LIV Golf has criticised what it says is an "unprecedented" ruling by Official World Golf Ranking to award ranking points only to the top 10 finishers at the series' events in 2026.
The ruling, awarding world ranking points to LIV Golf for the first time since its launch in 2022, appeared to be a positive step for the Saudi-backed tour ahead of its first event of 2026 this week, but it swiftly reacted with a strongly worded statement.
The unanimous decision by the OWGR board on Tuesday came with some conditions, most notably that points will only be distributed for the top 10 finishers and ties at each LIV event.
The decision to categorise LIV Golf events among other 'Small Field Tournaments' that are awarded ranking points is due to OWGR's belief that there remains "a number of areas" where the series does not meet the organisation's eligibility standards.
LIV Golf said: "We acknowledge this long-overdue moment of recognition, which affirms the fundamental principle that performance on the course should matter, regardless of where the competition takes place.
"However, this outcome is unprecedented. Under these rules, a player finishing 11th in a LIV Golf event is treated the same as a player finishing 57th.
"Limiting points to only the top 10 finishers disproportionately harms players who consistently perform at a high level but finish just outside that threshold, as well as emerging talent working to establish themselves on the world stage - precisely the players a fair and meritocratic ranking system is designed to recognise.
"No other competitive tour or league in OWGR history has been subjected to such a restriction. We expect this is merely a first step toward a structure that fully and fairly serves the players, the fans and the future of the sport."
England's Tyrrell Hatton at No 22 and Bryson DeChambeau at No 33 are the only LIV players in the top 50, with five others among the top 100, including Jon Rahm at No 97.
OWGR chairman - and former Masters champion - Trevor Immelman said: "This has been an incredibly complex and challenging process and one which we have devoted a huge amount of time and energy to resolving in the seven months since LIV Golf submitted their application.
"We fully recognised the need to rank the top men's players in the world but at the same time had to find a way of doing so that was equitable to the thousands of other players competing on other tours that operate with established meritocratic pathways.
"We believe we have found a solution that achieves these twin aims and enables the best-performing players at LIV Golf events to receive OWGR points."
OWGR's press release on Tuesday explained that the average size of a LIV field being significantly below the minimum of 75 set out in the ranking criteria was a major factor in the decision.
Also contributing factors were the lack of a cut at LIV events and the limited, not necessarily meritocratic, pathways to playing on the breakaway tour.
The decision is effective immediately as the LIV Golf season begins on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia, while the OWGR said it would continue to evaluate LIV's eligibility for ranking points as the series evolves.
LIV Golf added: "We entered this process in good faith and will continue to advocate for a ranking system that reflects performance over affiliation. The game deserves transparency. The fans deserve credibility. And the players deserve a system that treats them equally."
The board decision ends a debate that has been around almost as long as LIV, which launched in 2022. The OWGR rejected the first application in October 2023 when former chairman Peter Dawson said the board could not fairly measure LIV against the other tours.
Immelman, a lead analyst on US golf coverage, became OWGR chairman last year and had been in constant contact with Scott O'Neil, the new CEO of LIV.
LIV has gone from 54 holes to 72 holes for 2026, although that was not a big obstacle in getting world ranking points because other smaller tours around the world also have 54-hole events. Rather it was the turnover in LIV, and the self-selection of adding players with contracts.
But the board worked around those issues to make LIV Golf the 25th circuit in the OWGR.
The PGA Tour reacted by saying it "respected" the OWGR's decision and "the considerable time" Immelman had committed to the process.
