Former Open champion Cameron Smith says the Official World Golf Rankings are ‘almost obsolete’ after LIV Golf was again refused ranking points for events.
Smith has branded the OWGR’s refusal to grant world ranking points to LIV Golf as “ridiculous” and he is one of several players from the Saudi backed breakaway tour to criticise the decision of Peter Dawson.
“I think it (OWGR) is almost obsolete now. We’ve got some guys out here who are playing some of the best golf in the world and they’re outside the top 100, 200 in the world. It’s pretty ridiculous,” said the 150th Open champion.
Smith was ranked as high as world number two when he joined LIV Golf shortly after lifting the Claret Jug at St Andrews and has slipped to 15th in the latest rankings.
The Australian can still utilise his major championship exemptions this year to earn sufficient world ranking points to remain inside the coveted world’s top-50 but he feels up and coming players like three-time LIV winner Talor Gooch (187) are being excluded.
“The up-and-coming guys for sure. Talor’s had probably his best career year. To see him probably not going to be in the majors next year is pretty poor. That’s the biggest thing – finding a resolution for those majors. If they do it, great. If they don’t – I wouldn’t be surprised. It’s a pretty sour place to be in at the moment.”
Had Gooch shown such form on the PGA Tour he would have been pretty hard to ignore for Zach Johnson and his USA Ryder Cup team last month.
The American, who played with Pádraig Harrington for the first two rounds of July’s Open Championship feels the OWGR is irrelevant.
“It’s not surprising given everything that’s gone on the last 1-1/2 years. Nonetheless, it further confirms the irrelevancy of the OWGR. Their job is to rank players all around the world; it’s not players’ and tours’ jobs to conform to what they decide is worth getting ranked, or how you’re able to get ranked. It’s their job to figure out who the best players in the world are – which they aren’t able to do. I don’t think they should be the keyholders for that.”
Majors such as The Open, US Open and Masters use the world rankings to help determine their fields. LIV players without exemptions courtesy of previous major successes will find it increasingly difficult to become eligible for the game’s biggest tournaments.
Leave a comment