The ongoing exclusion of LIV Golf from the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) system has created a mounting crisis for players on the Saudi-backed circuit, with their world rankings experiencing a steady and potentially career-altering decline. As the standoff between LIV and traditional golf establishment enters its second year, the competitive consequences for players who left the PGA Tour and DP World Tour are becoming increasingly severe.
The current rankings freefall stems from LIV Golf's inability to secure OWGR accreditation for its 54-hole, no-cut tournaments featuring shotgun starts and team competition elements. This structural divergence from traditional stroke play events has been cited by OWGR officials as a primary reason for withholding recognition, despite LIV's application submitted in July 2022. The impact has been particularly stark for former major champions and top-50 mainstays who joined the breakaway tour. Players like Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, and Bryson DeChambeau - all once fixtures in the world's top 10 - have seen their rankings plummet outside the top 100. Johnson, who was ranked 13th when he joined LIV in June 2022, has fallen to 266th as of the latest rankings.
"The rankings situation is definitely concerning," said Johnson, the two-time major winner. "We're still competing at the highest level, but the system doesn't reflect that right now." This sentiment echoes throughout the LIV locker room, where players find themselves caught between lucrative guaranteed contracts and the fading opportunity to compete in golf's most prestigious events.
The OWGR's importance extends far beyond mere bragging rights. Major championships - the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, and Open Championship - all use the ranking as a primary qualification criterion. The top 50 receive automatic entry, while those between 51-100 gain access to final qualifying opportunities. For LIV players, this creates a vicious cycle: without OWGR points, they can't maintain rankings; without rankings, they can't play majors; without majors, they can't earn points.
Phil Mickelson's situation illustrates the dilemma. The six-time major champion, who was ranked inside the top 50 when he joined LIV, has fallen to 133rd. "It's frustrating because I know I can still compete with the best," Mickelson said. "But the way things are set up now, it's getting harder to prove that." Mickelson's Masters victory in 2021 gives him lifetime exemption at Augusta National, but his status at other majors grows increasingly precarious.
The rankings crisis has become a focal point in golf's ongoing power struggle. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has repeatedly stated that players who left for LIV made a choice with consequences. "They knew the potential ramifications when they signed those contracts," Monahan said at last year's Tour Championship. The OWGR board, which includes representatives from all four majors and various tours, has shown no indication of changing its stance.
Historical precedent suggests the ranking decline may become irreversible for some players. When the World Ranking was introduced in 1986, it was designed to measure performance over a rolling two-year period. As LIV events continue without recognition, their players' ranking averages are being dragged down by the mathematical reality of older results carrying less weight while no new points are added.
Some LIV players have attempted alternative routes to maintain their major championship eligibility. Cameron Smith, the 2022 Open champion, played a full Asian Tour schedule this winter to collect OWGR points. "I'm doing what I can to stay sharp and keep my ranking up," said Smith, who remains the highest-ranked LIV player at 50th. Others like Joaquin Niemann have accepted special exemptions into events, with the Chilean receiving an invitation to this year's Masters despite his ranking drop to 81st.
The situation creates an existential question for LIV enterprise: can a golf league truly be considered elite if its players are systematically excluded from the sports most important events? LIV CEO Greg Norman has called the OWGR's stance "anti-competitive" and the league has explored creating its own ranking system, though such a move would lack the prestige and recognition of the established OWGR.
As the 2024 major championship schedule approaches, the pressure intensifies on all sides. PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh recently acknowledged the situation is "not sustainable long-term for the game," while maintaining the current system must "maintain competitive integrity." With no resolution in sight, LIV players face the prospect of watching their world rankings - and major championship opportunities - continue their downward trajectory, creating one of the most complex challenges in modern golf's divided landscape.
---
*Originally published on [golfnews.global](https://golfnews.global/article/liv-golf-players-world-rankings-plummet-without-owgr-points).*
