LIV Golf events won’t be awarded points from the Official World Golf Ranking this year.
The OWGR received a communication from the MENA Tour on Wednesday detailing changes to the latter’s membership structure and schedule, including the LIV Golf Invitational-Bangkok that begins Friday.
On Thursday, the OWGR said that since the MENA Tour didn’t give sufficient notice, it wouldn’t have time to finish the review ahead of Friday’s tournament or next week’s Saudi Arabia event.
- The MENA Tour has been a member of the OWGR since 2016.
- The MENA Tour submitted fields for LIV Golf’s next two tournaments, noting that all the golfers have joined the Tour.
“Only after the review is complete will a decision be made on awarding points to the MENA Tour’s new ‘Limited Field Tournaments,’ defined by the MENA Tour in its Regulations as ‘any MENA Tour-approved tournament, which comprises of a player field of less than 80 players,’” the OWGR’s statement reads.
Regular MENA Tour events “conducted over 54 or 72 holes with a cut after 36 holes” will still receive points. LIV Golf has 54-hole events with no cut.
LIV’s Lever
LIV Golf’s alliance with the MENA Tour indicates a strong desire for points. The MENA Tour only offers a $75,000 purse, while LIV Golf’s is $20 million.
LIV Golf has invested $300 million in the Asian Tour — a step above the Asian Development Tour, which is aligned with the MENA Tour.
