The Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) board is mulling the application by LIV Golf for awarding of ranking points during a meeting at the R&A headquarters in St. Andrews.
LIV Golf applied for inclusion on July 6 and if successful, their events will start carrying Golf ranking points which will bring even more legitimacy to the Saudi-backed league.
The players who competed in the first two LIV Golf events in London and Oregon did not have that luxury and slipped in the world rankings as a result.
Phil Mickelson’s world ranking slipped from 72nd to 92nd, and Bryson DeChambeau, who made his LIV debut at Pumpkin Ridge outside Portland, has fallen from 28th to 33rd.
Dustin Johnson fell from 15th to 18th, his lowest ranking since he was 21st in February 2015.
A hiccup in the LIV’s plan is that the OWGR board of governors includes PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley who have dished out punishments to PGA and DP Tour deserters.
The PGA Tour suspended more than 20 players for participating in those tournaments without conflicting-event releases.
The DP World Tour also handed down the punishment to its players who competed in LIV events, including a $125,000 fine and suspensions from three events co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour: the Scottish Open, Barbasol Championship, and Barracuda Championship.
Other members of the OWGR board of governors include USGA CEO Mike Whan, R&A CEO Martin Slumbers, PGA of America executive director Seth Waugh, Augusta National Golf Club executive director Will Jones and Keith Waters, who represents the International Federation of PGA Tours.
The governing bodies of the four major championships, which are not governed by the PGA, use OWGR standings to determine exemptions for golf’s biggest events.
