players will one day get OWGR points. But until that happens, one golfing legend clearly believes that he and his fellow LIV players are being treated unfairly.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.