WASHINGTON D.C. – Will LIV ever get world rating factors? And in the event that they do, will they precisely replicate the performances of their particular person gamers?
It appears that LIV gamers and executives are beginning to see the handwriting on the wall, and that LIV’s software to the Official World Golf Rankings could not produce the end result they desired.
Over the final 10 months, there was restricted backwards and forwards between LIV Golf and Official World Golf Ranking directors. Most communication has concerned LIV responding to OWGR questions on its format, relegation, and pathways the place gamers may be part of from different excursions.
And whereas LIV Golf says the method has gone comparatively easily, the method to many nonetheless appears prolonged and cumbersome.
“The guidelines as I think most people know are very unclear as to what you actually have to do in order to get points,” a LIV govt who requested to not be named stated this week. “They’ve got this criterion, and if you meet all of them, you may not get points. If you meet none of them, you may still get points and that criteria can change at any time.”
LIV stays not sure of what it might do to speed up the method. Comments from PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh finally week’s PGA Championship additionally rang hallow with the group.
“It’s been frustrating from our side,” the LIV govt stated. “We did receive a letter from them on the 24th of April and we’ve actually spoken to them since then, so Seth obviously wasn’t aware of that communication last week when he said the ball was in our court, and he hadn’t heard from us.”
Since LIV had responded to the April inquiry, they took PGA CEO’s Seth Waugh’s feedback earlier than final week’s PGA Championship as uninformed.
“That was just a falsehood,” the chief added. “We put out a statement to rectify that. He’s a busy guy, right. But, if you’re going to speak in front of the camera, it’s probably best to be accurate.”
Bryson DeChambeau is presently 90th within the OWGR, up from 214 after his T4 finally week’s PGA Championship. He’s additionally No. 38 within the new SI World Golf Rankings, up from No. 111 two weeks in the past. He says that OWGR factors are now not viable since usually LIV gamers have fallen too far down the record to qualify for the majors, however that LIV is working with the foremost championships on alternate methods to qualify.
“From my perspective and what I’ve heard so far is just creating an exemption category for LIV players based on how they play during the course of the year,” DeChambeau stated. “I think that would be the most fair and opportune thing for LIV golfers considering the fields that we have, the major champions we have, and the elite level of play that we have each and every week.”
LIV executives are determined to open pathways for non-exempt LIV gamers to play the majors with out the cumbersome qualifying course of utilized by the U.S. Open and Open Championship, or an unlikely exemption into the Masters or PGA Championship.
”I feel that if you take a look at the gamers that we have out right here, the performances that they’ve had to this point within the majors, the curiosity that they’ve delivered to not solely the competitors, but in addition simply the narrative and the storylines round these occasions, then nice. But from a aggressive viewpoint, if you happen to consider that the majors are the head of the game, that essentially the most historic occasion of the largest occasion, having the strongest fields makes lots of sense,” the LIV govt stated. “If they don’t have the strongest fields because our players can’t get OWGR to fit the existing exemption criteria, it seems a pretty sensible step that the exemption criteria would then contemplate LIV directly.”
Ultimately, LIV desires to be a part of the OWGR with a revised, correct rating system.
It’s honest at this second to ask: is final week’s PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka’s present spot on the earth rankings – No. 13 – correct? (He is presently No. 3 within the Sports Illustrated World Golf Rankings, which award factors for LIV outcomes and all professional excursions.)
Koepka, a former world No. 1, was 118th within the OWGR when he made the journey to Augusta and after a T2 he jumped to 39th. When Koepka arrived at Oak Hill, he had fallen from 39th to 44th earlier than his victory.
In entrance of Koepka within the present OWGR are Will Zalatoris at 10th, Viktor Hovland at sixth, Xander Schauffele at fifth, and Patrick Cantlay at fourth. None of the 4 have received in 2023 and Zalatoris hasn’t teed it up because the WGC-Dell Match Play on the finish of March due a again harm that required surgical procedure.
“I think the rankings quite clearly just not being accurate is what puts the pressure on OWGR,” the LIV govt stated. “Brooks is 13thin the world, that’s great. But that’s still not accurate. He’s earned a lot of points, 100 points on the weekend and 50 points at the Masters and his points are still not accurate. And I think that OWGR’s objective is very simple. It’s to fairly and accurately rank the best players in the world when they’re competing. And they haven’t done that.
“I think regardless of what our players are doing, the fact that the rankings just aren’t accurate, as what puts the pressure on them.”
Source: www.si.com