Norman strikes out, ending the battle for rankings points in LIV Golf

Norman strikes out, ending the battle for rankings points in LIV Golf.

 

 

Greg Norman is personally appealing to the four majors to modify their qualifying standards so that the LIV golfers can participate. This comes after the Breakaway League dropped its request to be ranked in the globe.

 

Chief Executive Norman of LIV emailed his players on Tuesday to explain the decision to forgo the conventional path to the major tournaments.

 

Norman wrote in the letter, a copy of which Telegraph Sport has received, “We have made significant efforts to fight for you and ensure your accomplishments are recognised within the existing ranking system.” Sadly, the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) has not demonstrated much desire to collaborate with us in a useful way.

 

Norman continued to advocate for a “independent ranking system,” but he also said that LIV would now concentrate on persuading the organizations that oversee the US Open, US Masters, US Open, and US PGA to provide guaranteed slots based on the LIV order of merit.

 

“To guarantee that LIV golfers are fairly represented and that golf fans worldwide have the opportunity to witness the best competition possible, we continue to seek meaningful communication and relationships with each of the majors,” Norman stated.

 

The irony is that last October, the majors were the ones that rejected LIV’s application. The top four make up the OWGR board, along with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, chief operating officer Keith Waters of the DP World Tour, chief executive officer Keith Pelley of the DP World Tour, and representative of the Federation of International Tours, Jay Monahan.

 

However, the last three withdrew their candidacies a few months into the procedure after LIV’s application was accepted shortly after its June 2022 launch. Norman felt hopeful after that, but the main leagues felt the breakaway league was too much of a closed shop. They were also worried about the team component, which is essential to the Saudi-funded circuit’s long-term strategy.

 

Five months ago, Peter Dawson, the chairman of the OWGR board, declared, “We are not at war with them.” “It is not a political choice to deny them eligibility. It’s all really technical. It is obvious that LIV players are skilled enough to be ranked. Simply said, they aren’t competing in a way that allows them to be ranked fairly among the thousands of players who compete on the other 24 tours.

 

Insiders close to LIV, however, assert that OWGR has not provided much guidance on how to improve the proposal. Additionally, there is a perception that they have been “slow-played,” which Norman alluded to in his letter to the 54 players.

 

“The OWGR system is designed in a way that makes it practically impossible for you to regain positions close to the top of the ranking, where so many of you belong, even if LIV Golf events were immediately awarded points,” the speaker stated.

 

“The field ratings disproportionately reward play on the PGA Tour, and the rankings are designed to penalize anyone who has not participated in regular competition on a “Eligible Tour.” This is demonstrated by the fact that, despite their remarkable results in LIV events, only four players in the top 50 are not members of the PGA Tour (Jon Rahm [3], Tyrrell Hatton [17], Brooks Koepka [30], and Cam Smith [45]).

 

“Not every player on the PGA Tour competes in tournaments.”

Joaquin Niemann, a 25-year-old Chilean who has won two of the past three LIV events, was recently extended an invitation by Augusta to the major that will take place next month, but the Masters only brought up his victory at the Australian Open in December. Thus far, no major has given out berths based only on LIV achievements.

 

Naturally, there has been backlash to this omission from within LIV. The American who topped the LIV order of merit last year, Talor Gooch, said this week that if Rory McIlroy won the Masters and completed the career grand slam, his historic accomplishment would come with “an asterisk.” Gooch is not qualified for or invited to any majors this year.

 

Paul Azinger, the 2008 Ryder Cup captain, feels that LIV has significantly reduced the caliber of competition on the PGA Tour, despite the fact that his remarks have been widely mocked.

 

He said to Golfweek, “The best players aren’t all playing PGA Tour tournaments.” That has ended. It’s a sad day for golf when the LIV Tour appears out of nowhere. Let’s put it this way: the PGA Tour has quickly evolved into the qualifying round for LIV.

 

Despite the fact that talks for a new contract with the US network broke down, Azinger, who served as NBC’s lead analyst until last November, maintains that he is “happy” that his employment has come to an end.

 

To tell you the truth, Azinger stated, “I’d rather call [commentate on] the Senior Tour than the PGA Tour.” “To say that the world’s top senior players are, well, the best, is a stretch.”

 

This week, LIV will compete in its fourth $25 million event of the season in Hong Kong, while McIlroy and company will be vying for the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, the most recent $20 million “signature event” on the PGA Tour.

 

In the background, discussions for the unification of the elite professional male game are ongoing between the Saudi Public Investment Fund and the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.