Viktor Hovland: LIV Golf absence ‘devalues’ world rankings 

Viktor Hovland believes the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) are “devalued” whilst the top performing LIV Golf players can’t earn points. 

LIV admitted defeat in its hunt of OWGR accreditation this week as commissioner Greg Norman told his players that the governing body has “shown little willingness to productively work with us.”

The Saudi-backed circuit’s application for points was rejected last October, largely over concerns about the lack of player pathways into the 54-hole, no-cut tournaments.

LIV’s plight has seen major champions like Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau fall well outside the top 100 in the world, with Norman now calling for an independent ranking system to serve his league’s players.

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And while LIV frustrations linger over their failure to accrue points, the consensus over on the PGA Tour is that the OWGR system is not accurately ranking the game’s best performers.

Matt Fitzpatrick claimed he no longer pays attention to the “skewed” rankings, while PGA Tour board member Patrick Cantlay admitted that “things need to be updated or changed.”

And world No.4 Hovland has now become the latest player to express his ambivalence towards the OWGR system.

“Rankings are rankings, they’re not objective truth,” he said. “They are created to try to rank people the best they can. Obviously, now when you have a huge chunk of really, really good players that are not getting any ranking points, it definitely devalues that ranking.

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“So, at the end of the day, I don’t show up out here to try to improve my world ranking, I show up because I want to win this tournament and that’s it.”

Ahead of this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, Hovland was also asked if he misses Ryder Cup teammates Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton after their defections to the LIV circuit.

“I wouldn’t say I’m like super social out here, I kind of show up and do my thing,” he said. “But I certainly miss a lot of those guys that we had some great memories from Whistling Straits and in Rome, so certainly miss those guys, but wish them the best and hopefully I’ll get to see them soon.”

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.