Norman and his LIV Golf rebels to receive major boost after taking cash gamble

05 October 2023 , 17:15

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A pivotal week awaits LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman and his star players. (Image: Jonathan Ferrey/LIV Golf via Getty Images)

LIV Golf's battle to secure Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points is almost over, with Greg Norman and his star players set to receive a significant boost.

LIV's top players have plunged down the rankings since the Saudi Arabia-backed breakaway league launched in 2022, with its roster not receiving any ranking points for their performances in their 54-hole events.

Only Brooks Koepka and Cameron Smith have maintained any prominence in the OWGR since joining LIV, ranked 17th and 14th respectively thanks to their recent success in the majors. Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau are all ranked between 105 and 129, while Ian Poulter is 290 and Lee Westwood – a former world number one – is 546.

But they could soon start climbing the rankings once again with a decision expected soon by OWGR bosses. Chairman Peter Dawson told Bunkered: "We’re coming close to a conclusion on it and that’s all I can say."

The odds are that is going to be a positive conclusion from a LIV perspective. With talks ongoing between the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the PGA Tour over a merger, the fractured world of professional golf could be pieced back together.

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And Dawson is teeing it up at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at Carnoustie on Friday alongside Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the PIF, chairman of Newcastle United and Norman's boss at LIV.

“Yasir and the Saudi Public Investment Fund are putting a lot of money into the game and it is to be embraced and welcomed,” Dawson added. “I look forward to meeting him, I’ve never spoken to him before.

Official World Golf Rankings boss Peter Dawson has hinted at an imminent resolution to LIV Golf's application for recognition.

"“There’s clearly been some start-up issues and it was very good to see the announcement that (LIV and the PGA Tour) are trying to get together. I hope things get sorted out and they succeed.”

The tone of those comments indicates a positive resolution is imminent for LIV players as its second season edges toward a close. The breakaway has just two events remaining before the end of the year; The Saudi Arabia Invitational in Jeddah from October 13-15 and the team championship in Miami the following week.

LIV players joined forces in a letter sent to Dawson 13 months ago pleading for the tour to receive OWGR recognition. Those players had taken a calculated gamble that the enormous sign-up fees and prize money would be worth the risk of stepping into the wilderness in the hope LIV would eventually gain recognition.

Dawson, the former chief executive of the R&A, explained why LIV's application for ranking points has taken so long to be decided.

“We’ve had a lot of work to do with the rankings because the LIV format and some of the qualification criteria are very different to other tours that are part of the ranking," he said “We have to be fair to everybody, not just the new guys but the other tours as well.”

Sam Frost