Jon Rahm has said the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) system is no longer fit for purpose in the wake of LIV Golf formally withdrawing its application to have players receive world ranking points from its tournaments.
LIV Golf officially applied for recognition from OWGR in July 22 but that was rejected last October and since they are not open to changing from 54-holes and no cut, they have withdrawn their application.
Former world number one, Rahm, has slipped to 3rd after sitting on top of the rankings for 52 weeks.
“I’m going to be honest, I didn’t know they were still trying to get World Ranking points. But the one thing I can say is I’m going to back to what I said two years ago in the DP World Tour Championship.
“I didn’t think it was a good system back then. And if anything, the more time that goes on, the more it proves to be wrong.”
Rahm used Niemann’s rise as an example of how the OWGR is outdated.
The Chilean, ranked 76th in the world has won two of the three LIV events in the 2024 season as well as winning the Australian Open on the DP World Tour – that win brought him to 55th in the world as he chased a Masters place.
Niemann has received invites to the Masters next month, then PGA Championship and the Open.
“If anybody in this world doesn’t think Joaco deserves to be in the top 10 or doesn’t know that he’s a top player in the world, I don’t know what game you’re watching,” claimed Rahm.
“We can tell. I think anybody who watches golf can tell who the best players in the world are. Obviously, I don’t think the ranking is reflective of that right now to its entirety.”
Bryson DeChambeau believes the OWGR should be tailored to allow the best players to play in the major championships.
“I just think what’s right is in the best interest of the game and we should focus on having the best players at the majors.
“What I think about it is we need to find a collective way, all the governing bodies, everybody, come together, sit down and figure this out, because we need to do this for the fans.”
Speaking ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, Patrick Cantlay said a change to the OWGR is “inevitable.”
“I think the world rankings has a very particular set of criteria.
“I don’t know if broken is the right word, but I think that there’s been so much uncertainty and change in the last couple years that it’s inevitable that things need to be updated or changed.
“I don’t know if we’ve worked through all the changes necessary, compared to all the changes that have happened in the last couple years.”
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