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Patrick Reed has joined Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Graeme McDowell and others in calling for the Official World Golf Rankings to recognise LIV Golf.
Speaking ahead of this week’s seventh and final regular event of the inaugural LIV season, the major champion said that the OWGR would become “insignificant” if it doesn’t allow players on the Saudi-backed start-up tour to earn ranking points.
Reed has seen his own ranking slip from 39th to 56th since he joined LIV at the end of June. Asked if he believes that he is currently the 56th best player in the world, hereplied: “No, not at all.
“Let’s be honest, it’s not a true system if you’re not counting all the events and having points for everybody. If you’re competing for a golf tournament and they meet every criteria that you’re supposed to meet in order to have world ranking points, then they should be getting world ranking points no matter what. It doesn’t matter where you’re playing, who you’re playing, what tour you’re on, anything like that.”
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An application for ranking points was submitted by LIV chiefs to the OWGR earlier in the summer. With a decision not immediately forthcoming, Greg Norman and Co. attempted to circumnavigate the issue by forming a “strategic alliance” with the little-known MENA Tour last week.
However, that route was blocked – at least for the time being – by OWGR chiefs, much to the fury of several LIV players, including Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka.
“If you’re trying to say that we don’t deserve world ranking points, this and that, then it’s a political battle, it’s not an actual true system,” added Reed. “Last time I checked, every sport you play, it’s based off of competition and who you’re playing, how strong that field is and who wins, and you’re allocated certain things. It doesn’t matter what tour you’re playing on.”
The 32-year-old was equally adamant that, as a past Masters champion, he should be entitled to play in next year’s tournament.
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Augusta National Golf Club has yet to announce whether or not players who have joined LIV Golf will be invited to the first men’s major of the year but Reed – who earned a lifetime exemption to take part after winning the Green Jacket in 2018 – is in no doubt that he, at least, should be.
“You always expect to be there being past champion as well as the categories with what comes for winning at Augusta,” he said. “It’s hard to answer really any questions about all that because everything is either a pending matter or based off the majors. We haven’t really heard anything from any of them yet.
“To sit here and speculate would be hard, and it would be the wrong thing to do. We just have to wait and see how it all folds out, what they say in order to comment on that and go from there.”
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