Phil Mickelson is not at all shocked by the ruling handed down by the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). They declined to allow LIV Golf events any points, so golfers will continue to see their world rankings drop on the rebel tour. This was something many LIV people had hoped for, but those hopes were dashed by the OWGR board.
Trevor Immelman, a pro golfer, said that he would have thought about what was required if world ranking points were something it needed. He said he would’ve done this at the outset to make sure that his theoretical tour did whatever the world-ranking organization required in order to get points. That’s not what LIV did, but it’s not something that shocks Mickelson.
He believes there’s far more at play here than a simple regulations issue. The PGA Tour is one of the premier points-getting leagues in the world, and OWGR does work with them. Nevertheless, the board insisted that it wasn’t personal.
They claimed that the ruling was simply because LIV is too different. The biggest issue is that there’s no barrier to entry. Part of what makes earning points on the PGA Tour so worthwhile is that not everyone can even make the Tour.
That’s not the case for LIV, which is part of the reason their events cannot get points. Mickelson isn’t surprised, but this does mean that Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, and others will not be able to ascend the OWGR leaderboard.
