Jon Rahm has expressed his dissatisfaction with the recent move by The Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) to limit world ranking points for players competing in LIV Golf events. According to Rahm, awarding only the top 10 finishers with points "doesn't seem fair" compared to other men's professional golf tours.
In a significant shift, the OWGR has decided to restrict points to the top 10 finishers in LIV Golf events due to concerns over the circuit's eligibility standards. This move comes after LIV Golf was found to have an average field size of 57 for 2026, compared to the minimum of 75 set out by OWGR.
Rahm believes that this decision is biased towards other tours and does not reflect on the quality of golf played in LIV events. He thinks it's "fantastic that we're being recognised in a way," but "I don't like how we're not being treated the same as every other tour." Rahm added, "It seems like the rules that have been in place don't really apply to us, with only 10 of us getting points. It doesn't seem fair."
The two-time major winner also expressed concerns about the potential impact on players' world ranking points. He noted that finishing 11th might cause players to lose points instead of gaining them because adding those extra 9 places to the divisor could lead to a negative gain.
Rahm did, however, appreciate LIV Golf's progress in getting its foot in the door and hopes that it will eventually be recognized as a legitimate tour. The OWGR has defended its stance, stating that someone finishing 11th in an LIV event would be "treated the same as a player finishing 57th."
LIV Golf has responded by highlighting the smaller fields and no cut at other tournaments, such as the Hero World Challenge (20 players) and the PGA Tour's end-of-season play-off events.
In a significant shift, the OWGR has decided to restrict points to the top 10 finishers in LIV Golf events due to concerns over the circuit's eligibility standards. This move comes after LIV Golf was found to have an average field size of 57 for 2026, compared to the minimum of 75 set out by OWGR.
Rahm believes that this decision is biased towards other tours and does not reflect on the quality of golf played in LIV events. He thinks it's "fantastic that we're being recognised in a way," but "I don't like how we're not being treated the same as every other tour." Rahm added, "It seems like the rules that have been in place don't really apply to us, with only 10 of us getting points. It doesn't seem fair."
The two-time major winner also expressed concerns about the potential impact on players' world ranking points. He noted that finishing 11th might cause players to lose points instead of gaining them because adding those extra 9 places to the divisor could lead to a negative gain.
Rahm did, however, appreciate LIV Golf's progress in getting its foot in the door and hopes that it will eventually be recognized as a legitimate tour. The OWGR has defended its stance, stating that someone finishing 11th in an LIV event would be "treated the same as a player finishing 57th."
LIV Golf has responded by highlighting the smaller fields and no cut at other tournaments, such as the Hero World Challenge (20 players) and the PGA Tour's end-of-season play-off events.