One of the reasons some of those on the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour have for not considering joining LIV Golf has been that their events still do not receive world ranking points.
LIV Golf spent much of its first couple of years lobbying for their tournaments to receive world ranking points. However, they gave up that fight with the OWGR.
With LIV events played over 54 holes and the league offering little in the way of promotion, it was the right call to offer no points. But the decision also means that almost all of their players are in false positions in the world rankings.
With that, it has been harder for LIV players to prove a factor at the majors. Only Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau have won one of the sport’s four biggest events since making the jump. And 2023 individual champion Talor Gooch featured in just one major the following year.
Bubba Watson suggests how many major spots LIV Golf players should get
But that will change in 2025, with a pathway being created for those around the top of the LIV standings to feature in the majors. But in the eyes of Bubba Watson, that is not enough.
Speaking to the media ahead of LIV Golf Singapore, the two-time Masters champion believes that there should be several more opportunities for those within the league.
“I think that any chance we have to get into the majors, get all of us playing together again, it’s always a good thing,” he said.
“My thoughts have always been we should just go off of our points list or our money list and have 15 guys from LIV be in all the majors, the top 15 from the year before. That’s what I’ve always said. I’ve said it since day one.
“But this is a start. This is a start in the right direction, that people recognize that LIV is here to stay and that LIV is not going anywhere, and it’s only getting better.
“The majors are seeing that, and the majors realize for that one week that they have an event, they need us to join in there and play so we can get some media attention but also show how good LIV is and what team sport is all about.”
How LIV Golf players fared in the 2024 majors
It does appear that the world ranking points are becoming less significant. Nevertheless, LIV Golf is still fighting to prove that it can help players improve and take their game to another level.
DeChambeau appears to have found that other level. However, the 2024 US Open champion did not exactly have a particularly impressive year on LIV.
Meanwhile, Brandel Chamblee noted that LIV’s top 10 players’ average finish in the majors in 2024 was outside the top 40. So they arguably have some way to go before they have the kind of credibility they crave.
It could be argued that LIV needs to have one of its players win their first major following their move. It will happen eventually. But while the likes of Joaquin Niemann and Tyrrell Hatton have not won a major, it is harder to argue that the league deserves something like 15 automatic spots at each event.
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