The door is cracked open for the right to the big championship for LIV players – but only a little.
On Tuesday, the Official World Golf Ranking (or OWGR) announced it had accepted LIV’s application for membershipallowing the league to receive world ranking points for the first time and opening a critical pathway to acceptance into major championships. According to OWGR’s announcement, LIV events will begin receiving world ranking points effective immediately, starting with this week’s season-opening event in Riyadh, but those points will be limited to top 10 finishers and ties.
“This has been an incredibly complex and challenging process and one that we have devoted a great deal of time and energy to resolving in the seven months since LIV Golf submitted their application,” OWGR Chairman Trevor Immelman said in a statement. “We fully understood the need to rank the best men’s players in the world, but at the same time we had to find a way to do so that was on par with the thousands of other players competing in other tournaments that operate with established meritocratic paths.”
World Ranking Points are golf’s primary methodology for determining eligibility into each of the sport’s four major championships, aiming to provide an objective ranking of the best players from tournaments around the world. LIV’s initial application for inclusion in the OWGR was rejected in October 2023 on the basis that the league lacked a sufficient promotion/relegation pathway. Since then, the league has expanded its promotion/relegation path and expanded its events to 72 holes in part to accommodate the requirements of the OWGR.
Tuesday’s announcement ends a years-long saga for LIV. The lack of major championship eligibility proved a barrier for novices to attract new talent, although the major championships worked to create new pathways for high-performing LIV players to compete in golf’s biggest events, granting exemptions to pros like Joaquin Niemann and Talor Gooch due to their skill level.
What does the announcement mean for LIV and its PGA Tour counterparts? We dive into the five biggest questions below.
5 burning questions about LIV’s OWGR involvement
1. How many points does LIV get from OWGR?
Officially, LIV will take lIMITED points from the OWGR for each of its events, especially when compared to the PGA Tour. AND HOW limited? Only the top 10 finishers in each LIV event will earn points from the OWGR, and the share of points awarded to each LIV winner will be roughly equal to the points awarded to a winner of alternate events in the PGA Tour field (or roughly one-third the share of points awarded to the winner of this week’s WM Phoenix Open).
“Ranking points will be awarded to the top 10 finishers (and ties) in individual LIV Golf stroke play events,” the OWGR statement said. “Which recognizes that there are a number of areas where LIV Golf does not meet the eligibility standards set by the OWGR.”
2. Why isn’t LIV getting the same points as the PGA Tour?
A number of reasons, but mainly because OWGR felt that LIV fits into the “small field tournament” classification, which stipulates that only top-10 finishes and ties earn world ranking points. Given the no-cuts nature of LIV, the average field size of 57 (vs. the OWGR minimum of 75), and the improved (but still limited) promotion and relegation paths, the OWGR felt that the league had not done enough to earn the tournament’s “benchmark event” designation.
3. Is LIV happy about this announcement?
Not exactly.
For LIV, the OWGR decision represents a major barrier cleared, giving its players access to the main championship. But the decision also amounts to a half-measure — providing points for only a handful of pros and giving winners a significantly smaller share compared to the PGA Tour. That’s better than nothing, but it’s not enough to completely quell LIV’s feeling that its best players are undervalued compared to OWGR – as the league’s statement implies.
“This result is unprecedented,” LIV’s statement said. “Under these rules, a player who finishes 11th in a LIV Golf event is treated the same as a player who finishes 57th (on the PGA Tour). No other tournament or competitive league in OWGR history has been subject to such a restriction.”
4. Is the PGA Tour happy about this announcement?
It is likely neither the party is very excited about the news.
For the PGA Tour, the OWGR decision represents the loss of a critical lead in LIV — access to major championships — but preserves the Tour’s broader argument that it remains the easiest path to major championship success.
In response to OWGR’s announcement, the Tour released a brief statement thanking OWGR Chairman Trevor Immelman and acknowledging that the Tour “respects” the OWGR’s decision.
5. Was each party surprised by this announcement?
Not really. News of LIV’s OWGR status has been expected for several weeks, with LIV CEO Scott O’Neil hinting in several interviews at the end of 2025 that the league was expected to receive World Ranking status as early as the new year.
6. Does the decision ‘solve’ anything?
Yes – but not for LIV or the PGA Tour. The main beneficiaries of Tuesday’s announcement are the governing bodies behind each of the major championships.
LIV’s incompatibility with OWGR always presented an unusual issue for golf. The four majors rely on OWGR to help assemble the strongest possible field, but LIV’s exclusion meant that many players who would otherwise qualify for the major no longer qualify.
7. Is this the final word on the acceptability of LIV’s world ranking?
Away with that! OWGR’s statement acknowledged that LIV has already engaged with OWGR approx the future The changes to the league are intended to improve its world ranking status and suggested that the OWGR will adjust its standards accordingly.
