LIV Golf has applied again to be included in the Official World Golf Ranking, without any indication how it will operate differently from when their first application was rejected nearly two years ago.
The OWGR said in a statement Friday it had received the application and has started the review process to determined if the Saudi-funded league of 54 players would be included.
“The OWGR Board is committed to a thorough evaluation process of all applications, and LIV’s application will be reviewed in accordance with OWGR’s criteria to ensure fairness, integrity and consistency,” the OWGR said in a statement.
The OWGR board has an annual meeting next week at the British Open.
The OWGR denied the first application in October 2023 — the first full year of the league — saying it could not fairly measure LIV Golf with two dozen other tours around the world because of what amounted to a closed shop, along with the individual competition potentially being compromised by scores counting toward a team result.
LIV now has 54 players — 13 four-man teams and two wild cards — and keeps the roster all season except for alternates used in case of injury.
Other tours have various forms of qualifying that allow for changes in the field among a larger membership. LIV began a “promotions” event that offered three spots at the end of 2023, but that was reduced to one spot last year. The leader of the Asian Tour’s International Series also gets a spot in LIV provided he’s not already a member.
World ranking points have been seen as critical to LIV because the four majors — all of which have a seat on the OWGR board — use the ranking to help determined the field. The U.S. Open and British Open this year added a category for top LIV performers. The Masters and PGA Championship use invitations at their discretion to get whom they consider deserving.
LIV, which once tried to get ranking points by becoming part of the MENA Tour in Africa, formally withdrew its first application in May 2024.
Scott O’Neil has replaced Greg Norman as CEO of the Saudi league. He met with Trevor Immelman, the new OWGR chairman at the Masters this year, and Immelman told the AP he has spoken a few times on the phone with O’Neil.
Immelman had said the rejection letter sent to LIV in October 2023 was “quite clear” with the position the board had at the time and any change would start with LIV applying anew.
“We appreciate the interest of LIV Golf — and all the tours — in contributing to the global landscape of men’s professional golf through OWGR,” the statement said.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
