HONG KONG – Several PGA Tour stars have openly questioned the value of the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) system without the inclusion of LIV Golf players.
But that comes as no surprise to Phil Mickelson, who referenced his social media campaign over the past year to get the OWGR to recognise LIV events.
“I don’t really have any more to add. It is all starting to play out just like we thought it would,” the veteran golfer, 53, said on March 7, ahead of this week’s LIV event in Hong Kong.
The Saudi-backed league has abandoned its efforts to be included in the OWGR, leading PGA stars including Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay and Matt Fitzpatrick to question the legitimacy of the rankings without several of the top players in the world.
“Obviously, now when you have a huge chunk of really, really good players who are not getting any ranking points, it definitely devalues that ranking,” said Hovland, who reportedly turned down a massive offer to join LIV.
It is the latest sign of cooling tensions between players on the rival tours.
That support opened the door for Mickelson to tout the “extremely strong” product he believes LIV is delivering around the world. He described the league as a start-up that is nimble enough to experiment with new ideas and implement them without cutting through years of red tape.
That has been exemplified, in Mickelson’s view, by the well-received nine-hole pro-am format that LIV players participate in before events.
“I think it’s a very big thing, an important part of the overall experience,” he said.
“The interaction on pro-am day between the players and the amateurs is important because many of those players are people who are making decisions to support the game of golf, to sponsor the game of golf, to support other pros or just bring notoriety to the game.
“Conversely, I tried for 10 years to make that happen on the (PGA) Tour... and it took 15 years to get something like that done. I think that shows how fluid LIV Golf is and the ability to do whatever we can to improve.”
Meanwhile, in this week’s action on the PGA Tour, Shane Lowry rolled in a birdie at the par-three 17th hole to take a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando on March 7.
In the field for the fourth signature event of the season on a sponsor’s exemption, the Irishman carded a six-under 66 to move a shot in front of American Justin Lower and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama. REUTERS, AFP
