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Liv golf players flock to asian tour event in search of world ranking points, share this article.

We’re less than two months away from the first men’s major championship of the year, and the race to qualify via the Official World Golf Ranking is heating up.

One way to play into the 2024 Masters field is to secure a spot inside the top 50 of the OWGR the week before the event at Augusta National, April 11-14. PGA Tour players have seven more events to earn points, while the DP World Tour has five events on its schedule before the Masters. LIV Golf players, however, are running out of time.

This week, 21 of the 54 current players in the league led by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund have entered the Asian Tour’s first International Series event of the year in Oman. The International Series consists of 10 events – funded by LIV Golf – that offer significantly less prize money than LIV events. So why play? Under the Asian Tour wing, International Series events dish out OWGR points.

LIV Golf hasn’t been granted OWGR points despite numerous attempts (remember the MENA Tour alliance? ), which has caused its players to plummet in the rankings over the last two years. Patrick Reed is 100th, Bryson DeChambeau is 169th and Dustin Johnson is 238th, to name a few.

Of the 21 LIV players in the Oman field, just three are currently inside the top 100: Lucas Herbert (80), Joaquin Niemann (81) and Dean Burmester (95).

“I think I have a different mindset for this year,” said Niemann after he won LIV’s season opener in Mexico earlier this month. “It kind of hurt me a little bit not being in the majors and I think also helped me to get motivation to kind of earn my spot back into the majors.”

Both Niemann and Burmester played their way into the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon via their Open Qualifying Series wins at the end of 2023, but a trip down Magnolia Lane may be out of reach. LIV has three events in the next seven weeks leading up to the Masters – Jeddah (March 1-3), Hong Kong (March 8-10) and Miami (April 5-7) – which makes any sort of top-50 push for the Masters not necessarily impossible, but certainly improbable.

The U.S. Open and Open Championship feature top 60 and top 50 exemptions, respectively, and while the PGA Championship doesn’t explicitly grant exemptions based on the OWGR, special exemptions are often given to players inside the top 100 to those who aren’t qualified through a set category.

Long story short, this week’s event in Oman is just the start of what will be a busy year for LIV players not already qualified for the majors.

LIV players in International Series Oman field

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An Official World Golf Ranking Committee Member Thinks LIV Golf Should Get Points

• Author: Bob Harig

KING ABDULLAH ECONOMIC CITY, Saudi Arabia – Cho Minn Thant might not be the most prominent name in the big picture of professional golf, but he’s got two pretty significant gigs in the game.

The first is his day job, and that is as CEO and commissioner of the Asian Tour. He also has an important role with the Official World Golf Ranking as a member of its technical committee.

Because of the Asian Tour’s relationship with LIV Golf, Cho said it will preclude him from having any kind of a role in LIV’s application for OWGR points. But he understands the process and is among the few, if any, associated with it to speak on the record.

“I’d like to see the OWGR grant LIV world ranking points for next season,’’ Cho said during an interview with Sports Illustrated at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club, the site of this week’s LIV Golf Invitational Series Jeddah event. “This year was probably too soon.

“The way LIV started it was a work in progress. It still is a work in progress. And the start of the season they were unsure which players would sign up. This is massively more successful than they envisioned at the start of the year, in my opinion. And highly successful.’’

Still, Cho acknowledges there are legitimate issues with LIV’s plight for ranking points.

“There are things that could be put in place,’’ he said. “There’s no cut. Only 54 holes. The system accounts for that. There are going to be things in the world with golf rankings the way they are at the moment that will prevent LIV players from getting super-high world ranking points like the PGA Tour. They have 48 players in the field, where every player counts. That’s a big difference from  a 156-man field, which is obviously going to get more points. The 54 holes is another way LIV will have reduced points. But the principle of it is they should still get points.’’

Cho, 38, who became commissioner of the Asian Tour in 2019 after working in various roles since 2007, was referring to aspects of the ranking points system that now gives a reduction in points due to field size. This week’s LIV event has 38 of the top 200 players in the world and would receive approximately 20 points for the winner if it were eligible. The PGA Tour’s Zozo Championship with a 78-player field is projected to get 38 points for the winner.

In his role as commissioner of the Asian Tour, Cho submitted LIV Golf’s application for world ranking points. A prospective tour needs to be sponsored by another tour and that happened in early July, prior to the British Open .

So far, there has been no movement.

“I won’t be part of it, but I know it has not been sent down to the technical committee to examine,’’ Cho said. “It may or may not have to. But for typical matters they do send it down to the T.C. to discuss at least.’’

Cho is an Australian who grew up in Canberra and his parents are Burmese. He lives in Singapore, where the Asian Tour is headquartered, but also spends a good bit of time in Florida, not far from LIV Golf’s office in West Palm Beach.

As one of nine members of the technical committee, he dives into the bits and pieces of the world rankings. Ian Barker, who works for the DP World Tour, is the chairman and there is also representation from the United States Golf Association, the PGA of America, the R&A as well as the Japan, Australian and South African tours.

The OWGR’s board makes the decisions, however. Chairman Peter Dawson, former head of the R&A, is not affiliated but the board includes PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley as well as representatives from the Masters , USGA, PGA of America and R&A as well as the International Federation of PGA Tours.

As Sports Illustrated has previously reported, there are 14 guidelines, several of which LIV’s bid do not meet. But there is also a disclaimer: not all need to be met to get approved; all could be met and still not approved; and the board has discretion to change the criteria at any time.

Due to this, there has been a considerable amount of misinformation and lack of understanding of the process.

“It’s the opposite of a normal application,’’ Cho said of LIV. “The Mexican Tour has applied. The Thai Tour, the Indian Tour, the Taiwanese Tour … they’ve all applied for world golf rankings. But they are developmental tours or domestic tours without hardly any ranked players. It’s a way for them to get legitimacy, whereas (nearly) all of the LIV players are ranked. A lot of them are ranked inside the top 100 in the world, if not the top 50 (12 are in the top 50).

"It’s a difficult application because it’s a guideline, but it’s not a hard-and-fast rule. And the important thing to think about with LIV is it’s not a regional tour.’’

Asked about all the contradictions seemingly associated with how the OWGR decides to give points, Cho said “if we went back and looked at the qualifying criteria and applied it to all of the tours that do have world ranking points, they might not meet them.’’

Asked for an example, Cho cited the PGA Tour’s qualifying tournament. One of the OWGR criteria is that a tour have an open qualifying tournament. For the last decade, the PGA Tour’s Q-school has not provided direct access. (It is changing in 2023 to allow the top-5 finishers and ties onto the PGA Tour.)

“It goes to the Korn Ferry,’’ Cho said. If you wanted to go by technicalities, there always has to be some concessions made on a case by case basis.’’

The Big Easy Tour is another tour that falls short of the criteria by not having a minimum purse requirement of $30,000.

The Asian Tour’s affiliation with LIV Golf was a work in progress over several years, Cho said. It began well before LIV was even a thing, when Golf Saudi—which owns the Saudi International and is the promotional arm for golf in the country—reached out to suggest collaboration.

At the time, the Saudi International tournament was part of the European Tour. Cho was looking for more support for his tour, and there was talk of several elevated events and perhaps some sort of “Race to Saudi’’ as the European Tour has with the “Race to Dubai.’’

The pandemic put all of that on hold. The Asian Tour went 18 months without playing an event and was struggling to stay in business. Only four events had been played in 2020. The tour resumed in late 2021 with two events in Phuket, Thailand, and two more in January of this year in Singapore.

Tom Kim won the first Singapore event and tied for second in the second and was the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit winner. Less than a year later, he is a two-time winner on the PGA Tour .

LIV stepped in late in 2021 to announce a $300 million commitment to the Asian Tour over 10 years by establishing the International Series, a 10-tournament elevated circuit that is part of the Asian Tour’s 25-tournament schedule. Purses will be at least $1 million and the leading player on the International Series is assured of a spot next year with LIV Golf.

In fact, Asian Tour players have been a big part of LIV Golf. Nine were in the field at the first event outside of London and they have had five or six in each event since.

“Coming from a tour where we’re happy to have $1 million events, suddenly playing for $25 million is a dream for our players,’’ Cho said.

Last week, LIV Golf announced it was integrating with another tour called the MENA Tour , a developmental tour that had been on hiatus due to the pandemic. The hope was that by incorporating with the MENA Tour, LIV could assimilate into a tour that was already granted points and get them immediately.

Cho knew that was not going to work. At least not now.

“Look, it was fairly obvious that it wasn’t going to be passed without further examination,’’ he said. “That it happened almost overnight the day before their event didn’t help. We all know that the world golf ranking is governed by the powers that be. And they don’t make decisions in an instant. I think it was always going to be 'we acknowledge it but we need more time to examine it.'’’

LIV Golf is impatient, but Cho believes it should happen.

“From a golf perspective, you watch these guys play, you watch them on the driving range,’’ Cho said. “There’s no denying that D.J. (Dustin Johnson) is top five in the world. Cam Smith is top five. Joaquin Niemann, Bryson DeChambeau. They are top-20 players and I don’t think anyone would deny it.’’

LIV Golf pro SHOCKED at lack of OWGR points available on Asian Tour

LIV Golf participant Travis Smyth was stunned at the lack of Official World Golf Ranking points that were on offer at the International Series Event on the Asian Tour.

LIV Golf  player Travis Smyth expressed deep shock at the lack of Official World Golf Ranking points on offer at the International Series event in Egpyt on the Asian Tour.

The event was won by fellow LIV Golf participant Andy Ogletree. Ogletree banked 4.49109 points according to the OWGR website. Runner-up and eight-time DP World Tour winner Bernd Wiesberger earned 2.69465 points.

Ogletree later revealed why he was given the boot from the Saudi-backed tour.

American James Piot picked up 1.07786 for coming outright fifth at Madinaty Golf Club and this is what Smyth picked upon. The Australian came 12th and earned 0.53893. In comparison, Scottie Scheffler earned 4.59972 points for coming tied for ninth at the Cadence Bank Houston Open.

"To get 1 world ranking point last week on the  @asiantourgolf  you had to come top 5. Just 1 point..." Smyth tweeted on Monday.

"If anyone comes across a regular Asian Tour player crack the top 150-200 in the world it will pretty much mean they’re dominating the Tour."

To get 1 world ranking point last week on the @asiantourgolf you had to come top 5. Just 1 point… If anyone comes across a regular asian tour player crack the top 150-200 in the world it will pretty much mean they’re dominating the tour. — Travis Smyth (@travsmythg) November 14, 2022

Smyth, 27, is currently ranked sixth in the Order of Merit on the Asian Tour. He won the Yeangder TPC back in September and his second-place finish at the International Series England event earned him a spot at LIV Golf's inaugural event near London. He has made three LIV starts in total.

His form on the Asian Tour in 2022 has helped him reach 407th in the world rankings from 762nd at the start of the year. This is not the first time he has taken issue with the OWGR points on the Asian Tour.

Back in September, Berry Henson was critical of the Tour for only rewarding Smyth 2.28 points for winning in Taiwan, something that Smyth also described as "a joke."

"2.28 first place @OWGRltd points for the winner this week on @asiantourgolf I’m sorry but that’s a crock of (excrement emoji)," Henson posted on Twitter on September 25.

        View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by . (@golfmagic)

Lee Westwood also replied to Henson's tweet saying, "Yes but someone that represents you on that board voted for that change."

The OWGR has been under the microscope in 2022 as LIV boss Greg Norman has continually applied pressure on the board to award the Saudi-backed series with ranking points.

The controversial new league formed an alliance with the little-known MENA Tour in a bid to meet OWGR criteria, but their bid is still under review.

Next page: Nine players who changed their mind about LIV Golf

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LIV Golf players send OWGR chair Peter Dawson letter lobbying for inclusion in the World Ranking. But the hurdles to earn approval remain numerous

Jared C. Tilton/LIV

EDITOR’S NOTE — A version of this story first ran on Aug. 1 after officials with LIV Golf formally applied for accreditation with the Official World Golf Ranking. The OWGR board subsequently announced it was reviewing the application, a process that regularly takes one to two years.

Last Friday, the entire roster of LIV golfers wrote a letter addressed to Peter Dawson, chairman of the OWGR board, calling for him to immediately award OWGR points to LIV events as well as award points retroactively for the five tournaments that have been played since the series began in June. There is nothing in the OWGR procedures, however, that would allow for this to happen, and there are several criteria required for accreditation that the LIV Golf series does not seem to compile with.

The upstart LIV Golf Invitational Series undeniably has been building a head of steam, incorporating new players (many with major-championship credentials), generating publicity and, seemingly, gaining traction in its bid for legitimacy.

But as gold rains down on the select few who populate the LIV Golf roster, a cloud of uncertainty continues to hover over the fledgling enterprise run by Greg Norman and lavishly underwritten by the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and  it could dampen its prospects for future viability for years . For all the billions at its disposal, LIV Golf can’t purchase the most elemental—and necessary—authentication in men's professional golf.

Without being able to offer Official World Golf Ranking points, the LIV Golf Series will remain a relative outlier on the global golf stage, one that can provide its players a future of financial wealth in exchange for, at first glance, what would appear to be dwindling opportunities in the game’s major events. Not surprisingly, then, the upstart circuit sent an application on July 6 for accreditation to the OWGR board, submitted via sponsorship from the Asian Tour. Peter Dawson, OWGR chairman,  acknowledged receiving it after the board met during the Open Championship at St. Andrews, stating “an examination of the application will commence.”

MORE: LIV Golf starts to turn away top-50 players as its shifts to ‘league’ format for 2023

On Sept. 16, the same day that the fifth of eight LIV Golf Invitational scheduled for 2022 held its first round at Rich Harvest Farms outside Chicago, several LIV Golf players signed a letter to Peter Dawson, chairman of the OWGR board, lobby for LIV’s inclusion in the OWGR.

“To maintain trust, we urge you—as one of the true statesmen of sports—to act appropriately to include, on a retroactive basis, the results of LIV Golf events in OWGR’s ranking calculations,” the players wrote. “An OWGR without LIV would be incomplete and inaccurate, the equivalent of leaving the Big 10 or the SEC out of the U.S. college football rankings, or leaving Belgium, Argentina and England out of the FIFA rankings.”

The letter noted that Dustin Johnson, winner of the LIV event in Boston earlier in the month, had dropped from 13th in the World Ranking to 22nd despite finishes of eighth, third, second and first in his first four LIV starts. It also noted that Johnson had defeated 15 golfers who had finished first or second in the four men’s majors. “For the rankings to be accurate," the letter said, "DJ deserves to move up, not down.”

However, it would appear in its current form, LIV Golf doesn’t possess the necessary organizational components to be approved. Golf Digest has obtained information that identifies various parameters that need to be met for approval, several of which LIV Golf seems to fall short on if its application to the OWGR reflects its current rules and governance. The following compulsory elements would appear to be lacking:

1. An embrace of inclusion and promoting non-discriminatory practices.

2. Competitions contested over 72 holes, except for developmental tours (like the Abema TV Tour, the Alps Golf Tour, or the EuroPro Tour, among others), which are permitted to be 54-hole events.

3. An open annual qualifying school held before the start of each season.

4. A field size on average of 75 players over the course of a season.

5. A 36-hole cut, whether playing 54 or 72 holes.

6. A clear opportunity to progress to a full member tour, that is, to one of the six members of the International Federation of PGA Tours.

7. Reasonable access for local and regional players (i.e. Monday qualifiers) at each of its tournaments.

Additionally, LIV Golf does not meet the requirement of a 10-event minimum schedule, though it should next year  with its plan for 14 tournaments . This bit of short-sightedness at its outset is significant because a prospective tour must adhere to the OWGR guidelines for at least one year immediately prior to inclusion. So even if it somehow were to be fast-tracked for approval, OWGR guidelines suggest the earliest date that points could be distributed wouldn’t begin until 2024.

Henrik Stenson receives congratulations for his individual victory at the LIV Golf Invitational Bedminster.

Charles Laberge/LIV Golf

Routinely, the process for OWGR approval can take upwards of one to two years. The application is first reviewed by the 10-person OWGR technical committee, which would work with the applicant to resolve points of contention. Then consideration is taken up by the seven-member governing board that is comprised of representatives from the four major championships, the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and a representative of the Federation Tours (Asian Tour, Australasian Tour, Japan Golf Tour, Sunshine Tour).

Norman has spoken out suggesting that representatives from the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and other organizations represented on the board that have voiced reservations about LIV Golf should recuse themselves from voting. The Sept. 16 players letter to Dawson also expresses concern that the current board is biased against LIV Golf.

MORE: Here is why the World Ranking system is so critical to LIV Golf’s longterm viability

LIV Golf does meet—or it’s assumed it will meet—some of the requirements, including playing by the Rules of Golf, offering an average minimum purse of $30,000 ( yeah, it’s got that covered ), having a players’ committee as well as tournament eligibility criteria, and fulfilling various administrative necessities such as timely reporting of accurate player data.

LIV Golf officials could well respond to its list of shortcomings by citing a few exceptions that exist in the PGA Tour schedule. The PGA Tour stages five no-cut tournaments, two of which—the Sentry Tournament of Champions and the Tour Championship—fall far short of 75 players. But the tour has 37 full-field tournaments with a cut, and those tournaments feed into the no-cut events.

Then there’s the 20-player Hero World Challenge, hosted by Tiger Woods, which also awards OWGR points, but didn’t do so until it changed its field eligibility system.

MORE: Henrik Stenson made millions with his LIV Golf win. But it came with a cost, too

The fact that these exceptions are one-offs or apply to a tour that meets all other criteria in no way translates to an endorsement of LIV Golf, which in its entirety would be requesting certification with all of these exceptions.

A few of the bullet points above require further explanation.

It's murky whether LIV Golf can be considered as an entity that promotes non-discriminatory practices—which is the very first item on the OWGR criteria list. Its series might embrace the philosophy, but it’s safe to say that Saudi Arabia, the source of its funding, does not. LIV Golf’s "relegation plan" apparently is meant to remedy the third item, a qualifying system. But it’s hardly an open system when some players are exempt from the process. Point No. 6 is a real stickler, too, because the Asian Tour is the sponsor of LIV Golf for OWGR, the de facto senior partner in their relationship. And yet, LIV Golf doesn’t feed into the Asian Tour; it’s set up exactly opposite.

LIV Golf players have discussed the possibility they might seek to supplement their World Ranking points by playing Asian Tour events , but the idea has considerably less merit now that a reconfiguration of the OWGR points distribution metric kicks in starting with next week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship. The new system, which has been several years in the making , no longer will award the minimum first-place points to tournaments with weak fields; each event stands on its own. Thus, the Asian Tour’s minimum of 14 points for the winner disappears, and its events won’t be as lucrative on the OWGR scale. The addition of LIV players who are plummeting down the rankings during a drawn-out application process won’t improve field strength appreciably—a vicious spiral of diminishing returns.

Should LIV Golf make the necessary alterations, what would follow is a probation period of at least three years, according to OWGR procedures. And in that time, LIV Golf could not revert to its original scheme once accepted or it would lose OWGR accreditation.

The bottom line is that LIV Golf will have to change its organizational model significantly if it hopes to get the good housekeeping seal of approval of OWGR inclusion. Can it exist without the OWGR? Access to an estimated $620 billion war chest suggests that it can. But what would be the point? With its July 6 application and its follow-up players letter to Dawson, LIV Golf already has provided the answer.

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LIV Golf Pros Head To The Asian Tour Event To Earn Valuable World Ranking Points

This year, the Asian Tour started with impressive displays at  Springfield Royal Country Club  and Lake View Resort on February 16. However, Golf enthusiasts await the subsequent events, where top professionals like Kristoffer Broberg and David Puig aim to secure crucial world ranking points. This piece examines their motivations, the significance of these points, and the incredible opportunities they provide for Australian gamblers willing to explore the cryptocurrency  gambling platforms recommended by CCN .

The Asian Tour Opportunity

The Asian Tour, a well-established circuit with Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points on offer for its events, presents a strategic avenue for LIV Golf players to compete in a recognized forum. By participating in Asian Tour events, LIV Golf professionals can earn valuable ranking points, potentially bolstering their position in the OWGR and securing eligibility for majors and other prestigious tournaments. This move underscores the importance of world ranking points in maintaining competitive relevance and accessing the highest levels of the sport.

2024 Asian Tour’s Expansive Vision

The  Asian Tour’s comprehensive calendar , highlighted by the International Series Oman among its marquee events, represents a bold step towards reshaping the global golf landscape. This series, featuring a lucrative prize pool of US$2,000,000 for the Oman event alone, signifies the Asian Tour’s commitment to establishing a premier competitive platform that attracts the world’s best talent. Rahul Singh, the visionary head of the International Series, envisions this season as a pivotal moment that offers unparalleled opportunities for professional golfers and serves as a gateway into the elite circles of the LIV Golf League.

With an ambitious schedule that includes 23 events and a total prize fund of 35 million USD, the series will challenge the norms of professional golf. The inclusion of storied tournaments like the Hong Kong Open, alongside new ventures such as the PIF Saudi International sponsored by Softbank Investment Advisers, underscores the Asian Tour’s strategy to diversify its offerings and enhance its global appeal. The leadership of Cho Minn Thant, the Commissioner and CEO, has been instrumental in steering the tour towards new heights, with a clear focus on quality, competitiveness, and international reach.

The Global Gathering: A Confluence of Talent

The Asian Tour’s roster for the season is a testament to its global allure, drawing a diverse group of players from across the golfing world. Stars like Joaquin Niemann, Matthew Wolff, Lucas Herbert, Louis Oosthuizen, David Puig, and Dean Burmester are among the luminaries expected to grace various events across the tour. Their participation underscores the Asian Tour’s status as a melting pot of talent, where established names and emerging stars converge to compete at the highest level.

It’s important to note that while these athletes will participate in the series, their appearance in specific events, including the  International Series Oman , will depend on individual schedules and commitments. Moreover, David Puig’s triumph at the IRS Prima Malaysian Open, where he clinched a US$1,000,000 prize by outplaying Sam Horsfield, set a precedent for the competition anticipated throughout the tour. This victory, coupled with the tour’s promising start at Springfield Royal Country Club and Lake View Resort on February 16, 2024, has set the stage for a season of high stakes and intense rivalries.

Bridging Divides: The Asian Tour’s Inclusive Approach

The strategic inclusion of LIV Golf professionals in the Asian Tour events marks a significant moment in the sport’s ongoing evolution. By opening its doors to players from various circuits, the Asian Tour is not just enhancing the competitive diversity of its events; it’s also fostering a spirit of inclusivity that transcends traditional league affiliations. This approach is instrumental in challenging the existing paradigms of professional golf, facilitating a dialogue around the sport’s future direction and the potential for a more unified global golf community.

Integrating LIV Golf players into the Asian Tour highlights the complex dynamics in the current golf ecosystem, raising questions about the criteria for world ranking points and the recognition of new formats and tours. As the sport grapples with these challenges, the Asian Tour’s initiatives may serve as a blueprint for future collaboration, emphasizing talent and performance over league loyalty.

The Quest for World Ranking Points

The participation of LIV Golf professionals in Asian Tour events underscores the critical importance of world ranking points in the sport. These points serve not just as a metric of a player’s skill and achievements but also as a gateway to the most prestigious tournaments in golf. For players from the LIV Golf circuit, which is not currently recognized by the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) system, these events offer a vital opportunity to earn points and maintain their standing in the global golf hierarchy.

This strategic move reflects a broader trend within the sport, where traditional barriers are redefined, and new alliances are formed. By integrating players from various leagues, the Asian Tour fosters a more inclusive and competitive environment, enhancing the diversity and quality of the competition. This development indicates the tour’s rising profile and role in shaping the future of professional golf.

Implications for the Competitive Landscape

The decision by LIV Golf pros to compete in the Asian Tour event for ranking points has several implications. Let’s consider these implications below:

• Integration Challenges:  It highlights new circuits like LIV Golf face in integrating with the established competitive framework and the importance of OWGR points in the professional golf ecosystem.
• Player Mobility:  This development underscores the fluidity of professional golf, with players seeking competitive and strategic opportunities across different tours to achieve their career objectives.
• Golf Governance:  The move prompts discussions about the governance of professional golf and the criteria for awarding world ranking points. Moreover, it resurfaces topics regarding the potential for future collaboration or conflict between different tours and circuits.

Who is playing in the 2024 ISPS Handa Championship? DP World Tour event's field explored

A fter a short break, the DP World Tour is back this week with the 2024 ISPS Handa Championship in Japan. The penultimate event on the circuit's Asian Swing is set to tee off on Thursday, April 25 at the Taiheiyo Club Gotemba Course in Gotemba.

The second edition of the ISPS Handa Championship will feature a 144-player field. The event, featuring a mixture of European and Asian stars, will be headlined by the likes of Matthieu Pavon, Rafa Cabrera-Bello and Jesper Svensson, among others.

2024 ISPS Handa Championship field

World No.21 Matthieu Pavon is the top-ranked player on the ISPS Handa Championship field. Interestingly, he'll be the only top 50 OWGR-ranked player at the Japanese outing.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Rikuya Hoshino, Masahiro Kawamura, Dylan Frittelli, Yannik Paul and Keita Nakajima are other players to watch this weekend in Japan.

Notably, the golfers will compete against each other for the $2,250,000. The ISPS Handa Championship winner will bag $380,000 along with some valuable Race to Dubai points.

It is pertinent to note that the event takes place parallel to the Zurich Classic of New Orleans . Several European Tour regulars have picked the team event over the Japanese outing.

Listed below is the complete field for the ISPS Handa Championship in Japan:

• Mikiya Akutsu
• Marcus Armitage
• Adri Arnaus
• Sam Bairstow
• Matthew Baldwin
• Haydn Barron
• Christiaan Bezuidenhout
• Jonas Blixt
• Adam Blomme
• Dan Bradbury
• Julien Brun
• Rafa Cabrera Bello
• Ivan Cantero
• Filippo Celli
• Nicolas Colsaerts
• Ugo Coussaud
• Sean Crocker
• Jens Dantorp
• Louis De Jager
• Justin De Los Santos
• Alejandro Del Rey
• Manuel Elvira
• Will Enefer
• Ewen Ferguson
• Ross Fisher
• Grant Forrest
• Sebastian Friedrichsen
• Dylan Frittelli
• Stephen Gallacher
• Joel Girrbach
• Ricardo Gouveia
• Gavin Green
• Julien Guerrier
• Jordan Gumberg
• Chase Hanna
• Takahiro Hataji
• Marcus Helligkilde
• Angel Hidalgo
• Kazuki Higa
• Daniel Hillier
• Kensei Hirata
• Mikumu Horikawa
• Rikuya Hoshino
• Yusaku Hosono
• Daan Huizing
• Kodai Ichihara
• Tomoyo Ikemura
• Shugo Imahira
• Yuki Inamori
• Ryo Ishikawa
• Aguri Iwasaki
• Hiroshi Iwata
• Scott Jamieson
• Casey Jarvis
• Matthew Jordan
• Takumi Kanaya
• Naoyuki Kataoka
• Yuto Katsuragawa
• Riki Kawamoto
• Masahiro Kawamura
• Brad Kennedy
• Maximilian Kieffer
• Marcus Kinhult
• Ryosuke Kinoshita
• Yuta Kinoshita
• Soren Kjeldsen
• Jeong Weon Ko
• Shintaro Kobayashi
• Kazuma Kobori
• Satoshi Kodaira
• Espen Kofstad
• Guntaek Koh
• Jacques Kruyswijk
• Frederic Lacroix
• Romain Langasque
• Francesco Laporta
• Pablo Larrazábal
• Zander Lombard
• Mike Lorenzo-Vera
• Joost Luiten
• Matteo Manassero
• Richard Mansell
• Shota Matsumoto
• Tomgalgorm Mckibbin
• Guido Migliozzi
• Yusaku Miyazato
• Edoardo Molinari
• James Morrison
• Taichi Nabetani
• Ryutaro Nagano
• Taiga Nagano
• Keita Nakajima
• Naoto Nakanishi
• Rintaro Nakano
• Lukas Nemecz
• Niklas Norgaard
• Shaun Norris
• Takashi Ogiso
• Kaito Onishi
• Adrian Otaegui
• Tomoharu Otsuki
• Juvic Pagunsan
• Renato Paratore
• Yannik Paul
• Andrea Pavan
• Matthieu Pavon
• Marco Penge
• Eddie Pepperell
• Anthony Quayle
• Richie Ramsay
• Antoine Rozner
• Adrien Saddier
• Taihei Sato
• Lorenzo Scalise
• Marcel Schneider
• Freddy Schott
• Matthias Schwab
• Jason Scrivener
• Taiga Semikawa
• Shunhankar Sharma
• Taisei Shimizu
• Jordan Smith
• Sebastian Söderberg
• Younghan Song
• Clément Sordet
• Matthew Southgate
• Brandon Stone
• Ockie Strydom
• Taiga Sugihara
• Yuta Sugiura
• Andy Sullivan
• Kosuke Suzuki
• Jesper Svensson
• Connor Syme
• Shotaro Tanaka
• Toru Taniguchi
• Hideto Tanihara
• Santiago Tarrio
• Yosuke Tsukada
• Tom Vaillant
• Paul Waring
• Gunner Wiebe
• Bernd Wiesberger
• Jeff Winther
• Ren Yonezawa
• Taiki Yoshida
• Fabrizio Zanotti

The DP World Tour will travel to China for the 2024 Volvo China Open after the Japanese outing.

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Why can’t LIV get points? Inside LIV Golf’s controversial World Ranking quest

Greg Norman thinks LIV's talent should override any procedural concerns when it comes to doling out World Ranking points.

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Life, like Greg Norman’s argument for instant world ranking points, is all a matter of perspective.

From one perspective, LIV Golf is staging tournaments with some of the most talented golfers in the world. They have major champions, former World No. 1s and some of the most recognizable names and biggest personalities in the sport. The fact that these pros regularly compete against each other and even the winners are plummeting in the world rankings reveals an obvious blind spot in the system. Continuing to deny them points would be ridiculous!

From another perspective, LIV is staging a brand-new tournament series of limited, closed-field events that satisfy only a portion of the OWGR criteria. Now they’re demanding instant recognition and special exemption from an in-depth, intensive review process — and now they’re thumbing their nose at that process through the bizarre takeover of a dormant mini-tour. Giving in to their demands would be ridiculous!

You can see why things have gotten heated.

So let’s boil it down to the essentials. What is the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), how can a new tour gain its recognition and what are the barriers for LIV to get there? Here are 10 questions — and answers! — about the mysterious process.

1. Why do people care about the OWGR?

For decades, a male golfer’s professional standing has been represented by his world ranking. It’s his resume, his VIP badge, his passport. It’s the way he gets compared to players who aren’t on his tour. More specifically, his world ranking dictates whether or not he can play in some of the biggest events on the calendar, including the major championships.

That’s a significant reason LIV golfers care about the OWGR: They still want to play the majors. While LIV has demonstrated some interest from an emerging fan base, golf careers and legacies are still defined by performance in majors. Some LIV pros are recent major winners and have exemptions into the biggest championships (think Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson, who won the U.S. Open and Masters in 2020, Phil Mickelson, who won the 2021 PGA and Cameron Smith, who won this year’s Open) but others are clinging to their ranking as means of qualification (think Joaquin Niemann or Talor Gooch).

As a result, the OWGR’s ruling — and timing — is a big deal. If LIV is awarded points, its members can more easily leave the PGA Tour in their rearview mirror, knowing they’ll still be able to qualify for the majors through strong play on LIV. Until then, they’re in limbo. That limbo has already contributed to lawsuits, to resentment, to dramatics. There’s likely to be more of all of the above.

2. What’s the rush?

LIV CEO Greg Norman has made it clear he wants points and he wants them now. LIV pros underscored that point in a September letter to the OWGR board (more on that shortly) and doubled down with a surprising end-around to the little-known MENA Tour this past week (more on that shortly, too).

But there’s a reason this is an urgent matter for LIV pros. Because they’re suspended from the PGA Tour, they aren’t earning points there or on LIV. They still have some opportunities to earn points — some are still qualified for majors, while others have played on the DP World Tour and Patrick Reed has been barnstorming various world stages — but their rankings are plummeting nonetheless. This is doubly bad news for LIV because nearly every member of their field will have a lower ranking. So if LIV is awarded points in a year, say, those points will be worth mere pennies on the dollar because the field strength will be so greatly reduced. LIV members knew this risk when they made the jump to LIV, but now they’re speaking out in the hopes of an expedited process.

“When they keep holding it back, they’re going to just keep playing a waiting game where we’re going to keep dropping down in the rankings to where our points won’t ever matter,” DeChambeau said in Thailand this week. “That’s what they’re trying to accomplish, and I hope that people can see right through that rather than believe the lies that they’ve been told. From my perspective, I think we deserve points.”

3. Who made this thing, anyway?

Here’s the short history of the OWGR: In the 1960s, pioneering sports agent Mark McCormack made his own ranking. He did this on his own until 1986, when the OWGR was officially recognized so that players splitting time between the European and PGA Tours could be more accurately measured, even if they weren’t atop either money list. McCormack’s agency, IMG, owned the OWGR until 2004, when a company called OWGR Limited took over operation.

4. Who runs the OWGR?

There OWGR is governed by a seven-person board of directors. That governing board is chaired by Peter Dawson, the former Chief Executive of the R&A, and is comprised of representatives from the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour, the International Federation of PGA Tours and then one rep from each of the bodies that run the four majors. Here’s what that looks like:

GOVERNING BOARD

Chairman : Peter Dawson

Representing Augusta National Golf Club : Will Jones, Executive Director

Representing the DP World Tour : Keith Pelley, Chief Executive

Representing the PGA of America : Seth Waugh, Chief Executive Officer

Representing the PGA Tour : Jay Monahan, Commissioner

Representing the R&A : Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive

Representing the USGA : Mike Whan, Chief Executive Officer

Representing the International Federation of PGA Tours : Keith Waters

There’s also a 10-person Technical Committee, which we’ll get to in a second, but if you’re LIV and you’re looking at the above list, you might not be particularly enthused. That board is a who’s-who of establishment figures in professional golf, at least a couple of whom have publicly stated their objections to LIV’s approach.

There has been no indication that the OWGR board has allowed personal feelings about LIV to affect the process. But if LIV is looking for the OWGR to expedite the process and do its members a favor, this might not be the most sympathetic group.

5. What are OWGR criteria?

Good question! The specific criteria for a startup golf league trying to join the OWGR aren’t really public (they declined a GOLF.com request for comment), and the extent to which tours have to follow the letter of the law is slightly unclear. On top of that, the aforementioned governing board can interpret the criteria as it wishes, change the rules as it sees fit and decide whatever it wants. Still, there are some general requirements, which include:

-A “sponsor” tour, one of the six “Full Member” tours, to propose the new tour’s inclusion. In this case, the Asian Tour nominated LIV, essentially vouching for its legitimacy.

-An opportunity for players from the new tour to gain access to the sponsoring tour. In this case, that means LIV players must have an avenue to playing the Asian Tour. (They will have that opportunity.)

-A chance for golfers to qualify for the tour, whether through qualifying schools, weekly qualifiers or both. The PGA Tour, for example, has a Q-school that feeds to the Korn Ferry Tour, which feeds to the PGA Tour. The majority of its events also have Monday qualifiers the week of the event. LIV’s hand-picked teams and fields are at odds with this qualifying process but they have introduced plans that involve relegation and promotion that could satisfy this requirement.

-An average of at least 75 players per tournament field. That’s an issue for LIV, whose shotgun start features 48 pros. But they believe they’ve built in a workaround thanks to the Asian Tour’s International Series, which features 144-player fields and would pull up LIV’s average.

-Scheduled 72-hole tournaments with 36-hole cuts. Exceptions have been made for the 72-hole component for developmental tours, including the MENA Tour, which regularly played 54-hole events. More on that in a moment, but LIV’s 54 holes may or may not be an issue here — and its lack of a cut could give the board pause, too. LIV has pointed out that the PGA Tour has no-cut, limited-field events, like the Tour Championship or the Sentry Tournament of Champions. That’s true, although the difference is that players have qualified for those events through their play on Tour.

-Following the Rules of Golf and following non-discriminatory practices towards players.

One other important bit: A tour is supposed to operate for a year under these requirements before gaining approval. LIV says there have been exceptions to that rule, too — but that’s another point of tension as its players rankings continue to fall.

6. How long does the process take?

The short answer? Roughly 12-18 months. Typically applications are reviewed by the governing board and by OWGR’s Technical Committee, a 10-person committee consisting of representatives from some of golf’s most significant governing bodies. The committee then instructs the applicant on the status of its proposal and what changes it might make to better satisfy OWGR requirements.

The OWGR announced it had received LIV’s application on July 13th, the Tuesday of the Open Championship.

“Examination of the application will now commence,” Peter Dawson wrote in a release. The OWGR board met that week to begin discussions around LIV’s inclusion.

7. What on earth is this MENA Tour story?

Great question. Earlier this week, LIV announced that it had formed a strategic alliance with the MENA (Middle Eastern and North African) Tour, a developmental feeder to the Asian Tour. LIV events are now MENA events, and LIV pros are now MENA Tour pros. Because MENA has been OWGR-sanctioned since 2016, Norman and LIV execs trumpeted the move as giving them an immediate right to OWGR points.

It was hard to immediately tell whether the move was borne of aggression, desperation, strategy, trolling or some combination of the above. It wasn’t a sudden impulsive move — LIV’s plans with MENA had been in the works — but it certainly signaled a lack of confidence in the official process.

LIV did force a response from the OWGR, which declined to award points to this week’s event in Bangkok or LIV’s next event in Saudi Arabia, pending further review.

“Notice of these changes given by the MENA Tour is insufficient to allow OWGR to conduct the customary necessary review ahead of the LIV Golf Invitational Bangkok (7-9 October) and LIV Golf Invitational Jeddah (14-16 October),” a statement posted to the OWGR website and social media handles said. “Only after the review is complete will a decision be made on awarding points to the MENA Tour’s new ‘Limited Field Tournaments,’ defined by the MENA Tour in its Regulations as ‘any MENA Tour-approved tournament, which comprises of a player field of less than 80 players.’”

It’s not immediately clear whether the move could accelerate LIV’s path to OWGR-dom, or whether it could actually backfire; that LIV is chasing legitimacy but partnering with a mini-tour and alternating event purses of $20 million (for LIV events) with $75,000 (for regular MENA events) is, on its face, ridiculous. Perhaps that’s part of the point; if LIV can’t join the system, it will hope to undermine its very structure.

8. What is Greg Norman saying?

Norman sounded off on Friday in a TV interview with WION (video below) following this week’s push-back from the OWGR.

“No, it’s not a setback,” he said. “It’s a setback for them. Because quite honestly my players should have it. There’s 22 tours out there, I believe, that have world ranking points. There’s only one that’s either equal or a little bit superior to what LIV is. Only one out of those 22. So it doesn’t make sense from a major’s perspective, it doesn’t make sense from a broadcaster’s perspective. You’re paying and investing for your strength of field. And by degrading the strength of field by not allowing LIV players to get OWGR points, it’s not doing the game of golf any good.

“Rise above it all. It’s good for the players, it’s good for the game of golf, it’s good for production, it’s good for corporations, it’s good for OEMs, it’s good for fans, it’s good for everybody — just because you have a negative viewpoint, and you’re one of the voting members of an independent organization, that you hate LIV, that you’re going to vote against it? Grow up.”

🚨 #NEW : Greg Norman sounds off on the OWGR pic.twitter.com/p1YBY46e4x — NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) October 7, 2022

The head of the MENA Tour added his own objections in a release.

9. What are LIV players saying?

This won’t come as a huge shock, but LIV golfers are suggesting that they should, in fact, get points! Many of the circuit’s big names have spoken out in favor, most recently the unlikely alliance of Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka, who took to the mic after Friday’s round.

“They’re delaying the inevitable,” DeChambeau said. “We’ve hit every mark in their criteria, so for us not to get points is kind of crazy with having – at least I believe – we have the top players in the world. Not all of them, but we certainly believe that there’s enough that are the top 50 and we deserve to be getting world-ranking points.”

“I don’t think it really was much of a response,” Koepka added. “I just hate when you sit on the fence. Just pick a side. If it’s a yes or no, just pick one. So I’m not a big fan of that. … If it’s a yes, if it’s a no, it’s fine. We’ll figure it out from there.”

10. What are non-LIV players saying?

In general, PGA Tour and DP World Tour pros agree that LIV golfers should get world ranking points — but they also recognize the process is in place for a reason.

“I hope for them that it does go through and they get World Ranking points. It seems like if 48 great golfers play in a tournament, week in and week out, to my eye, should get points,” Max Homa said at the Presidents Cup. “But there is a criteria. That’s how the world works.”

Matthew Fitzpatrick urged patience, too.

“I understand why they think they deserve points because of the players they’ve got, and don’t disagree with that, but if you look at all the other tours in previous years that have gone through the official process then it takes a year or two,” he told  Sky Sports .

“If they meet the criteria they get world ranking points,” McIlroy told  Sky Sports New s ahead of the Dunhill Links. “I don’t see any reason why they shouldn’t, as long as they meet the criteria that is set out.

“The one thing that has been frustrating from the start of this is that they don’t want to play by the rules that have been in place for so long. It can’t be one set of rules for a certain amount of people and then a certain set of rules for everyone else — everyone has to abide by the same rules here.”

Time will tell whether LIV’s hammer of disruption is powerful enough to bludgeon through the OWGR’s process. These are unprecedented times, after all, and golf’s institutions have proven they’re hardly immune to outside forces. Every LIV story seems to end this way, with our 11th question: What’s next? We don’t have that answer just yet.

The author (cautiously) welcomes your comments at  [email protected] .

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Dylan Dethier is a senior writer for GOLF Magazine/GOLF.com. The Williamstown, Mass. native joined GOLF in 2017 after two years scuffling on the mini-tours. Dethier is a graduate of Williams College, where he majored in English, and he’s the author of 18 in America , which details the year he spent as an 18-year-old living from his car and playing a round of golf in every state.

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Indian golfers Aditi, Diksha set to participate in Paris Olympics

Indian golfers aditi ashok (46) and diksha dagar (138) are set to participate in the paris olympics, whereas shubhankar sharma (197) and gaganjeet bhullar (232) also have a strong chance of making it to the games..

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• Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar set to participate in Paris Olympics
• Aditi will be making her 3rd appearance in Olympics for India
• Diksha Dagar will maker her 2nd appearance in Olympics

New Delhi, Apr 24 (PTI) Indian golfers Aditi Ashok (46) and Diksha Dagar (138) are set to participate in the Paris Olympics whereas Shubhankar Sharma (197) and Gaganjeet Bhullar (232) also have a strong chance of making it to the Games.

While it will be a third appearance for Aditi at the Olympics which is also the most for an Indian, Diksha will be competing for the second time. For Sharma and Bhullar, it would be their maiden appearance at the Olympics.

India’s best performance at the Olympics came from Aditi who finished fourth in the Tokyo Games 2020.

The Olympic entries are sent by the Indian Golf Union.

Qualification for Olympics is determined by rankings, limited to 60 men’s and as many women’s players through the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).

The top 15 players in the OWGR are eligible for the Olympics with a maximum limit of four golfers allowed from a single country.

The Olympic Golf Rankings (OGR) after the top 15 players consists of up to two top eligible players per country, as long as it does not have at least two golfers in the top 15.

Meanwhile, Sahith Theegala and Akshay Bhatia, the two Indian-Americans making waves on the PGA Tour, have both reached career-high rankings this week.

Theegala, who logged a second runner-up finish in 2024 and Bhatia, who won his second PGA Tour title and qualified for the Masters, are now ranked No 12 and No 33 respectively.

However, neither Theegala nor Bhatia have a possibility of making an Olympic appearance since the top 15 in the world rankings have as many as eight Americans.

In 11 starts, Theegala has been a runner-up at the season-opener the Sentry and at the RBC Heritage and was fifth at WM Phoenix Open and tied-sixth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Bhatia, in his 12 starts, has won once at the Texas Open and been in top 20 as many as six times. He also missed cut four times.

The top four Americans are Scottie Scheffler (1), Wyndham Clark (3), defending Olympic champion Xander Schauffele (5) and Patrick Cantlay (8). Two other Americans, Max Homa (9) and Brian Haran (10), are also ahead of Theegala, who is the seventh best American in the world rankings.

While only four players can be entered for the Olympic Games, provided they in world’s top 15, only US has four or more in the list. All other countries can send a maximum of two players provided both are in top 60 of the Olympic qualifiers.

Meanwhile, in the women’s section, Aditi, despite a modest 2024 so far, stays on in top 50.

Diksha, who has been solid form, has been in top 10 thrice in five starts on the Ladies European Tour, and also been tied-26 or better in her two starts on the Epson Tour.

Diksha has also touched 138 in the women’s world rankings, her best so far.

The next two Indian women are Pranavi Urs, playing her rookie season on LET, at 403 and amateur Avani Prashanth at 531.

Among Indian men, Sharma, the lone Indian in top 200, has a best finish of tied-seventh at the Singapore Classic and tied-16 at Dubai Desert Classic.

Bhullar’s best in 2024 has been tied-43 in Oman on Asian Tour, but he also won once at Chandigarh Open on the Indian Tour, for his second win in four months in India.

'It’s Definitely A Possibility' - DeChambeau Considering Asian Tour Events

The American is open to participating in the Tour to accumulate Official World Golf Ranking points

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Bryson DeChambeau has said he would consider playing Asian Tour events to accumulate Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points. The 28-year-old American was speaking ahead of the second LIV Golf Invitational Series event at Pumpkin Ridge in Portland, Oregon, following his switch to the Saudi-backed start-up.

While the Series has increasingly strong fields and incredible prize money , its tournaments don’t currently qualify for OWGR points. That’s a situation that DeChambeau would like to see rectified. He said: “You have the Hero World Challenge and they have world ranking points there. Why can’t we have the same too?”

VIDEO: THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT BRYSON DECHAMBEAU

The Hero World Challenge. which was established in 2000, is part of the PGA Tour schedule, but is an unofficial event so doesn’t offer either FedEx Cup points or official money. Nevertheless, it has offered OWGR points since 2009. However, while DeChambeau clearly sees no reason why the Greg Norman-fronted Series shouldn't enjoy similar status, he revealed he's eyeing another potential route to gaining OWGR points in the meantime – taking part in Asian Tour events. 

He said: “It’s definitely a possibility. I would love to showcase my skillset wherever it takes me. I’ve no issues with that, and if it’s a way for world ranking points it’s a way for world ranking points. I hope that can change in regards to the context we previously talked about – in regards to us having some of the best players in the world and being able to have that conversation at the World Ranking board.”

Earlier this month, LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman explained the OWGR points issue is one he hopes will be rectified soon. Appearing on Fox News’s One Nation with Brian Kilmeade, the 67-year-old said: "We’re actually applying for OWGR points right now. We’re actually putting in our application probably over the weekend, if not Monday. And it’s a very compelling application. We’ve worked very, very closely with the technical committee understanding all the components of what you need to apply for it.”

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Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.

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