22 February 2024 , 13:48
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Whilst. LIV Golf have been left frustated by their Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) snub, Tiger Woods was able to take full advantage of the system at the end of the 2023 campaign.
Woods' season saw him play in just three events, completing only two, after being forced to withdraw from last year's Masters due to an ankle problem. That injury kept him sidelined for over seven months, before he was finally able to return to competition at the Hero World Challenge last November.
His recent lengthy period away from the PGA Tour saw him sink to a career-low in the world rankings, as he headed to Bahamas at the end of last year outside the top 1,200 golfers in the world.
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And upon his return there was, unsurprisingly, still some rust in his game, as he went on to finish 18th out of 20th at the Hero, competing against some of the most in-form players on the planet. Despite his underwhelming performance, Woods was still gifted a huge jump in the world rankings.
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Due to the ranking points on offer at the limited field PGA Tour event, Woods' 18th place finish saw him move up a remarkable 430 spots in the list, breaking back inside the top 900. His jump came at an important time for the OWGR, with LIV Golf still waiting to be recognised by the ranking system.
Despite their fields containing some of the best players on the planet, the breakaway league are unable to offer world ranking points to it's competitors, which has since the likes of Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau slump down the rankings. Woods' remarkable rise came just over a month after LIV's latest OWGR application was rejected.
Tiger Woods' rise in the ranking after just one event was a big one (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)LIV bosses were left infuriated by the decision, and hit back with a scathing statement slamming the legitimacy of the rankings. "OWGR's sole objective is to rank the best players across the globe. Today's communication makes clear that it can no longer deliver on that objective," a statement read last October.
"Professional golf is now without a true or global scoring and ranking system. There is no benefit for fans or players from the lack of trust or clarity as long as the best player performances are not recognised." Just this week, LIV CEO Greg Norman reignited his feud with OWGR.
Taking to social media, Norman highlighted the fact that LIV had just five players inside the top-50 in the world, with three being recent signings in Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Adrian Meronk. Once again slamming the ranking list, Norman labelled the ongoing LIV snub 'laughable' during his outburst.