Jon Rahm is coming off a highly successful first season on LIV Golf. Rahm won the season-long championship for LIV, mostly dominating the Saudi-funded circuit. His participation with LIV disallows him from playing in any PGA Tour events currently. But the same rule does not apply to the DP World Tour.
Rahm is in the field for this week's Hero Dubai Desert Classic. He is joined by some of the world's best in Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, and Tyrell Hatton, among others.
Following his final preparations for a key stop on the European tour, Rahm shed some light on LIV Golf's Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) problem.
“They [LIV Golf] told me early on, I think even before I signed in the early conversations, that they were not going to pursue those discussions to the same level because they knew where it was directed.”
That is a very interesting development. Several players on LIV have openly talked about being told they would earn OWGR points. Those points, of course, are crucial in determining a player's eligibility to play in major championships. But according to Rahm, if you read the tea leaves, that is no longer a priority.
Maybe that's why players like Eugenio Chacarra blasted the Saudi PIF-run tour for lying about the OWGR. But just because LIV Golf does not receive world ranking points does not mean they should not.
“I think at this point, to not give LIV World Ranking points and the credibility it deserves, is wrong,” said Rahm. “I understand we've all made a decision and it is not as easy as it sounds, but to say that some LIV players do not deserve some spots in major championships is wrong.”
“There should be a way for us to qualify… The World Ranking points need to figure something out because it's not fair for anybody in that sense.”
It is ridiculous to assert that players like Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, and Cameron Smith are not among the best on the planet. But they have all won majors recently, allowing them entrance into the majors.
But many others on the PGA Tour's rival are not so lucky.