LIV Golf has had its application to the Official World Golf Ranking approved, but only the top-10 finishers in its 57-player fields will earn ranking points, a restriction OWGR says reflects eligibility standards the league does not yet meet.
The decision, announced on the OWGR website on Tuesday, means that less than a fifth of players in LIV fields will receive points in 2026, compared with more than half at this week’s PGA TOUR event, the WM Phoenix Open, and 45% at this week’s DP World Tour event, the Qatar Masters, leaving many LIV players without points on a week-to-week basis.
LIV Golf’s best players, including the likes of Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, Tyrrell Hatton and Joaquín Niemann, are expected to earn points regularly, although many other players failed to record a single top-10 in 2025, including Ian Poulter and Brendan Steele, meaning that their world ranking will plummet still further unless they earn points in events outside of the LIV Golf circuit.
The OWGR classed LIV events as ‘Small Field Tournaments’, citing field sizes below the 75-player minimum, the league’s no-cut format, and concerns around promotion, relegation and player recruitment, which it described as ‘restrictive’ and, in some cases, based on selection rather than merit.
Clarifying the reasons behind the OWG’s long-awaited decision, Trevor Immelman, Chairman of OWGR, said: “This has been an incredibly complex and challenging process and one which we have devoted a huge amount of time and energy to resolving in the seven months since LIV Golf submitted their application. We fully recognised 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.
“We believe we have found a solution that achieves these twin aims and enables the best-performing players at LIV Golf events to receive OWGR points. I would like to acknowledge the substantial and constructive efforts made by Scott O’Neil and the team at LIV Golf. We look forward to working with them on implementing this approach with immediate effect for the 2026 LIV Golf season.”
Responding to the OWGR’s decision, a LIV Golf statement said: “We acknowledge this long‑overdue moment of recognition, which affirms the fundamental principle that performance on the course should matter, regardless of where the competition takes place.
“However, this outcome is unprecedented. Under these rules, a player finishing 11th in a LIV Golf event is treated the same as a player finishing 57th. Limiting points to only the top 10 finishers disproportionately harms players who consistently perform at a high level but finish just outside that threshold, as well as emerging talent working to establish themselves on the world stage – precisely the players a fair and meritocratic ranking system is designed to recognize.
“No other competitive tour or league in OWGR history has been subjected to such a restriction. We expect this is merely a first step toward a structure that fully and fairly serves the players, the fans, and the future of the sport.
“We entered this process in good faith and will continue to advocate for a ranking system that reflects performance over affiliation. The game deserves transparency. The fans deserve credibility. And the players deserve a system that treats them equally.”
LIV Golf’s 2026 14-event seasons starts today (Feb 5) at LIV Golf Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.