Lee Westwood Criticizes World Golf Ranking System After Ranking Rise
Lee Westwood’s performance at the recent Open Championship, where he tied for 34th place, allowed him to move up significantly in the World Golf Ranking. Westwood climbed 3,759 positions and is now in 930th place. This advance puts him above his son, Sam, who plays in mini-tours and is in 2,759th place.I think this shows that, without world ranking points, the system becomes a mockery.
Lee Westwood
These statements were made by Westwood before this week’s LIV Golf UK event, following the league’s reapplication to be included in the OWGR last month. The request is currently under review.
LIV Golf initially applied for accreditation in July 2022, shortly after its launch, but was denied. Currently, LIV golfers can only earn ranking points by competing in major championships and international tour events. The lack of opportunities to accumulate points through the DP World Tour and other tours has caused LIV players, such as Westwood, to descend in the OWGR. Dustin Johnson, who led the ranking for 135 weeks, reached 907th place before rising to 571st after a tie for 23rd place last week. Currently, only two LIV players are in the top 50: Bryson DeChambeau (16) and Tyrrell Hatton (21). Westwood supports LIV’s second request and believes that, if they don’t get OWGR points, the four major championships will have to modify their processes to include more LIV players in the future.The golfer continued to express that the current situation would force major championships to review their ranking system, which, in his opinion, nobody wants. They prefer that everything is based on the same system. The fact that Westwood could climb more than 3,000 places with a tie for 34th in a single event highlights the core problems he has with the system. Jon Rahm, who joined LIV in December 2023, has also expressed his dissatisfaction with the OWGR, advocating for a system that focuses more on key performance metrics.I think it’s mainly about wanting the best players in the major championships, not wanting this conversation where there are some people who are missing because we don’t get world ranking points on LIV.
Lee Westwood
Rahm favors a “strokes gained” system which, according to him, more accurately reflects the players’ actual performance. For now, LIV players will continue to fall in the OWGR. Although they can accumulate some points on other tours outside of LIV events, the next major is the Masters in April. Unless they are included in the OWGR, it will become increasingly difficult for LIV players to qualify for the four most important tournaments each year. LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil expects the approval process to be able to advance before the 2026 major season.I already thought it was defective before coming, and I said it publicly.
Jon Rahm
Hatton added that the current ranking of many players does not reflect their true level and that it would be beneficial for golf if the world rankings were more realistic.I think there are a lot of players here who certainly want to play in the majors. If there is a better path for us, then that’s brilliant.
Tyrrell Hatton
