PGA of America chief: ‘The ball is in LIV’s court’ over ranking points

PGA of America chief executive Seth Waugh says the onus is now on LIV Golf following “healthy” conversations over the tour’s ongoing pursuit of world ranking points.

Greg Norman’s LIV series remains without OWGR accreditation, meaning the breakaway league’s players are tumbling down the rankings and dropping out of contention to qualify for future majors.

It is almost a year since LIV launched with an almost surreal event in Hemel Hempstead last June, but the circuit’s failure to acquire world ranking points is still a key battleground in golf’s civil war.

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Dustin Johnson slipped to 82nd in the rankings after winning LIV Golf Tulsa, while the in-form Talor Gooch is 63rd after wins in recent LIV events in Adelaide and Singapore.

There has been consternation within LIV’s ranks over the struggle to secure OWGR status, with Phil Mickelson particularly outspoken with his frustration that ranking points still elude the fledgling series.

But Waugh, one of seven members on the OWGR board, has rejected suggestions that the decision-makers have become too stringent in not deviating away from their 12-month timeline given LIV’s status and financial power in the game.

Speaking ahead of the PGA Championship, Waugh said that idea was a “total mischaracterisation.”

He continued: “What I’ve said and what I’ll say now is there has been healthy back and forth. It has not been acrimonious.

“There’s been collegial back and forth of them making an application as other tours have done. We’ve responded; they’ve responded.

“The ball, from my understanding, is in their court from our last response at this point. But it’s a natural process. There is no magic to 12 months. It’s just sort of most of these – all of these, I think, certainly since I’ve been around – have taken more time than I think was assumed early on. That’s where it is.

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“This is not an us versus them. I think the OWGR, if you take a step back, the whole point is to create a level playing field, a yardstick by which to measure the game.

“Our job is to measure tours. Not players but tours and how they perform on those tours to come up with that yardstick. That’s what we’re all attempting to try to do.

“We’ve been, I think, very responsive to them in terms of their requests, and they’ve been responsive to us. It isn’t some battle.”

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.