LIV Golf may be nearing the end of its second season, but it is no longer recognized by the golf world as a legitimate tournament as it was two years ago.
First, he has yet to fully define the schedule for 2024 or gain further clarity on the proposed merger with the PGA Tour. And now the Saudi-backed federation has learned that its bid for entry into the world golf rankings has been rejected.
It’s easy to blame the loss of supply on LIV departments and a general “us versus them” mentality. Or the fact that Greg Norman’s League of Rogues didn’t attract as many viewers as initially claimed. (Though, to be fair, it seems like more and more golf fans are going in person to LIV events.) But no drama is to blame as LIV’s attempt to grade scores has been unsuccessful .
In fact, the reason given by OWGR is completely reasonable.
Simply put, OWGR does not believe that LIV Golf’s format meets the necessary parameters to qualify its players.
“The decision not to make them eligible was not political,” OWGR President Peter Dawson told the Associated Press. “It’s completely technical. LIV players are clearly good enough to be ranked. They simply don’t play in a format where they can be ranked fairly with the other 24 rounds and the thousands of players trying to compete on it. »
Sports Illustrated further explains what makes LIV incompatible with OWGR, noting that it’s something the league could change if it wanted.
“The main reason why LIV’s bidding has failed so far:
it is considered a closed workshop. OWGR does not believe that in- and out-of-tournament capabilities are sufficient,” the article explains.
“That’s a fair point and it seems fixable if LIV is willing to make the changes and OWGR approves them. In fact, Dawson said LIV could resubmit its application. LIV Golf previously said it had proposed changes to the format but wanted to know what would pass and what wouldn’t. Without this guidance, it seems that the Federation does not want to make any changes but is still rejected. »
Unsurprisingly, however, LIV Golf seems reluctant to change, saying in a statement to the AP:
“OWGR’s sole goal is to rank the best players around the world. Today’s communications make it clear that they can no longer achieve this goal.”
LIV Golf’s future has been called into question and the path forward has become even less clear since their bid for world ranking points was rejected. Will LIV change its tone and modify its format to finally qualify? As with so many things involving LIV Golf, we’ll have to wait and see how this plays out.
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