LIV Golf waves the white flag in fight against ranking organization

LIV Golf has conceded defeat in its contentious battle against the Official World Golf Ranking. The Saudi-backed golf league withdrew its application for OWGR accreditation Tuesday and will no longer attempt to give its players ranking points, according to Bob Harig of Sports Illustrated. 

"We have made significant efforts to fight for you and ensure your accomplishments are recognized within the existing ranking system," LIV Golf CEO and commissioner Greg Norman wrote in a letter to players, per SI. "Unfortunately, OWGR has shown little willingness to productively work with us."

This struggle dates to July 2022, when LIV first applied for accreditation. After a lengthy delay, the OWGR denied the request in October 2023, citing the league's lack of promotion and relegation criteria. The issue wasn't the 48-man fields, three-round format or absence of a cut; it was that the same 54 players competed on the tour every week no matter how poorly they played. 

LIV Golf made an effort to satisfy that requirement by relegating four players and replacing them with qualifiers after the 2023 season, but the OWGR still didn't budge. Norman eventually decided it was a battle he couldn't win. 

Some LIV players won't be affected because they're qualified for the major championships for years to come, but this is a massive blow to the players who don't have those exemptions locked up. 

Joaquin Niemann, a two-time winner on LIV this season, didn't qualify for the 2024 majors himself. He played his way into the Open Championship by winning on the DP World Tour and received special invitations from the Masters and PGA Championship, but that's not a sustainable way to keep sneaking into the fields. 

The other issue is general fairness. Dustin Johnson, who recently won LIV Golf Las Vegas and finished T10 at the U.S. Open last year, is ranked 266th in the OWGR. 

Bryson DeChambeau is ranked 182nd. Brooks Koepka, the reigning PGA Championship winner, is 30th. 

There's no valid argument for those world-class players being ranked where they are, so the OWGR's stubbornness is only going to fracture professional golf more than it already is.