BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — Bryson DeChambeau yells after his tee shot on the 9th hole during Day Two of the LIV Golf Invitational – Tulsa at Cedar Ridge Country Club. | Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images
Players on the Saudi-backed LIV Tour are not eligible to receive Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points. DeChambeau wants to change that.
A month ago, Bryson DeChambeau bashed the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), saying the system was “not accurate,” per Golfweek.
Players who play on the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Tour currently do not receive OWGR points; LIV golfers can only receive OWGR points when they participate in the majors.
Here we are, just a few short weeks later and now DeChambeau appears to have a solution.
“I think one [idea] that we are all looking at right now, at least from my perspective and what I have heard so far, is creating an exemption category for LIV players based on how they play during the course of the year,” DeChambeau said. “I think that would be the fairest and most opportune thing for most LIV golfers considering the fields we have, the major champions we have, and the elite-level play we have each and every week.”
This month, Brooks Koepka became the first LIV player to win a major. Koepka won his third PGA Championship and fifth major overall at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York.
Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Brooks Koepka plays an approach shot on the 18th hole during the final round of the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club.
Despite having limited field sizes of 48 players per event, the LIV Golf Tour has 13 major champions competing on its circuit.
“If they are able to do that, I think everything is good,” DeChambeau added. “The OWGR points—we have gone so far down the list now that it is really difficult to make us even relevant. I think that was a part of their play, which is fine. It is what it is, but I think there is another route to the majors.”
Currently, the OWGR has DeChambeau ranked as the 90th best player in the world, despite him finishing on the leaderboard at the PGA Championship.
The OWGR debate will continue to linger as the governing bodies review LIV’s application for obtaining OWGR points for its players.
