One of the biggest questions facing LIV Golf in 2023 was its status with the Official World Golf Ranking.
A player’s OWGR standing is key for access to the four major championships, and LIV Golf events currently do not receive OWGR points. The circuit applied in July of 2022 and is awaiting word as part of an application process that can take up to, and even more than, a year.
In December, the OWGR announced a Mexican golf tour with 54-hole events will start to receive OWGR points in 2023 after a 16-month process, and the tour’s inclusion of a 36-hole cut and open qualifying were noted in the release. While LIV events are still 54-holes without a cut, the league will implement a promotion and (somewhat) relegation element to fill out its teams for 2024, meaning a few spots will be available via qualifying.
Formats and criteria aside, LIV believes its events deserve points after the formation of its “strategic alliance” with the developmental MENA Tour in an attempt to force the OWGR’s hand.
Since they joined the upstart league led by Greg Norman and financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, LIV players have been plummeting in the ranking, putting their major championship futures in jeopardy.
Here’s a look at the 48 players on a team roster in 2023 and how their OWGR has fallen since they joined LIV Golf.
LIV Golf OWGR movement
Player
OWGR before first LIV event
Current OWGR
Change in ranking
Cameron Smith
2
5
-3
Dustin Johnson
15
62
-47
Joaquin Niemann
19
26
-7
Brooks Koepka
19
102
-83
Abraham Ancer
22
30
-8
Louis Oosthuizen
21
100
-79
Paul Casey
31
94
-63
Bryson DeChambeau
31
131
-100
Kevin Na
34
84
-50
Talor Gooch
35
49
-14
Thomas Pieters
35
42
-7
Jason Kokrak
36
74
-38
Patrick Reed
39
65
-26
Harold Varner III
46
51
-5
Mito Pereira
50
50
0
Cameron Tringale
55
86
-31
Sergio Garcia
57
144
-87
Dean Burmester
59
71
-12
Marc Leishman
62
95
-33
Richard Bland
67
107
-40
Matt Jones
69
129
-60
Phil Mickelson
72
352
-280
Scott Vincent
91
117
-26
Matthew Wolff
77
181
-104
Lee Westwood
78
267
-189
Bubba Watson
86
201
-115
Sam Horsfield
74
134
-60
Anirban Lahiri
92
99
-7
Ian Poulter
92
150
-58
Bernd Wiesberger
94
149
-55
Sebastian Munoz
98
106
-8
Brendan Steele
122
119
+3
Branden Grace
123
221
-98
Charl Schwartzel
126
197
-71
Carlos Ortiz
119
270
-151
Sihwan Kim
139
238
-99
Pat Perez
170
239
-69
Henrik Stenson
173
175
-2
Charles Howell
169
318
-149
Martin Kaymer
215
625
-410
Jediah Morgan
239
368
-129
Danny Lee
267
268
-1
Peter Uihlein
327
411
-84
Graeme McDowell
374
399
-25
Chase Koepka
1562
1331
+231
James Piot
1751
1155
+596
David Puig
1751
1057
+694
Eugenio Chacarra
1904
1732
+172
Of the 48 players on a roster this season, all but six have dropped in the ranking. After making their first LIV starts in Mexico last month, Mito Pereira’s ranking has yet to move, while fellow newcomer Brendan Steele rose three places. Further down the rankings, a trio of players in their second year of professional golf – Eugenio Chacarra (No. 1,732), James Piot (No. 1,155) and David Puig (No. 1,057) – have all risen more than 100 spots due to a small sample size of tournaments and a handful of starts on the Asian Tour. Chase Koepka struggled through his pro career pre-LIV, and has seen his ranking rise 231 spots but still finds himself No. 1,331.
Martin Kaymer has struggled with injuries over the last year and has seen the largest drop of 410 spots on the rankings and now sits No. 625. Phil Mickelson, the face of LIV Golf, has fallen 280 spots and is now No. 352.
Only six players are still inside the top 50: Cameron Smith (No. 5), Joaquin Niemann (No. 26), Abraham Ancer (No. 30), Thomas Pieters (No. 42), Talor Gooch (No. 49) and Mito Pereira (No. 50).
The LIV Golf League returns to action this week in Marana, Arizona, at the Gallery Golf Club with LIV Golf Tucson, the circuit’s first event in the United States this season.
