“Laughable”: Greg Norman launches into a golf comedy and discloses his discovery of alternate ranking systems
Greg Norman has called the official global golf rankings “laughable,” citing three different methodologies that might place up to ten of his LIV stars among the top 50 players in the globe.
Last year, an unsuccessful attempt to hold 54-hole LIV events with small fields and no cuts was rejected, and players on the LIV tour—such as Australian sensation Cam Smith—have suffered severe declines.
Smith’s decline to 44 has seriously jeopardized his chances of competing in the Olympics, as only three players from the LIV, including recent Masters and PGA champions John Rahm and Brooks Koepka, are ranked inside the top 50 of the official world golf rankings.
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However, three of those five—Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, and Adrian Meronk—have only recently joined the Saudi-sponsored tour and aren’t yet experiencing the full effects of their decision on the rankings.
Norman and other elite athletes, such as Smith, have been vocally disputing the legitimacy of the OWGR system, which is applied to Olympic qualification as well as admissions for the four main championships.
Norman used social media to draw attention to the disparities between the OWGR and the other ranking systems, calling out LIV since there would be “only two players in the to 50 OWGR if you exclude recent signees.”
Laughable. LIV would have 2 players in the top 50 OWGR if you exclude recent signees! pic.twitter.com/9EeJOxaMRN
— Greg Norman (@SharkGregNorman) February 19, 2024
All of them argue that alternative ranking systems are more accurate; Norman supports The Universal Golf Rankings as a superior tool, but he also argues that Sports Illustrated’s methodology, which weights results from all tours, is a more realistic representation.
There are ten LIV players in the top 50 on the TUGR list right now, including Talor Gooch, who won three times in 2023, defeating opponents that included several major champions, but who is an unbelievable 427 on the OWGR list.
Even the winner of the most recent LIV event in Las Vegas, Dustin Johnson, who has won both the US Open and the Masters, is ranked 238th on the OWGR list.
Smith mentioned the “disadvantage” he has in his quest to qualify for the Olympics in Paris prior to the Vegas event, realizing that winning the three majors before the qualifying deadline is his only opportunity to finish among the top two Australians.
As Smith put it, “it’s a bit of a disadvantage compared to the other Aussie guys.”
“However, they have already established requirements for that, and I doubt they will alter them to better accommodate my needs. I really want to be in Paris, but we’ll see what occurs.
Following Smith’s fall, fellow Australian Min Woo Lee is currently rated 42nd, making him a strong candidate to travel to Paris.
While veteran Adam Scott, ranked 48, has stated he wouldn’t be taking a seat if he qualified, Jason Day, who is rated 19, has not indicated that he plans to compete in the Olympics.
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