LIV gets OWGR points, main player debate increases

Sign up every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in sports and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss LIV getting OWGR points, the top value of The Players Championship and our new favorite golf clubs.

After years of fighting for valuable world ranking points, the OWGR announced that it had accepted LIV Golf’s membership and league application will take effect immediately. Although since OWGR said LIV fits into the “small field tournament” classification, points will only be awarded for top 10s and ties. In its statement, LIV said, “a player who finishes 11th in a LIV Golf competition is treated the same as a player who finishes 57th” and that this “disproportionately hurts players who consistently perform at a high level but finish just outside that threshold.” How would you solve this?

Zephyr Melton, Associate Game Improvement Editor (@zephyrmelton): I’m afraid that one is above my pay grade. But I will say that LIV should be ecstatic with this result. Pitching depth has never been the league’s strong suit, but they’ve always had some good talent. With this result, the big guns (Rahm, DeChambeau, Hatton, Niemann) will finally get some points and have an easier time getting into the majors. It seems as good a result as they could have hoped for.

Josh Schrock, news editor (@Schrock_And_Awe): I don’t think it needs a solution. LIV must be thrilled to receive recognition from the OWGR board. He must allow his best players to score the same number of points awarded in an event on the opposite field. Elvis Smylie got more points for the LIV Riyadh win than Patrick Reed did for the Qatar win. It seems fair given all the other things the OWGR board noted, including selecting members for the tournament “based on their nationality and not on meritocratic grounds.”

Dylan Dethier, senior writer (@dylan_dethier): These points are a big, big deal. Still, there would be relatively few points available outside the top 10, so – despite the note of complaint – what they got far far outweighs what they didn’t. LIV’s young stars now have a legitimate path to climb the ranks and play their way to the majors. For the likes of David Puig, Tom McKibbin and Elvis Smylie (plus more established pros like Joaquin Niemann) this is a potential game changer.

World Ranking Points are valuable avenues for LIV players to gain entry into major championships. But is last week’s news – and the points distribution – enough to lure players to LIV who were already on the fence about their mainstream eligibility?

Melts: Maybe, but with the PIF seemingly restricting the LIV budget recently, I’m not sure the massive payouts from last year are still applicable. Would a big name be willing to jump on LIV without a Rahm-like signing bonus? I’m not so sure.

Schrock: I doubt it. They might be able to lure one or two younger players who may have been on the fence, but I don’t think another big name jumps unless PIF decides to loosen the belt a bit.

Dethier: If you’re a popular PGA Tour star, maybe not. But LIV has picked up some young talent from outside the US, and that particular player profile could be pushed to the edge by this decision. LIV and the DP World Tour continue to be on a collision course – competing for players, for regions, for legitimacy as a “World Tour” and now for points, too. More on this topic.

The ‘big’ debate resurfaced last week, when the PGA Tour released a Tag Players Championship Promotion: “March is going to be big.” When asked for comment, the Tour told GOLF.com, “Fans and players have long debated the status of the Players Championship as a major. We understand that it is not up to us to decide. Ultimately, it is up to our sport and its fans to know what the professionals who play the game already know.” (Eds note: Gamers, by definition, aren’t big.) Any thoughts on the specific messages around this?

Melts: The tour is just doing its job in promoting its biggest event. Does heralding players as great make it so? No – but you can’t blame the Tour for trying.

Schrock: The PGA Tour does not own the five most important events in golf. They are promoting their main product. Can they become the main players? Maybe not, but the majors as we know them weren’t “majors” until Arnold Palmer basically coined the idea in the 1960s. Tournaments existed, but the idea of ​​a “major” or “grand slam” could have meant many things until Palmer said he wanted to win the Open Championship and the PGA Championship to have a “grand slam” of his own after winning the Masters and the US Open. Majors can be created and deleted. The PGA Tour can try, too.

Dethier: I went deep into this thread herebut one feeling I can’t shake is that there should be four major championships. Five a year suddenly messes up history and the whole idea of ​​the Grand Slam, which is a big deal in contextualizing great players. The Players has hit its stride in recent years as the PGA Tour’s biggest event. If he is to become an adult, he must organize a duel substitute one instead of adding a fifth.

days later, Brandel Chamblee made headlines when he said the Players have the best and deepest field in golf and is “the hardest major to win,” adding, “The Players, to me, stand alone and above the other four majors as not just a major, but in my estimation, the best team.” What’s going on here?

Melts: Ok that was definitely weird. I can see an argument for making them the top players, but to say it’s the big “best”? Now that’s a hot take. Credit to Brandel for sticking his neck out there, but I’ll have to disagree.

Schrock: He honestly lost me with the argument that because “Live From” broadcasts on majors and players, that makes the players the main ones. I’ll listen to an argument that The Players is bigger than the PGA, but Brandel lost me with his soliloquy. But it got people talking!

Dethier: Brandel is a provocative thinker and speaker. When he is on TV he has my attention. And some of his nuances were lost with this impressive statement. With that said – I think this clearly misses the mark. A better major than the strong, epic US Open? How many glorified and iconic Masters? What about the Open Championship and its 150-year history? The cover ruins the book for me here.

Regardless of how it’s labeled, do you agree with Chamblee that The Players is the hardest event to win?

Melts: Winning is hard no matter if it’s your Saturday game or a major championship. Even with all the trouble in the closing stages at TPC Sawgrass, it makes for an extremely difficult tournament for players to close out with an advantage. I know I wouldn’t be comfortable with a single shot bullet going into those holes.

Schrock: I think it all depends on who is in the cauldron. We saw Rory sail effortlessly through TPC Sawgrass in a playoff to defeat JJ Spaun, but trip himself up at Pinehurst and Augusta. The closing stretch at TPC Sawgrass is arguably the best in golf, but I think the majors might be in a different category of pressure because of their understanding of a player’s legacy.

Dethier: Right now, the easiest argument against the Players as a major is that it’s an exclusive PGA Tour event. Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau are not allowed to play. But let’s put the caps on the imagination for a minute. Is there a world in which the Tour seeks to elevate players by inviting LIV players, using its main event as a bridge? I’m not so sure. But I’m interested to see their next move in this campaign.

Last week, GOLF was launched Fully eligible 2026in which some of our dedicated employees test and review the latest and greatest gear out there. Quick, what’s your favorite club you’ve added to your bag over the last few years?

Melts: My title GT1 9-wood (yes, 9-wood!). I can hit it much higher than a 4-iron and I can even hit it out of the rough with a tip. It’s quite a weapon.

Schrock: I am excited to add Odyssey no. 7 steep neck in my bag here soon. It can only help my swing game on the greens.

Dethier: I got into a TSi3 driver a few years ago and immediately started hitting more roads. I’d say fitment was just as important as the golf club, making sure I got the right shaft and the right head. It’s easier to believe.