The world of professional golf is completely lopsided right now and it has been since 2022 when LIV Golf came onto the scene and poached some of the PGA Tour’s best players.
LIV Golf players currently do not earn points for competing in their tournaments.
However, LIV have made an application to the Official World Golf Ranking in the hope of being approved to obtain ranking points in their events.
Genuine change needs to happen soon in the world of professional golf, especially with a potential merger between LIV and the PGA Tour nowhere near happening.
Bryson DeChambeau is the highest ranked LIV golfer in the world, and is currently sitting in 22nd, while Patrick Reed is sitting at 46th in the rankings.
DeChambeau is clearly a top-five player in the world while Reed should definitely be inside the top 20.
And now we could be faced with a scenario that would prove that the concept of the Official World Golf Ranking is fundamentally wrong.
World ranking system is broken as John Keefer eyes spot at The Masters
John Keefer has been a dominant force on the Korn Ferry Tour this season.
He is currently leading the Korn Ferry Tour Points List with just one event remaining – The Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance.
The 24-year-old will obviously be desperate to finish off his season with a win at The Pete Dye Course at French Lick in Indiana.
However, there is something potentially even bigger at play for Keefer this week.
He is currently the 51st ranked player in the world, and a strong finish in the Korn Ferry Tour Championship would see him jump inside the top-50.
Now, this is where it gets interesting. The top 50 ranked players in the world at the end of 2025 receive invites to play in The Masters in 2026, obviously unless otherwise exempt.
So there is a real chance now that Keefer – a man with just four PGA Tour starts to his name – could be in the field at Augusta National next year.
That doesn’t seem right, does it?
This is nothing against Keefer, far from it in fact.
John Keefer’s 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season by numbers
The 24-year-old has played some exceptional golf in 2025, with two wins and nine top-10 finishes to his name in 22 Korn Ferry events.
However, is Keefer a better golfer than 73rd ranked Jon Rahm? Or how about 114th ranked Joaquin Niemann? The answer to that question is obviously no.
PGA Tour stars Adam Scott and Jordan Spieth are ranked 57th and 59th respectively.
The fact that a Korn Ferry Tour golfer who has only played four PGA Tour events is ranked above those two players is just not right.
| Achievements | Keefer’s results |
| Events played | 22 |
| Wins | 2 |
| Top-5s | 6 |
| Top-10s | 9 |
| Missed cuts | 4 |
There is clearly something inherently wrong with the Official World Golf Ranking system.
LIV Golf need to obtain World Ranking points immediately or professional golf will be in a situation whereby the fields at major championships will deliver a seriously watered-down product.
Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson are ranked as the 217th and 634th best players in the world respectively right now, and that is just plain wrong.
John Keefer playing in The Masters in 2026 would shine the spotlight squarely on the men’s professional golf rankings system.
Something has to change, and fast.
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