Phil Mickelson has been left with egg on his face after hailing LIV Golf's new "strategic alliance" with the Middle East and Africa (MENA) Tour which they said would allow their golfers to earn world ranking points.
LIV is not recognised by the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), while the MENA Tour is and it was hoped the deal would automatically allow LIV players to earn ranking points. "We are taking this mutually beneficial action to support the game at the developmental level and because of the importance and fairness of LIV golfers qualifying for OWGR points," LIV president and COO chief Atul Khosla said.
However, the OWGR have announced that the new partnership is under review and LIV will continue to operate without ranking recognition. In a statement they said: "Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) received a communication from the MENA Tour on October 5th, 2022, at 13:05 BST.
