By CNN
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Former world No. 1 Jon Rahm criticized golf’s world ranking system on Wednesday, a day after LIV Golf formally withdrew its bid for the Spaniard and other players to accumulate points from playing its events.
LIV Golf commissioner and CEO Greg Norman announced the decision in a letter sent to the tour’s membership, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters. It ends a long-running pursuit by the Saudi-backed circuit to be recognized by the Official Golf World Rankings (OWGR), who unanimously rejected their request to join in October last year.
“We have made enormous efforts to fight for you and to ensure your accomplishments are recognized within the existing ranking system,” Norman wrote in Tuesday’s letter.
“Unfortunately, the OWGR has shown little willingness to productively work with us.”
Following October’s rejection, OWGR chairman Peter Dawson said that “concerns” over LIV Golf’s 54-hole, no cut format meant that it would not be “fair and equitable” to the 24 eligible tours to allow players to accumulate points at its events.
Though exact criteria differs between the major championships, all four of the men’s flagship tournaments incorporate world ranking points as a viable qualifier.
The Masters, the first major of the season that tees off next month, offers automatic invites to any player who ranked inside the world’s top-50 in the previous calendar year or in the week prior to the tournament.
Reigning Masters champion Rahm spent several weeks at world No. 1 after securing his second major title at Augusta National last year.
After joining LIV Golf in December – he was then world No. 3 – the 29-year-old is currently the highest-placed of four players from the tour inside the top-50; Tyrell Hatton (17), Brooks Koepka (30) and Cameron Smith (50).
Having called the OWGR “laughable” at the 2022 DP World Tour Championship, Rahm doubled down on his criticisms ahead of LIV Golf’s fourth event of the season in Hong Kong this week.
“I didn’t think it was a good system back then, and if anything, the more time that goes on, the more it proves to be wrong,” he told reporters Wednesday.
CNN has contacted the OWGR offering the organization the opportunity to comment.
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Rahm highlighted the recent performances of Joaquin Niemann, whose victory at LIV Golf-Jeddah in Saudi Arabia last week meant he has now won two of the tour’s first three events this year.
Ranked 76th in the world, the Chilean had been competing on the DP World Tour – formerly the European Tour – to try and gain the ranking points needed to qualify for The Masters, only to see his goal unexpectedly realized courtesy of a special invitation to play the 88th edition of tournament last month.
“If anybody in this world, for example, doesn’t think Joaco [Niemann] deserves to be in the top 10 or doesn’t know that he’s a top player in the world, I don’t know what game you’re watching,” said Rahm, who automatically qualifies for The Masters as a previous champion.
“I think anybody who watches golf can tell who the best players in the world are, and obviously I don’t think the ranking is reflective of that right now to its entirety.
“I’m very happy to see Joaco get invites,” Rahm added. “He’s shown the interest of wanting to qualify many different ways and has played the way you’re supposed to play, so I think it’s only right.”
Hovland: ‘It definitely devalues that ranking’
World No.4 Viktor Hovland said an inability for top players to gain points “devalues” the ranking system, as the Norwegian joined several PGA Tour stars in discussing the issue this week.
“Rankings are rankings, they’re not objective truth,” the Norwegian told reporters ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Florida on Wednesday.
“Obviously, now when you have a huge chunk of really, really good players that are not getting any ranking points, it definitely devalues that ranking.
“At the end of the day, I don’t show up out here to try to improve my world ranking, I show up because I want to win this tournament and that’s it.”
American duo Xander Schauffele and Will Zalatoris both welcomed Niemann’s invitation to The Masters.
“I think that’s very well deserved,” Schauffele, world No.5, told reporters Tuesday.
“I haven’t read too much of it, to be completely honest, but it seems that they’re not seeing sort of eye to eye on making an exemption to make LIV have World Ranking points. I’m not sure as to why they pulled their application for it, but it is what it is.”
World No. 34 Zalatoris added: “You see what Joaquin’s done this year … the guy’s played some really good golf.
“That’s kind of the utopian goal for all of us right now is to have the best players in the world play week in, week out. I love this week in general, because we got the best players on the PGA Tour, and we’ve got guys that obviously really care about it, but I also think we’ll see what happens going forward.
“I don’t have the fix for it. I know some guys have voiced their opinions on it. I like staying out of that stuff. Right now, it’s in an interesting position, I’ll leave it at that.”
