The Official World Golf Ranking has come under huge scrutiny from those at LIV Golf, and Majesticks GC captain Ian Poulter has become the latest to hit out at the system
Ian Poulter has taken aim at the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), claiming that it was forced to acknowledge that it had made a mistake in allocating ranking points after the Sentry Tournament the previous week.
Chris Kirk was the man who prevailed in the opening PGA Tour event of 2024, as the American landed the Sentry title by one shot ahead of Sahith Theegala. In doing so Kirk moved to No. 25 in the world rankings, jumping 27 places in the list thanks to his victory
Four days later however, OWGR admitted they had made a mistake when awarding points for the Tour’s maiden event of the campaign, forcing a slight reshuffle in the rankings on Friday.
Fortunately for Kirk it worked out for the better, as has gained another four spots and moved up to 21st following the fixing of the error. The world rankings has found itself in the spotlight more than ever over the past year following the formation of the LIV setup in June 2022.
Despite luring in a number of the world’s best players, the breakaway league is yet to be recognised by OWGR meaning events have been going ahead without the award of ranking points. Unsurprisingly, those who are apart of the Saudi-backed series have shared their dismay with the rankings over the past two seasons.
And on the back of their error on Friday, LIV stalwart Poulter could not resist another dig. Responding to OWGR’s correction on social media, the Englishman wrote: “What [an] Organization… What’s a couple of numbers between friends.”
The European stalwart has voiced his dissatisfaction with the ranking system on previous occasions. Poulter entered the circuit’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship four months prior to surrendering his DP World Tour membership last May in an effort to accrue ranking points that would aid him in his quest to qualify for both the Ryder Cup in 2023 and golf’s four major championship stages.
Upon his return though, the Englishman did not hold back in his assessment of the system. “We all know that the World Rankings are not reflective of the World Rankings,” he said last January. “Every week that they go past and keep clicking, they become more and more obsolete. We are now seeing a system that used to be fair. Look what has happened.
This week’s winner will receive 26 World Ranking points and one top-20 player. How then does it not bother me that I’m not in the majors? Would I want to participate in each one of them? Naturally, I do. That’s my road to the Ryder Cup. However, I refuse to participate. My only option, then, is to compete in World Ranking competitions.
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