Is LIV Golf going to secure Official World Golf Ranking points for its events after all?
Sportico reported Tuesday morning that LIV officials were in serious discussions with OWGR executives about awarding ranking points for LIV Golf events.
Last year, LIV Golf withdrew its official bid for OWGR points, which originally was sent in June 2022. No LIV Golf events have been awarded OWGR points since the league’s first event in the United Kingdom in 2022, with its players forced to earn ranking points only in majors, the DP World Tour or Asian Tour, among others.
LIV Golf did not respond to Golfweek when asked for comment on the report as of publishing. LIV Golf declined to comment to Sportico.
LIV has made numerous changes this season, including hiring a new CEO in Scott O’Neil, signing a new media rights deal with Fox and continuing to tweak its schedule. O’Neil also helped a pair of teams, Legion XIII and Torque GC, sign contracts with OEMs for equipment deals, the first of their kind on LIV Golf. Other teams have signed apparel contracts.
If LIV is able to secure OWGR points, it will be a major win for the league that has struggled to gain traction in the last year and a half, especially in the United States. Even with a new TV contract, viewership for LIV Golf has been minuscule. The league seems to have lost leverage in its talks with the PGA Tour on finalizing a framework agreement initially agreed to between the sides in June 2023. After talks heated up, including with President Donald Trump this year, they have cooled and stalled significantly.
Trevor Immelman, the 2008 Masters champion, took over as chair of the OWGR this year. He and O’Neil were spotted talking under the large oak tree at Augusta National Golf Club during the Masters this month, according to Sportico.
Earning OWGR points would impact LIV in numerous ways, including allowing more of its players to qualify for major championships and possibly attract more players to play for the Saudi-backed lead. The league didn’t sign any notable names heading into the 2025 season, and rumors have run rampant about players not wanting to re-sign contracts with LIV Golf when they expire after this season and in 2026, including five-time major champion Brooks Koepka, who said this month he hoped the league would’ve been further along.
LIV Golf is at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea this week for its seventh of 14 events in 2025. Joaquin Niemann won for the third time in six starts last week at LIV Golf Mexico City, holding off arguably the best leaderboard in LIV’s existence for the win.
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