LIV golfers criticize 'almost obsolete' OWGR after ruling - ESPN

Cameron Smith called the Official World Golf Ranking system «almost obsolete» after its governing body voted unanimously not to award world-ranking points to golfers for their finishes in LIV Golf League tournaments.

Smith was ranked as high as No. 2 in the world after winning The Open at St. Andrews in July 2022. He left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf about two months later and has fallen to 15th in the world.

«I think it is almost obsolete now,» Smith told reporters Wednesday in Saudi Arabia, where LIV Golf will play its final regular-season event at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club starting Friday. «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.»

Two-time major winner Dustin Johnson, who was LIV Golf's inaugural individual champion in 2022, also questioned whether the OWGR is still the best way to rank players.

«I feel like you can't really use the world ranking system anymore,» Johnson said. «That's my take on it. Hard to use the world ranking system if you're excluding 48 guys that are good players. The rankings are skewed. It doesn't really affect me as it does some of the other guys. I want the points for the other guys.»

OWGR chairman Peter Dawson sent a letter to LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman and COO Gary Davidson on Tuesday, notifying them that the governing board had voted not to recognize the LIV Golf League as an eligible tour in the OWGR system.

The letter said the governing board had concerns about the lack of turnover among players in LIV Golf and the limited pathways for other players to join. It also cited concerns about some of the team aspects of LIV Golf, which has players competing in