The battle for LIV Golf to earn Official World Golf Ranking points has been ongoing since the league’s launch in 2022. Despite its star-studded players and global reach, the Saudi-backed circuit has faced repeated setbacks in its quest for world ranking.
Initially, when LIV’s application was rejected in late 2023, it formally withdrew the bid under then-CEO Greg Norman. But this season, in June, under current boss Scott O’Neil, LIV Golf reapplied for world ranking, hoping to finally get its foot in the door.
So far, no decision has been made, and the lack of OWGR points continues to frustrate LIV players. Hudson Swafford recently voiced his concerns on the Subpar podcast, and now Jon Rahm has stepped forward with a potential solution.
Jon Rahm Stresses the Urgency for LIV Golf to Take a Step Toward OWGR
Speaking at LIV Golf Chicago on Wednesday, Rahm proposed a hypothetical expansion of the league’s format to better align with OWGR standards.
“I think the way I see it, at least right now, there’s a process to hopefully enter those world ranking points and at least get our foot in the door,” Rahm told reporters during the pre-tournament conference. “Once we’re allowed, we can see what changes can be made to earn as many as possible, keeping the integrity of what LIV Golf is about.”
Rahm suggested that increasing the number of teams and players could help strengthen the field and make the format more compatible with OWGR criteria.
“If the league were to expand and let’s say you go to 15 teams, you have 60 players, now you can actually possibly make something work,” he explained while keeping his point. “There’s many possibilities that I can think of. By the way, this is completely hypothetical because I haven’t spoken to anybody about it.”
He added, “There’s things we could do I think to add more world rankings points if we need it … and I’m sure there’s more that I can’t think of that the folks at OWGR and maybe Scott (O’Neil) or the front of the LIV office can probably tell us about to give us a little bit more of strength of field.”
O’Neil, meanwhile, has kept details of the application close to the vest. At LIV’s recent stop in the UK, he told reporters, “It’s still a bit premature.”
When LIV Golf launched in 2022, it boasted a dozen players ranked inside the OWGR top 50 world ranking. As of now, only Bryson DeChambeau at No. 16 and Tyrrell Hatton at No. 22 remain under that index.
Major champions like Brooks Koepka (No. 294), Dustin Johnson (No. 573), and even Rahm himself (No. 68) have seen their rankings drop drastically over the last three years.
World ranking points are a key pathway to qualifying for golf’s four majors. In response to LIV’s exclusion, some majors, like the PGA Championship and U.S. Open, have begun carving out exemptions for top-performing LIV players.
But without OWGR recognition, the league’s long-term viability in elite competition remains in question.
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