The governing board of the Official World Golf Ranking are making changes to the system after voting against making LIV Golf events eligible for ranking points.
The OWGR board have approved changes to their rankings system in the New Year that highlight emerging talent and rebalance the points distribution curve for limited field events.
From January 1, the top finishers in fields featuring a maximum of 80 players will receive a higher percentage of the available points, while those that finish in the bottom 15% will no longer receive points. Previously, the standard curve was the same, regardless of whether they were full or limited field events.
Players now also have an added incentive to win multiple events within a 52-week-rolling period. Winning two titles in 12 months will earn players a 60% points bonus, with that rising to 70% with a third success in that time.
The OGWR describes the multi-win bonus mechanism as providing opportunities for upward movement within the system. However, there is a cap of four bonus points to prevent them from overly affecting the top of the rankings while still being impactful further down them.
Predictions from the OGWR state that lower-ranked players could benefit from a ranking increase of between 50 and 100 positions with multiple wins. They say those on the Federation Ranking List stand to receive significant changes.
“Based on extensive analysis following the changes implemented in August 2022, we recognised these two opportunities to further enhance the OWGR and to accurately evaluate performances of the world’s participating players on all eligible Tours,” OWGR chairman Peter Dawson said in the announcement.
Dawson and the OWGR are not popular with LIV
“Adjustments to the Ranking are made after careful consideration, and we are confident that today’s updates will better position the OWGR for the future.” These comments come months after Dawson and the OWGR irked LIV Golf by denying their application for tour status. “We are not at war with them,” he said in October.
“This decision not to make them eligible is not political. It is entirely technical. LIV players are self-evidently good enough to be ranked.
“They’re just not playing in a format where they can be ranked equitably with the other 24 tours and thousands of players trying to compete on them.” LIV did not take well to the decision.
“OWGR’s sole objective is to rank the best players across the globe. Today’s communication makes clear that it can no longer deliver on that objective,” a statement released at the time read.
“In the past, players have been able to qualify for the biggest events, major championships, and contract value from corporate sponsors based only on their single world ranking. The objective foundation for accurately recognizing the world’s best player performances is taken away from golf fans, players, and all other stakeholders by a ranking that does not fairly represent all participants, regardless of where in the world they play.
” Moreover, it deprives certain conventional tournaments of their optimal fields. A true worldwide scoring and ranking system is currently absent from professional golf. The absence of clarity or trust confers no advantages to either players or fans, provided that the best player performances remain unacknowledged.”
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