Bryson DeChambeau has revealed that other options are being considered for LIV Golf players to qualify for Majors away from the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).
The American is one of many LIV Golf players who has fallen down the world rankings since joining the circuit, which is yet to receive OWGR eligibility.
While some of its players have no short-term concerns over Major qualification thanks to eligibility in other categories, many rely on a high enough world ranking to reach the four showpiece tournaments.
DeChambeau’s 2020 US Open win ensured his participation in Majors for the foreseeable future, but without more victories in the tournaments, as things stand, one of the most likely ways for him to qualify in the future will also be via the world rankings route.
DeChambeau’s tie for fourth in last week’s PGA Championship saw him leap from World No.214 to World No.90, but moves like that will be few and far between given how limited his and other LIV Golf players’ chances of acquiring OWGR points are. However, the American had revealed that may not be an issue for long, with other proposals being put forward for LIV Golf players to qualify for Majors that don’t involve world rankings.
Speaking ahead of this week’s LIV Golf tournament in Washington DC, DeChambeau said: “There's been numerous ideas brought up. I think one that we're all looking at right now, at least from my perspective and what I've heard so far is just creating an exemption category for LIV players based on how they play during the course of the year.
“I think that would be the most fair and opportune thing for LIV Golfers considering the fields that we have, the Major champions we have, and the elite level of play that we have each and every week. If they're able to do that, I think everything is good.”
LIV Golf has received a hostile reception from many since its inception as it attempts to become a big player at the top of the game's ecosystem, and DeChambeau also claimed that one of the tactics to suppress it could have been to ensure OWGR points remain hard to come by for its players.
He said: “The OWGR points, we've gone so far down the list now that it's really difficult to make us even relevant. I think that was part of their play, which is fine. It is what it is. But I think there's another route to the Majors.”
LIV Golf has tried several tactics to acquiring eligibility for world ranking points in recent months, including 50 of its players writing a letter to OWGR CEO Peter Dawson pleading for the acceptance and forming a strategic alliance with the developmental MENA Tour, all to no avail so far.
