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Whilst uncertainty continues to reign in men’s professional golf, players competing on the PGA Tour and LIV Golf at least seem sure of one thing.

The consensus across the rivalling circuits is that the current Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) system is not accurately rating the game’s most in-form players.

The debate surrounding the OWGR system came into fresh focus on Tuesday when LIV commissioner Greg Norman informed his players that the Saudi-backed league had officially withdrawn its bid for ranking points.

In a letter written to his players obtained by bunkered.co.uk, Norman wrote: “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.”

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LIV’s pursuit ends after a host of its stars slid down the rankings at a rapid rate. Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson both joined the breakaway circuit inside the top 30, but are now 182nd and 266th respectively without regular chances to earn points.

And while Norman calls for an independent ranking system to be introduced, some PGA Tour pros have weighed in with their thoughts on LIV’s rankings plight.

World No.9 Matt Fitzpatrick has admitted he believes the ranking system is now “skewed” towards the US circuit.

“There’s a lot of strength and depth on this tour, “ Fitzpatrick said. “This is absolutely no disrespect to the winners because they played better than me this year but I don’t think the world rankings are a true representation of the golf game at the minute.

“I don’t really look at them or pay attention to them anymore. I just don’t think they’re right.”

“I think it’s partly a sign that there’s plenty of depth on here, which we’ve known that for years on the PGA Tour, there’s always been a lot of strength and depth, but I certainly think nowadays the ranking side of it is a little bit skewed.”

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Patrick Cantlay, a member of the PGA Tour policy board, was asked on Tuesday of the OWGR system was “broken.”

“I think the world rankings has a very particular set of criteria, and I don’t know if broken is the right word, but I think that there’s been so much uncertainty and change in the last couple years that it’s inevitable that things need to be updated or things need to be changed,” he said.

“I don’t know if we’ve worked through all the changes necessary, compared to all the changes that have happened in the last couple years.”

Xander Schauffele also believes LIV players are not correctly ranked, despite the fact “they didn’t meet the criteria.”

“This is sort of the structure it is right now with no OWGR,” Schauffele said. “But the LIV tour definitely has really good players, players that are in the top 10 or top 25 in the world, and there’s many of ’em.

“They’re just unranked right now, but I do believe they are definitely top-ranked players in the world.”

topics

Matt Fitzpatrick LIV Golf Patrick Cantlay Xander Schauffele

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.