Lee Westwood, currently ranked 16th in the world, voiced strong criticisms regarding the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) system as he prepares for the upcoming LIV Golf event in the UK. His comments bring to the forefront the issues players are facing with few ways to gain points within the LIV structure. This unique situation has resulted in some pretty drastic title-yanking rollercoaster rides for numerous golfers.
Westwood’s comments come against a backdrop where golf’s equivalent of the world’s monetary system is being questioned. Bryson DeChambeau’s world ranking has fallen to 930th. At the same time, Westwood’s son, Sam, is in 2,759th place. This reflects the broader issue affecting many players involved with LIV Golf, particularly following its recent re-application for inclusion in the OWGR.
The new LIV Golf series has received harsh rebuke over its limited capacity to distribute OWGR points. Consequently, dozens of players have suffered historic plummets in their ATP and WTA rankings. Westwood took a hard fall, dropping all the way to 907th. He came back with a vengeance, bouncing all the way back to T-34th and up to 571st. The situation has raised concerns among players and fans alike about the integrity and fairness of the current ranking system.
Westwood pointed out that the current top 50 world rankings feature only two LIV players—himself at 16th and Tyrrell Hatton at 21st. He reiterated the need for making real impactful change. Without them, the four major championships would be forced to change their qualification criteria to accommodate more LIV Golf players.
“We either start to get world ranking points on LIV or the major championships have to revise their qualification system, which they seem — some of them seem to want to do but some seem reluctant to do, and they’d have to have a separate qualification system for LIV players, which I don’t think anybody particularly wants. You want it all to be based off the same system.” – Lee Westwood
Westwood’s criticism goes even deeper than his own petty complaints. He feels it is poisoning the competitive atmosphere that the NCAA tournament was built on. “It’s crazy how you can actually finesse a little bit of the system by playing certain weeks and not playing certain weeks,” he stated. He argues that even if the current rankings are better than half-assing it, they still misrepresent what players can do.
Tyrrell Hatton agreed with Westwood, saying the rankings system is broken and should better reward golfers’ true skill. “There’s a lot of guys out here that you certainly want to be playing in majors,” Hatton said, indicating that many deserving players are overlooked due to their current standings.
Westwood congratulated LIV Golf on producing another submission to the OWGR. He fervently hopes that this step would go a long way to legitimizing the league. Importantly, it will ensure players have an equal opportunity to compete in a global marketplace.
“I think that just proves that without world ranking points it makes a bit of a mockery of the system.” – Lee Westwood
Both Westwood and Hatton agree that the ultimate goal should be to ensure that the best players compete in major championships without unnecessary barriers. The current debate around the OWGR signals an important turning point in professional golf. These player rankings have increasingly become an important factor influencing career trajectories and establishing legacies.
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