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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Adam Woodard

Just how far have LIV Golf players fallen in the Official World Golf Ranking?

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.

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