After nearly two years of back-and-forth and plenty of noise from both sides, LIV Golf has finally secured a spot-albeit a limited one-on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) scoreboard. It’s not the sweeping recognition the league had hoped for, but it’s a step that acknowledges LIV’s presence in the professional golf landscape, even as it continues to challenge the traditional structure of the sport.
What’s Changing?
Starting now, LIV Golf players will be eligible to earn world ranking points-but only the top 10 finishers in each individual stroke-play event will receive them. That’s a far cry from the full-field point distribution seen on the PGA Tour or DP World Tour, and it reflects what OWGR calls “a number of areas where LIV Golf does not meet the eligibility standards.”
The OWGR’s decision hinges on several key issues: LIV’s team-based format, its limited relegation system, and the fact that many players are contractually guaranteed spots in the league regardless of performance. Those structural elements have kept LIV from receiving ranking points since it launched in 2022, despite early promises from then-CEO Greg Norman that players wouldn’t be penalized for joining.
Norman eventually pulled LIV’s initial application, but the league reapplied last year under new CEO Scott O’Neil. After seven months of review, OWGR chairman Trevor Immelman announced the compromise.
“This has been an incredibly complex and challenging process,” Immelman said. “We fully recognized the need to rank the top men’s players in the world but at the same time had to find a way of doing so that was equitable to the thousands of other players competing on other tours that operate with established meritocratic pathways.”
How the Points Stack Up
Under the OWGR’s small-field tournament guidelines, LIV’s winners will receive point totals comparable to PGA Tour opposite-field event champions. For example, the winner of LIV’s season-opening event in Riyadh this week will earn 23.03 points. By comparison, Justin Rose picked up 56.96 points for winning the Farmers Insurance Open, and Scottie Scheffler earned 65.22 for his victory at the American Express.
So yes, LIV players can now earn points-but they’ll need to finish in the top 10 to do so, and even then, the haul is modest. For players eyeing major championship berths, every point matters, and this limited allocation could still leave some big names on the outside looking in.
LIV’s Response: Recognition, But Not Satisfaction
LIV CEO Scott O’Neil acknowledged the OWGR’s move as a “long-overdue moment of recognition,” but he didn’t hold back in voicing concerns about the restrictions.
“Under these rules, a player finishing 11th in a LIV Golf event is treated the same as a player finishing 57th,” O’Neil said. “Limiting points to only the top 10 finishers disproportionately harms players who consistently perform at a high level but finish just outside that threshold.”
O’Neil also pointed out that no other tour in OWGR history has faced such a limitation, framing this as a first step toward what he hopes will be a more inclusive and equitable ranking system down the line.
The Bigger Picture: A League in Flux
The timing of the OWGR decision is notable, arriving just as LIV Golf tees off its 2026 season. The league is facing a shifting internal landscape.
Brooks Koepka has already made his return to the PGA Tour, and Patrick Reed has announced plans to follow later this year. Meanwhile, Bryson DeChambeau-the most high-profile player still with LIV-has voiced frustration over the league’s recent pivot from 54-hole events to a more traditional 72-hole format.
“It’s definitely changed away from what we had initially been told it was going to be,” DeChambeau said. “We didn’t sign up to play for 72 [holes].”
His comments reflect growing tension within the LIV ranks, as the league tries to balance its original identity-shorter events, team competition, guaranteed contracts-with the need to gain legitimacy in the eyes of the broader golf world.
What’s Next?
Immelman indicated that OWGR will continue to evaluate LIV’s eligibility, especially as the league transitions to 72-hole events this year. That could open the door for expanded recognition down the road, but it’s clear the organization is still holding LIV to a high standard in terms of competitive structure and merit-based access.
For now, the message is clear: LIV Golf is on the board, but it’s still playing catch-up. The league has made waves, drawn headlines, and disrupted the status quo-but when it comes to world rankings, it’s going to need more than just star power and deep pockets. It needs a format that fits the established framework of the global game.
Until then, LIV players chasing major championship berths will have to do it the hard way-by finishing in the top 10 and making every shot count.