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LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman has told his players that the breakaway league has given up its quest for Official World Golf Ranking accreditation.

Sports Illustrated have reported that LIV have formally withdrawn their application for points on the basis that the current OWGR system isn’t official because it does not recognise the achievements of players on the Saudi-backed circuit.

LIV applied for OWGR status in July 2022, but had an application formally rejected in October last year. At that time, OWGR chairman Peter Dawson stressed that “we are not at war” with LIV, but cited the lack of player pathways to play in LIV tournaments.

But while Dawson stated that he hoped LIV could find a solution and be sanctioned by the OWGR board, Norman has now turned his back completely on the current ranking system.

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“A resolution which protects the accuracy, credibility and integrity of the OWGR rankings no longer exists,” Norman wrote ahead of this week’s LIV event in Hong Kong, in a letter obtained by SI.

“We have made enormous efforts to fight for you and ensure your accomplishments are recognised within the existing ranking system. Unfortunately, OWGR has shown little willingness to productively work with us.”

Norman is now calling for a ranking system independent from the OWGR and also wants the majors to grant the LIV series a quota which allows pathways into the career-defining tournaments.

“As they are currently organised, the rankings are structured to penalise anyone who has not played regularly on an “Eligible Tour” with the field ratings disproportionately rewarding play on the PGA Tour,” the Australian continued.

“This is illustrated by the fact only four players inside the top 50 are not PGA Tour players (Jon Rahm (3), Tyrrell Hatton (17), Brooks Koepka (30) and Cam Smith (45)) and by the precipitous decline of LIV players generally, notwithstanding extraordinary performances on the LIV Tour.

“Having refused to recognise your performances over the last few seasons, the OWGR is not and cannot be an “official” ranking. This decision will remove any ambiguity about its relevance.

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“Even if LIV Golf events were immediately awarded points, the OWGR system is designed such that it would be functionally impossible for you to regain positions close to the summit of the ranking, where so many of you belong.”

Most LIV golfers have tumbled down the rankings without access to points on the 14-event series. Two-time major winner Dustin Johnson has fallen from 13th to 247th after his move to LIV, while Bryson DeChambeau has plummeted to 175th.

The most recent decision to deny LIV ranking points was made by representatives of the four major championships after PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, outgoing DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley and Keith Waters of the International Federation of PGA Tours Keith Waters all recused themselves from the vote to avoid a conflict of interest.

The rejection was due to LIV being somewhat of a ‘closed shop’ due to its locked 54-player fields that sees little change throughout the season. Dawson, a non-voting member, claimed that LIV could not be fairly measured against the 24 OWGR sanctioned tours worldwide.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Dawson, said:“This decision not to make (LIV) 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 to compete on them.”

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Greg Norman LIV Golf OWGR

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.