Of all the wars that LIV Golf has waged in 2022, the push to get its golfers to qualify for the Official World Golf Ranking system remains at large.
Whether golfers agree with how the system functions or not, there’s no denying that LIV Golfers still want a piece of the pie.
So, it probably isn’t sitting very well with members of the Saudi Arabia-funded circuit that Gira de Golf Profesional de Mexicana — Mexico’s premier professional golf tour — was approved this week to be included in the Official World Golf Ranking while LIV remains on the sidelines.
Before anyone starts crying over whether this is fair to LIV Golf, certain facts need to be understood.
The biggest piece of information to take out of Wednesday’s announcement from the OWGR is that the Mexican tour has been working toward being eligible for world ranking points since it started in 2017, and still underwent a 16-month application process before becoming eligible.
LIV Golf, on the other hand, formally launched in October 2021 and didn’t begin competition until 2022. So even though the golfers who joined had qualified for world ranking points while with the PGA Tour or DP World Tour, the breakaway circuit itself hasn’t been fully vetted.
Now there will surely be some sort of uproar from the LIV Golf contingent, especially from big boss Greg Norman. But will it also result in the rogue league doing an about-face and putting in the time Gira de Golf Profesional de Mexicana did to qualify?
Stay tuned.
