LIV Golf tries again to get world ranking points
The OWGR said in a statement Friday it had received the application and has started the review process to determined if the Saudi-funded league of 54 players would be included.
'The OWGR Board is committed to a thorough evaluation process of all applications, and LIV's application will be reviewed in accordance with OWGR's criteria to ensure fairness, integrity and consistency,' the OWGR said in a statement.
The OWGR board has an annual meeting next week at the British Open.
The OWGR denied the first application in October 2023 — the first full year of the league — saying it could not fairly measure LIV Golf with two dozen other tours around the world because of what amounted to a closed shop, along with the individual competition potentially being compromised by scores counting toward a team result.
LIV now has 54 players — 13 four-man teams and two wild cards — and keeps the roster all season except for alternates used in case of injury.
Other tours have various forms of qualifying that allow for changes in the field among a larger membership. LIV began a 'promotions' event that offered three spots at the end of 2023, but that was reduced to one spot last year. The leader of the Asian Tour's International Series also gets a spot in LIV provided he's not already a member.
World ranking points have been seen as critical to LIV because the four majors — all of which have a seat on the OWGR board — use the ranking to help determined the field. The U.S. Open and British Open this year added a category for top LIV performers. The Masters and PGA Championship use invitations at their discretion to get whom they consider deserving.
LIV, which once tried to get ranking points by becoming part of the MENA Tour in Africa, formally withdrew its first application in May 2024.
Scott O'Neil has replaced Greg Norman as CEO of the Saudi league. He met with Trevor Immelman, the new OWGR chairman at the Masters this year, and Immelman told the AP he has spoken a few times on the phone with O'Neil.
Immelman had said the rejection letter sent to LIV in October 2023 was 'quite clear' with the position the board had at the time and any change would start with LIV applying anew.
'We appreciate the interest of LIV Golf — and all the tours — in contributing to the global landscape of men's professional golf through OWGR,' the statement said.
___
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Assessing 'discrepancy' for Niemann in major play
The Golf Today roundtable discusses Joaquin Niemann's struggles in major championship play related to his five-win season with LIV Golf, the "buy-in" from Tour players in Happy Gilmore 2, among other topics.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Bookmakers put Lottie Woad as the betting favorite heading into AIG Women's British Open
Lottie Woad is the betting favorite to win the AIG Women's British Open in her only her second start as a professional. The former top-ranked amateur rose to No. 24 in the Rolex Rankings after winning the ISPS Hands Women's Scottish Open in her professional debut and will tee it up alongside 2024 British Open champion Lydia Ko and 2023 champ Lilia Vu in the first two rounds at Royal Porthcawl. How dominant is Woad right now? She's 55 under par in her last 12 rounds on the LET and LPGA, beating the field on average by five strokes with a 67.3 scoring average. Former British Open champ Catriona Matthew captained Woad at the Curtis Cup last year at Sunningdale and compared her to a young Karrie Webb. 'She's not out there for the glitz and the glam,' said Matthew, 'she just wants to be as good a golfer as she can be and go out and beat everyone.' Lottie Woad's recent run has been impressive It's how she's doing the winning that's impressive too, Matthew notes, taking Augusta National by storm with three birdies over the last four holes in 2024, running away from the field at the Irish Open to win by six, closing with a 64 at Evian to secure her LPGA card and then staring down major champions in Scotland to win by two. Woad, now playing in her eighth major championship, certainly isn't scared. 'All the players out there can hit the shots,' said Matthew, 'but what makes her special is that she can do it when she has to.' After her big win in Scotland, securing LPGA status through 2027, Woad and her family made the seven-hour drive to Wales to prep for her fourth major start of the season. After a missed cut at the Chevron, Woad tied for 31st at the U.S. Women's Open at Erin Hills and finished one shot shy of a playoff at the Amundi Evian Championship, taking a share of third with Minjee Lee. Woad plans to buy a car with $300K purse With her first tournament paycheck of $300,000, Woad plans to buy a new car when she gets back to the United States and, as was revealed on the broadcast last week, get a driver's license. She's seemingly taking it all in stride with a quiet confidence. 'I feel good, obviously,' said Woad. 'I don't feel too different, to be honest.' World No. 1 Nelly Korda played alongside Woad in the first three rounds of the Scottish Open and was impressed with her composure and process, noting that while others tend to fidget and change things in the heat of battle, Woad stuck to her routine and looked comfortable. The elder Korda, who turned 27 on Monday, called Woad 'absolutely amazing.' 'It was great for me that I got to play with her my pro debut,' said Woad of Korda. 'She's someone I've always looked up to. She's obviously an amazing player and a great competitor, and to hear she said something like that is really nice.' Lydia Ko, Nelly Korda impressed by Woad Even Ko, the most recent inductee of the LPGA of Fame, noted in her pre-tournament presser that she's looking forward to seeing what she can learn from Woad playing alongside her in the first two rounds. 'Just because you're a higher-ranked player doesn't mean that there's something that I can't learn from somebody else,' said Ko. 'She's obviously playing great golf. I've seen her swing, and my coach has sent me a video of her swing as well because there's aspects that I'm kind of going for that she has.' The Irish Open has been on and off the LET's schedule over the past 30 years, but, as noted in the LPGA's KPMG Performance Insights, Woad became only the second player to win the Irish and Scottish Opens in the same season, joining fellow Englishwoman Laura Davies (1994). No player has won the Irish, Scottish and British in the same year. What's the potential for Woad? Matthew is careful with her predictions, noting that Rose Zhang dramatically won her pro debut two years ago at the Mizuho Americas Open and then stalled. 'Obviously, you don't want to overhype it and go too over-the-top,' said Matthew, 'but the potential is there and the sky's the limit at the moment.' This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Lottie Woad is the betting favorite at Women's British Open
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Bookmakers put Lottie Woad as the betting favorite heading into AIG Women's British Open
Lottie Woad is the betting favorite to win the AIG Women's British Open in her only her second start as a professional. The former top-ranked amateur rose to No. 24 in the Rolex Rankings after winning the ISPS Hands Women's Scottish Open in her professional debut and will tee it up alongside 2024 British Open champion Lydia Ko and 2023 champ Lilia Vu in the first two rounds at Royal Porthcawl. How dominant is Woad right now? She's 55 under par in her last 12 rounds on the LET and LPGA, beating the field on average by five strokes with a 67.3 scoring average. Former British Open champ Catriona Matthew captained Woad at the Curtis Cup last year at Sunningdale and compared her to a young Karrie Webb. 'She's not out there for the glitz and the glam,' said Matthew, 'she just wants to be as good a golfer as she can be and go out and beat everyone.' Lottie Woad's recent run has been impressive It's how she's doing the winning that's impressive too, Matthew notes, taking Augusta National by storm with three birdies over the last four holes in 2024, running away from the field at the Irish Open to win by six, closing with a 64 at Evian to secure her LPGA card and then staring down major champions in Scotland to win by two. Woad, now playing in her eighth major championship, certainly isn't scared. 'All the players out there can hit the shots,' said Matthew, 'but what makes her special is that she can do it when she has to.' After her big win in Scotland, securing LPGA status through 2027, Woad and her family made the seven-hour drive to Wales to prep for her fourth major start of the season. After a missed cut at the Chevron, Woad tied for 31st at the U.S. Women's Open at Erin Hills and finished one shot shy of a playoff at the Amundi Evian Championship, taking a share of third with Minjee Lee. Woad plans to buy a car with $300K purse With her first tournament paycheck of $300,000, Woad plans to buy a new car when she gets back to the United States and, as was revealed on the broadcast last week, get a driver's license. She's seemingly taking it all in stride with a quiet confidence. 'I feel good, obviously,' said Woad. 'I don't feel too different, to be honest.' World No. 1 Nelly Korda played alongside Woad in the first three rounds of the Scottish Open and was impressed with her composure and process, noting that while others tend to fidget and change things in the heat of battle, Woad stuck to her routine and looked comfortable. The elder Korda, who turned 27 on Monday, called Woad 'absolutely amazing.' 'It was great for me that I got to play with her my pro debut,' said Woad of Korda. 'She's someone I've always looked up to. She's obviously an amazing player and a great competitor, and to hear she said something like that is really nice.' Lydia Ko, Nelly Korda impressed by Woad Even Ko, the most recent inductee of the LPGA of Fame, noted in her pre-tournament presser that she's looking forward to seeing what she can learn from Woad playing alongside her in the first two rounds. 'Just because you're a higher-ranked player doesn't mean that there's something that I can't learn from somebody else,' said Ko. 'She's obviously playing great golf. I've seen her swing, and my coach has sent me a video of her swing as well because there's aspects that I'm kind of going for that she has.' The Irish Open has been on and off the LET's schedule over the past 30 years, but, as noted in the LPGA's KPMG Performance Insights, Woad became only the second player to win the Irish and Scottish Opens in the same season, joining fellow Englishwoman Laura Davies (1994). No player has won the Irish, Scottish and British in the same year. What's the potential for Woad? Matthew is careful with her predictions, noting that Rose Zhang dramatically won her pro debut two years ago at the Mizuho Americas Open and then stalled. 'Obviously, you don't want to overhype it and go too over-the-top,' said Matthew, 'but the potential is there and the sky's the limit at the moment.'
