LIV boss Greg Norman slams ‘laughable’ world rankings
Several players from LIV Golf have criticised the Official World Golf Rankings, and now the rebel league’s boss Greg Norman has taken a shot at the organisation…
LIV Golf chief executive Greg Norman has lambasted the Official World Golf Rankings with a post on social media.
The Australian leader of the rebel golf tour described the OWGR as “laughable” when posting a graphic showing the lack of LIV players in the ranking’s top 50.
“Laughable. LIV would have 2 players in the top 50 OWGR if you exclude recent signees!” Norman wrote in a post that went on X (Twitter) and Instagram.
Currently, the Saudi-funded league has five players in the top 50, but this number would only be two had it not recruited Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Adrian Meronk at the start of 2024.
Figures from LIV have never been shy to express their gripes with the OWGR board which rejected LIV’s bid for world ranking legitimacy back in October.
Laughable. LIV would have 2 players in the top 50 OWGR if you exclude recent signees! pic.twitter.com/9EeJOxaMRN
— Greg Norman (@SharkGregNorman) February 19, 2024
Former Open champion Cameron Smith described the rankings as “almost obsolete” and “pretty ridiculous” shortly after the tour was rejected, while Joaquin Niemann recently called them “unfair.”
Smith and Brooks Koepka are the other two players who joined LIV prior to this season, its third season of existence, but their rankings have begun to tumble.
Despite both players winning major championships in the last two years, their ranking will continue to fall as they have signed up to a league that doesn’t qualify for OWGR points.
Why are there no LIV Golf world ranking points?
Peter Dawson, the chairman of the OWGR, confirmed to AP that the playing format in the LIV Golf League couldn’t be “ranked equitably” with other tours towards the end of last year.
“We are not at war with them,” he said “This decision not to make them eligible is not political. It is entirely technical.
“LIV players are self-evidently good enough to be ranked. They’re just not playing in a format where they can be ranked equitably with the other 24 tours and thousands of players trying to compete on them”.
One of the key reasons in the OWGR’s decision was LIV’s “mostly-closed style fashion.”
Almost every player in the 54-man LIV roster has been lured by an attractive cash offer and not via a formal qualifying system.
At the end of 2023, the league held a Q-school-type event that saw three players earn spots for 2024 through their merit however, the OWGR ruled that “the current structure is not consistent with underlying principles of fairness and meritocracy on which the OWGR system is based.”
Another sticking point was the team format running parallel to the individual format at each of LIV’s tournaments.
The board were “concerned about the implications of conducting individual and team competitions simultaneously.”
This issue cited a case study of Sebastian Munoz at the LIV Golf Orlando event last April when the Colombian admitted to lagging a putt from 40 feet away when contending to win the tournament in an effort not to jeopardise his team’s chances of winning the team format that week.
“I knew we were one stroke ahead on the team, so I couldn’t go extra. I knew I couldn’t be too aggressive.”
NOW READ: The OWGR’s full rejection letter to LIV Golf
NOW READ: How far have LIV Golf players plummeted down the world rankings?
What do you make of this Greg Norman-LIV Golf stance? Tell us on X/Twitter!
Matt Chivers
Now on the wrong side of 25, Matt has been playing golf since the age of 13 and was largely inspired to take up the game by countless family members who played golf during his childhood.
Matt is a member at Royal Cinque Ports in Deal playing off a 5 handicap, just a pitching wedge away from his hometown of Dover where he went to school and grew up. He has previously been a member at Etchinghill and Walmer and Kingsdown in Kent.
Having studied history at the University of Liverpool, Matt went on to pass his NCTJ Exams in Manchester a year later to fulfil his lifelong ambition of becoming a journalist. He picked up work experience along the way at places such as the Racing Post, the Independent, Sportsbeat and the Lancashire Evening Post.
Matt joined NCG in February 2023 and is the website’s main source of tour news, features and opinion. He has reported live from events such as The Open, the Ryder Cup and The Players Championship, having also interviewed and spent time with some of the biggest names in the sport.
Consuming tour golf on what is a 24/7 basis, you can come to Matt for informed views on the game and the latest updates on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and LIV Golf.
What’s in Matt’s bag: Cobra LTDx LS driver, Cobra LTDx 3-wood, TaylorMade P7MC irons, Ping Glide 4.0 wedges, Odyssey putter.
