LIV Golf has given up their fight to gain recognition from the OWGR. Sergio Garcia has teamed up with 20 other golfers from the Saudi tour in hopes of accumulating points for major tournaments.
The Asian Tour has verified that Sergio Garcia will participate in the International Series Macau competition, following LIV Golf’s ultimate admission of defeat in their bid to be recognized by the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).
A total of 21 players from LIV Golf will head to Macau for the event held between March 14-17, keeping them in contention for the four majors. Although players that left their respective tours for LIV are paid extremely well, their inability to earn ranking points on the Saudi-backed tour could see their majors participation wiped away in the coming years.
Many players on the LIV tour remain high in the OWGR thanks to their recent achievements, such as Jon Rahm currently holding the No. 3 spot, but they are likely to fall in the rankings if they do not accumulate more points.
Players typically earn spots in major tournaments through exemptions based on their performance in major tours, tournaments, or their standing in the official world golf rankings.
Many of the players on the LIV tour continue to maintain high ranking in the OWGR as a result of their recent strong performances.
For instance, Jon Rahm is currently ranked at No. 3. However, their rankings are expected to decrease gradually as they fail to accumulate more points.
The primary method for players to secure a spot in major tournaments is through exemptions earned from their performances in major golf tours, prominent tournaments, or their positioning in the official world golf rankings.
LIV initially sought OWGR approval in July 2022, but following a rejection in October, they have opted to retract their application. The announcement has led to 21 players signing up for the Asian Tour competition, with the potential for more participants in the future.
After LIV’s application was rejected and later withdrawn, the players on the Saudi tour now know it’s their only way of staying in contention for the majors. It’s also an added layer of pressure, as players will have to perform at their best to earn as many points as possible during those events.
Garcia will join the likes of Patrick Reed, Pat Perez, and Ian Poulter in Macau, although they and their fellow LIV participants have been mocked on social media. “Leave the PGA tour to play less Golf. Now playing Asian tour events so they can qualify to play more Golf?” one user posted on X.
It would be pretty funny if in the end the LIV guys had to play more golf than they would have if they just stayed on the PGA Tour,” another wrote. “This is hilarious. I thought they wanted to play less and spend more time with their families?” one fan added.
After LIV withdrew their application, their commissioner Greg Norman sent a letter confirming the news.
Norman mentioned in the letter that they had put in a lot of effort to advocate for them and to ensure that their achievements were acknowledged in the current ranking system.
Regrettably, the OWGR has not been cooperative in collaborating with us effectively.
It is important for golf enthusiasts to witness the top players participate in elite tournaments. This has consistently been our objective.
“We strive to establish effective communication and connections with each major player to guarantee fair representation for LIV golfers and provide global golf fans with access to top-level competition.” At present, only Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Brooks Koepka, and Cam Smith from LIV are ranked within the top 50 players internationally.