LIV Golf has decided to throw in the towel (for now) in its attempt to prove the Super League in the eyes of Official World Golf Ranking (OGWR), and in Basque Jon Rahm, one of the biggest stars on the circuit, thinks it’s fine and agrees with it. Rahm spoke this Wednesday at Hong Kong Golf Clubwhere the fourth LIV Golf event will be held this Friday.
LIV Executive Director Greg Norman, sent a letter to Arab League members informing them that the circuit was refusing to allow its tournaments to earn OWGR points. The World Ranking determines exemptions for major tournaments.
“We have made significant efforts to fight for you and ensure that your achievements are recognized within the existing classification system,” Norman wrote in his letter and as reported by several media outlets. “Unfortunately, OWGR has shown little willingness to work productively with us,” the ‘white shark’ added.
When asked about this decision, Rahm told reporters in Hong Kong that “I haven’t talked to anybody about it and I haven’t seen any response (to Norman’s letter), but I’ll be honest, I don’t know that they are still trying. to get points for the World Ranking. But all I can say is that I will go back to what I said two years ago at the DP World Tour Championship. I didn’t think the system was good then, and in any case, the more time passes, the more it shows that I was wrong”.
Rahm emphasized the Chilean’s absence Joaquin Niemann in the OWGR top 10 as an example of how flawed the points system is. Niemann captured the individual title in two of the three LIV Golf events this season, winning at Mayakoba and Jeddah. In Las Vegas he finished in a tie for 30th place.
“If someone in this world, for example, doesn’t believe that (Niemann) deserves to be in the top 10 or doesn’t know that he’s a top player in the world, I don’t know what sport you’re watching.” Rahm said. “We can tell. I think anyone who watches golf can tell who the best players in the world are, and obviously I don’t think it reflects the overall ranking at the moment,” added one from Barrika.
Bryson DeChambeau, also a member of LIV, also believes that preventing players on his tour from earning OWGR points is just bad for the sport as a whole. “There’s a lot of ways to look at it,” DeChambeau said. “From some people’s point of view, we have come here and we don’t deserve to have points in the ranking, for whatever reasons. Is that right? I don’t know. I just think that the right thing is what is the best for the sport , we must focus on having the best players in the majors, and continuing to have that around golf is just as important to grow this sport and keep it relevant now and beyond in the future.”
DeChambeau hopes there will be more conversations about OWGR eligibility. “What I think about it is that we have to find a way together, all the governing bodies, everybody, to come together, sit down and figure it out,” he said. “Because we have to do it for the good of the fans,” he concluded.
LIV Golf Hong Kong takes place from Friday to Sunday. It has 54 players and a purse of 25 million dollars: 20 million will be distributed among individual players and 5 million between teams. The individual winner will receive $4 million, and the winning team will receive $3 million.
Source: La Verdad
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