How To Fix Golf’s World Rankings Conundrum

No matter what perspective you have on the division within professional golf, most agree that the Official World Golf Ranking is no longer accurate. 

As is the case with a lot of issues within the game, it’s simple—and complicated. 

The simple part is that LIV Golf does not qualify for ranking points. Because of that, that league’s best players are plummeting in the rankings. In many cases, their standing in the OWGR is not reflective of their overall standing in the game. 

Joaquin Niemann is No. 80 in the OWGR. Data Golf—a popular ranking that includes LIV performance—has Niemann at ninth in the world. 

Bryson DeChambeau is No. 189 in the OWGR but 17th in Data Golf. 

Talor Gooch is (be prepared to laugh) 498th in the OWGR but 38th in Data Golf. 

Remember Dustin Johnson? He is 284th in the OWGR but 39th in Data Golf. 

Even PGA Tour players have started to speak out about how lopsided the rankings have become. 

“I don’t really look at them or pay attention to them anymore,” Matt Fitzpatrick said of the OWGR. “I just don’t think they’re right … I think it’s partly a sign that there’s plenty of depth which we’ve known for years on the PGA Tour, there’s always been a lot of strength and depth, but I certainly think nowadays the ranking side of it is a little bit skewed.”

The inaccurate rankings have been rendered confusing and inconvenient. 

We can agree on that, I hope. 

Why LIV Does Not Receive OWGR Points

I am about to say a lot to make this point.

The OWGR is run by the majors. The majors are the OWGR. Because of that, the primary objective of the ranking is to be a gatekeeping system for major qualification. To get in the system, you have to follow certain rules. 

LIV never came remotely close to abiding by those rules so they don’t get points. 

Let’s back up for a second.

The OWGR was created in 1986 by pioneering sports agent Mark McCormack, the founder of IMG (the International Management Group which represented Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player). 

One of the main reasons it existed was because players were starting to split time between the PGA Tour and European Tour. The invitation system for the Open Championship was missing some of those top players who didn’t want to commit entirely to one league. 

The rankings changed over time but were widely used to invite players to majors. 

In 2004, a new group took over the rankings from IMG. The “Official World Golf Ranking” company has seven members: the PGA of America (host of the PGA Championship), the USGA (host of the U.S. Open), Augusta National (host of the Masters), the R&A (host of the Open Championship), the PGA Tour, the European Tour and the International Federation of PGA Tours. 

The purpose of the OWGR is to establish criteria so players on qualifying tours all over the world can earn points. 

The criteria is transparent and specific. For example, qualifying tours must show that players can earn their way on and off of their tour based on performance. 

This makes sense, right? If a tour arbitrarily awarded someone a spot in their league without any consequence of losing their standing, that player could unfairly accrue points and qualify for a major when other players—who are potentially more deserving—did not have the same access. 

LIV Golf did not follow the OWGR’s criteria. There is no context to how the players are performing relative to the rest of the world—other than in majors or other non-LIV events—because it is a closed-loop system. 

(They are also not following other elements of the criteria but the closed-loop system is the biggest issue) 

While I’m rooting for Anthony Kim, he did not earn his way into LIV. He can not earn his way off of LIV. Other players—better players—don’t have the same access to those opportunities. 

It is nauseating to hear LIV players complain about the OWGR. It’s the equivalent of applying for college without submitting a mandatory essay and then whining about getting denied. 

LIV recently waved the white flag in its pursuit of OWGR points. To qualify for points, the league would need to fundamentally change almost everything about its format—and that wasn’t going to happen. 

Is that a huge loss for golf fans? Not really. 

The best LIV players are already qualified into every major for the foreseeable future because of previous major victories. Also, majors have the ability to extend special exemptions to players. Niemann received one from the Masters and PGA Championship based on his play in non-LIV events (and then still complained about the OWGR after winning LIV Jeddah). 

Who are we missing from majors? 

The aforementioned Gooch, despite several ridiculous takes, is borderline deserving. 

Louis Oosthuizen has a case to be in major fields. 

After that, you are scraping the bottom of the range bucket. Dean Burmester, Carlos Ortiz, Charles Howell III, Abraham Ancer and Paul Casey would be next on the list. 

So we’re not talking about any unforgivable omissions here. The majors will be just as formidable as always. 

It’s also important to note that there is open qualifying for the U.S. Open and Open Championship. Any of these players have the ability to get into those majors if they try to qualify.

So Is There A Problem?

We have a situation where a handful of factors are all true: 

The OWGR is no longer an accurate ranking of the best golfers.  The OWGR’s purpose is to be a gatekeeping system for players on qualifying tours to get into majors.  LIV Golf did not deserve to receive OWGR points.  There are a few LIV golfers who might deserve to be in majors but are not automatically qualified. Those players still have access to qualify for two of the four majors.  Those players still have access to prove themselves in non-LIV, non-PGA Tour events.  Majors have the ability to grant exemptions to standout LIV players. 

The biggest issue here is that the OWGR as a ranking system is a disservice to fans and the game at large. 

At the same time, the OWGR is tied to TV contracts—certain levels of field strength have to be met—so it won’t be going away anytime soon.

Common sense has not ruled the day in golf, so my solution to the world ranking issue is probably dead on arrival. However, I’ll give it to you anyway.

We should keep the OWGR as is but change the name to something like the “Major Qualification System” to separate it completely from “ranking” golfers.

The MQS would account for players on qualified tours and be used as a measure of field strength for TV contracts. It would more or less continue exactly as it has. 

However, a separate ranking would be created to include all golfers. As I’ve noted, this exists with Data Golf. An independent party with no skin in the game should provide a new official ranking with only one objective: to accurately and reasonably rank all players. 

If any LIV golfer is within the top 20 (or whatever number you want) of that overall ranking two weeks prior to a major, he automatically gets an exemption.

The kicker here is that LIV players would have to play outstanding golf to get a bid and they would likely need to perform well in non-LIV events to qualify. 

I think that is fair. If they don’t meet the threshold, play better. If Gooch doesn’t get in, he can wipe his tears away with the $36 million he made last year. 

Does ranking golfers accurately matter? Absolutely. 

It matters when a golfer is No. 1 in the world. It matters when a golfer breaks into the top 10 of the world. Knowing where a golfer stands provides critical context to how good they are relative to their peers. It adds to the fan experience and players do care about it. 

At the moment, we have golfers—even on the PGA Tour—who are not ranked close to where they should be. It’s confusing and unnecessary. 

It would be ideal to have only one ranking system that accounts for everyone but LIV exists and there is not a level playing field among all golfers. 

The Elephant In The Room

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said this week that talks between the Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund are “accelerating” and there is a “shared vision to quiet the noise.” 

How close are we to a potential partnership? It’s really hard to say. I don’t believe anything Monahan says at this point. 

I’ve made my opinion clear: the PGA Tour and LIV are not sustainable products on their own. 

If they do come together, sorting through the complexities of unification will take substantial time and effort. 

What will LIV players have to do to play in Tour events? How defensive will Tour players be about allowing LIV players back into events? How will Tour players be rewarded for staying? Will the leagues continue separately with crossover play or will LIV go away in favor of one global tour? 

The answers to these questions will have an impact on rankings. 

Barring a situation where LIV folds into the PGA Tour, I still think it’s a safe bet the OWGR remains an outdated form of ranking players. 

Also, the damage to most LIV players has been done. Climbing the rankings requires a lot of great golf. It’s a lot harder to climb forward than it is to fall. 

Why not have one independent ranking system that also serves as qualification for the majors? There would still be the problem of LIV players getting points when many didn’t earn their way into that tournament. 

If Ian Poulter finishes 10th in a LIV event, why should he get rewarded for that in a ranking system? He didn’t earn a spot in LIV based on performance. He can’t lose his spot in LIV based on performance. 

You can’t compare that to the PGA Tour where performance determines access. 

My solution is that one list determines major spots for players on qualifying tours. It does not pretend to accurately rank players. 

The other list ranks all the players, mainly for the fans, media and players, and provides a narrow pathway for the best LIV players to get into majors. 

Some would argue that narrow pathway isn’t a necessity because the majors would probably give an exemption to those players but it at least makes it clear that all LIV golfers could qualify if they are good enough. It takes away the scenario where the 30th-best player in the world doesn’t get into a major. 

There is a lot to unpack here and a lot can change—but something has to be done about the OWGR. 

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