13 January 2024 , 14:07
718
0
Ian Poulter has taken aim at the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), after the system was forced to admit to making an error when handing out ranking points following last week's Sentry Tournament.
Chris Kirk was the man who prevailed in the opening PGA Tour event of 2024, as the American landed the Sentry title by one shot ahead of Sahith Theegala. In doing so Kirk moved to No. 25 in the world rankings, jumping 27 places in the list thanks to his victory.
Four days later however, OWGR admitted they had made a mistake when awarding points for the Tour's maiden event of the campaign, forcing a slight reshuffle in the rankings on Friday.
READ MORE: Padraig Harrington says Jon Rahm 'well worth' £450 million LIV Golf move
Fortunately for Kirk it worked out for the better, as has gained another four spots and moved up to 21st following the fixing of the error. The world rankings has found itself in the spotlight more than ever over the past year following the formation of the LIV setup in June 2022.
Bubba Watson shares details of horror knee injury ahead of LIV Golf debut
Despite luring in a number of the world's best players, the breakaway league is yet to be recognised by OWGR meaning events have been going ahead without the award of ranking points. Unsurprisingly, those who are apart of the Saudi-backed series have shared their dismay with the rankings over the past two seasons.
And on the back of their error on Friday, LIV stalwart Poulter could not resist another dig. Responding to OWGR's correction on social media, the Englishman wrote: "What [an] Organization… What’s a couple of numbers between friends."
Click to follow the Mirror US on Google News to stay up to date with all the latest news, sport and entertainment stories.
Ian Poulter joined the LIV setup in June 2022 (Chris Trotman/LIV Golf/Getty Images)This is not the first time the European stalwart has expressed his frustration with the ranking system. Prior to handing in his DP World Tour membership last May, Poulter entered the circuit's Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship four months earlier in a bid to earn some ranking points to help in his pursuit of making golf's four major championships and the Ryder Cup in 2023.
Upon his return though, the Englishman did not hold back in his assessment of the system. "We all know that the World Rankings are not reflective of the World Rankings," he said last January. "Every week that they go past and keep clicking, they become more and more obsolete. We are now seeing a system that used to be fair. Look what has happened.
"One top-20 player and 26 World Ranking points (to the winner) this week. So how can not being in the majors not bother me? Do I want to play in every one of them? Of course I do. That’s my road to the Ryder Cup. But I’m not in. So my only road to get in is to play in World Ranking tournaments.”