Mark SchlabachESPN Senior Writer12. Oct 2023 10:35am ET3 minutes read
Cameron Smith described golf’s official world ranking system as “almost obsolete” after its governing body unanimously decided not to award world ranking points to golfers for their placings in LIV Golf League tournaments.
Smith was ranked No. 2 in the world after winning The Open at St. Andrews in July 2022. About two months later, he left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf and has fallen to No. 15 in the world rankings.
“I think it’s almost obsolete now,” Smith told reporters Wednesday in Saudi Arabia, where LIV Golf will play its final regular-season event starting Friday at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club. “We have some guys out here who are some of the best golfers in the world, but they’re outside the top 100, 200 in the world. That’s pretty ridiculous.”
Two-time major winner Dustin Johnson, who was LIV Golf’s first individual champion in 2022, also questioned whether the OWGR is still the best method for ranking players.
“I feel like you can’t really use the world ranking system anymore,” said Johnson. “That’s my opinion on that. It’s difficult to use the world ranking system when you exclude 48 players who are good players points to the other guys.
OWGR Chairman Peter Dawson sent a letter to LIV Golf Commissioner Greg Norman and COO Gary Davidson on Tuesday informing them that the board had voted not to recognize the LIV Golf League as an eligible tour in the OWGR system.
The letter said the board had concerns about the lack of turnover among players at LIV Golf and the limited opportunities for other players to join. Concerns have also been raised about some team aspects of LIV Golf, in which players compete simultaneously in individual and team competitions over 54 holes.
The PGA Tour and DP World Tour have suspended players who competed in LIV golf tournaments without disclosing conflicting events. Many LIV golfers have withdrawn from these tours.
The governing bodies of the four majors, Augusta National Golf Club, PGA of America, United States Golf Association and The R&A, have continued to allow LIV Golf players to compete in majors if they qualify. Some players, including Johnson and Smith, qualified for the majors as former champions. Others have earned exceptions through their world rankings, which will become more difficult in the future.
Smith and five-time major champion Brooks Koepka (No. 18) are the only LIV golfers currently ranked in the top 50 in the world. Six LIV golfers are in the top 100.
“Obviously it’s disappointing,” Patrick Reed said. “As long as the actual world rankings don’t reflect the actual top players in the world, to me it’s just kind of a broken system. Just because we’re playing on a different tour it shouldn’t matter.”
Currently, as a former champion, Reed is only eligible to play in the Masters in 2024. Past winners Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson and Charl Schwartzel also have lifetime exemptions to play at Augusta National Golf Club in April.
Koepka, who won his fifth major win at the PGA Championship in May, will receive a five-year exemption to play all four games through 2028. Smith can play in all four games until 2027; Mickelson is scheduled to run until 2026; and Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau are exempt until 2025.
DeChambeau, who won the 2020 US Open, suggested allowing the top 12 players from LIV Golf’s full-season points race to advance to the majors next year.
“For DJ and Cam and Brooks and these guys, who I know are probably banned from entering the major for the foreseeable future, it won’t last forever,” said England’s Richard Bland. “And not letting these guys play in the majors is not right.
“It doesn’t matter where you play golf. The world rankings should show that, and they don’t. I don’t know how you get around this. It’s disappointing because you’re just robbing the golf fan, maybe in one.” In a few years, the best players will be playing in the biggest tournaments. And that’s how it should be.”