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Field Level Media
Jul 23, 2025, 02:44 PM ET
Lee Westwood's necktie for 34th astatine The Open Championship vaulted him 3,759 spots successful the Official World Golf Ranking.
Now astatine No. 930, Westwood is present backmost up of his son, Sam, a mini-tour subordinate who presently sits 2,759th. That served arsenic Exhibit 1 for the Englishman's rant against the satellite rankings system.
"I deliberation that conscionable proves that without satellite ranking points it makes a spot of a mockery of the system," Westwood said Wednesday up of this week's LIV Golf UK event.
The comments came aft the league re-applied for submission to the OWGR past month. That submission presently is nether review.
LIV primitively applied for accreditation successful July of 2022, soon aft the league launched, but was denied. LIV golfers presently tin lone gain ranking points by competing successful large championships and planetary circuit events.
With constricted quality to amass points via the DP World Tour and different tours, LIV players similar Westwood person continued to plummet down the OWGR. Dustin Johnson, who spent 135 weeks astatine No. 1, dropped arsenic debased arsenic 907th earlier a T23 past week vaulted him backmost up to 571st.
The existent apical 50 includes lone 2 LIV players: No. 16 Bryson DeChambeau and No. 21 Tyrrell Hatton of England.
Westwood applauds LIV's caller 2nd submission and believes that without earning OWGR, the 4 large championships volition person to change their processes to see much LIV players successful the future.
"I deliberation chiefly it relates backmost to wanting the champion players successful the large championships, not wanting this speech wherever there's a fewer radical missing retired due to the fact that we don't get satellite ranking points connected LIV," helium said.
"We either commencement to get satellite ranking points connected LIV oregon the large championships person to revise their qualification system, which they look -- immoderate of them look to privation to bash but immoderate look reluctant to do, and they'd person to person a abstracted qualification strategy for LIV players, which I don't deliberation anybody peculiarly wants. You privation it each to beryllium based disconnected the aforesaid system."
That helium was capable to leap much than 3,000 spots based disconnected a necktie for 34th astatine 1 lawsuit speaks to the halfway issues Westwood has with the system. Jon Rahm's issues with the OWGR pre-date joining LIV successful December 2023, and supports a strategy that focuses much connected cardinal playing metrics.
"I already thought it was flawed earlier I ever came, and I was vocal astir it," helium said. "So I deliberation the past fewer years, adjacent the satellite ranking itself and some Data Golf bash a strokes gained ranking, and I deliberation that overmuch much reflects who genuinely is playing the champion due to the fact that the existent points being a two- twelvemonth ranking, you tin person a mediocre week oregon a mediocre 3 weeks, and that volition clasp you down for 2 full years.
"It's brainsick however you tin really finesse a small spot of the strategy by playing definite weeks and not playing definite weeks and things similar that. It's ever going to beryllium somewhat close but not the most, and I deliberation strokes gained usually is going to beryllium the amended practice of however genuinely everybody is playing."
For now, LIV players volition proceed to tumble down the OWGR. Sure, they tin accumulate immoderate points connected different tours extracurricular of LIV events, but the adjacent large isn't until the Masters adjacent April. And unless they are included successful the OWGR, it volition go progressively hard for LIV players to suffice for the 4 biggest tournaments each year.
LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil said earlier this period that he's hopefully the support process tin advancement up of the 2026 large season.
"I deliberation there's a batch of guys retired present that you surely privation to beryllium playing successful majors. If there's a amended pathway for that for us, past that's brilliant," Hatton said.
"There's a batch of guys retired here, their existent satellite ranking doesn't truly bespeak the benignant of golfer that they are, and I deliberation everyone would similar to deliberation everyone sitting present would hold with that statement.
"I conjecture the sooner the satellite rankings tin go a small spot much realistic again, the amended it is for golf."
