The Problem With LIV Golf's OWGR Points

LIV Golf has finally gotten the Official World Golf Rankings they’ve been waiting for, but there’s a major catch that has many players and fans frustrated.

In this week’s episode of The Golf Podcast we’ll break down the biggest wrinkle in golf’s power struggle right now: LIV Golf finally receiving Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points — and the immediate backlash that followed.

After LIV revamped its schedule and format to meet ranking expectations, points are now being awarded right away, but only to the top 10 finishers (and ties) in individual stroke play. That hard cutoff has sparked frustration from players like Jon Rahm, who said it “doesn’t seem fair,” and from LIV CEO Scott O’Neil, who argued the policy leaves the vast majority of the field with zero points.

We’ll explain why OWGR categorized LIV as a “small-field” situation, why no-cut events elsewhere still earn points deeper down the leaderboard, and what this means for players chasing majors, Ryder Cup points, and long-term career opportunities.

To put it into perspective, we compare real recent points totals from the PGA TOUR (Waste Management Phoenix Open), LIV’s season opener in Riyadh, and the DP World Tour event Patrick Reed won, plus how LIV’s winner points stack up against a PGA TOUR alternate-field event like the Puerto Rico Open. Then we open it up to you: fair framework, or flop?