New LIV signing claims majors risk becoming more “obselete”

When Dustin Johnson joined LIV Golf in June 2022, he was 13th in the Official World Golf Rankings. 

The two-time major winner became LIV’s inaugural champion, finished fifth in the individual standings last season, and has banked over $47million in total prize money on the Saudi-backed circuit.

But during that time, Johnson has plummeted outside the top 200 in the rankings and now finds himself in his lowest position since 2008.

Johnson’s case is not unique. As it stands, LIV’s 2023 individual champion Talor Gooch is ineligible for all four majors this year after falling to 373rd in the rankings.

Greg Norman’s enterprise begins its third season at Mayakoba with no access to ranking points after the OWGR board rejected LIV’s latest application in October due to concerns over its format.

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The issue continues to frustrate LIV bosses, but has not hampered their latest recruitment drive with Tyrrell Hatton and Adrian Meronk notably signing contracts despite the risk of missing out on future majors.

World No.82 Lucas Herbert was announced alongside Meronk as one of LIV’s final signings for the 2024 roster, joining his fellow Australian Cam Smith at Ripper GC.

Herbert is currently ineligible for both the Masters and the PGA Championship and would need to enter qualifying for both The Open and the US Open to continue making major starts.

But the 28-year-old has told Golf Australia that his desire to join LIV outweighed the risk of missing out on these career defining tournaments.

“When we talked about this, the pros and cons, [the lack of OWGR access] was certainly on the con list,” Herbert said. “It was going to make it difficult to get into the major championships.

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“The world ranking system in itself … for the last four months, I haven’t cared too much about my ranking for any purpose other than the major championships.

“I mean, you’re seeing guys like Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau going out to 300 in the world. That shows that the system is not accurately assessing how good these golfers are.”

Herbert has also expressed concerns that the majors could be become more “obselete” if they are diminished by fields without some of LIV’s best performers.

“You would hope that the four majors would be our best way to have the best players in the world play against each other,” he said.

“I think if that pathway doesn’t get created at some point, the majors become a little more obsolete than they probably are now.

“If you don’t have the best players in those tournaments, winning them isn’t as important as it used to be.”

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.