For the past four years, LIV Golf has been fighting to gain OWGR sanctioning. Every season, they have lost the faith of their players as they continued to fail in their pursuit. By 2024, when Greg Norman withdrew from their application, many felt betrayed. But the arrival of Scott O’Neil has brought life back into LIV Golf. His recent announcement of the big format change to the traditional 4-day event has given them hope again. That is what the Asian Tour’s commissioner, Cho Minn Thant, thinks.

Ben Parsons from Bunkered talked to him recently during an interview. During their conversation, they landed on the topic of LIV Golf’s OWGR status. As the Asian Tour is linked with the International Series, a product of PIF, the Bunkered reporter thought he might have some insights on the issue. And he was right as Thant told Parsons, “I think Scott and Trevor Immelman have been having regular talks and they’ve worked to a point where they’re very close.”

Cho Minn Thant also revealed, “There has to be some small changes going forward, but I think Scott’s really open to it. I think they’ll probably resolve something very soon. And I think the promotions and the demotions have a big part to play in that.” After the mammoth changes O’Neil has already made to LIV Golf, he will be eager to push through the last few steps that are required for LIV Golf events to be sanctioned by the OWGR.

The LIV Golf CEO has opened the gates for more opportunities for promotions recently. They increased the number of contracts provided to players who participate in the LIV Golf Promotions Event to two. However, unlike the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour, they still don’t have a promotion and demotion route. Technically, out of the 61 players like Jon Rahm & Brooks Koepka on their roster, they have only retained 48 of them officially. The issue might arise when the OWGR questions how they are planning to fill the 13 spots with 2 new players.

While Thant didn’t reveal any more specifics about the changes, he is still a trusted source of information. Apart from being the commissioner of the Asian Tour, he also holds a role alongside Trevor Immelman. Want to know what it is? Let’s find out.

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Why can Jon Rahm & Brooks Koepka trust Cho Minn Thant’s information?

Cho Minn Thant has certainly brought Jon Rahm & Brooks Koepka news they must be yearning to hear since the last few years. And they would trust the Asian Tour commissioner because, as Parsons revealed, he’s also a part of the Official World Golf Rankings’ Technical Committee. Hence, he would have all the inside information regarding everything that is going on between LIV Golf & the OWGR.

In his interview with Parsons, he also complimented Scott O’Neil: “With Scott coming into LIV Golf, he’s been a really good ally to work with. They’re just a lot more accessible. They’re a lot more approachable for us. And we work way, way more closely with them now than we did two, three years ago.” The LIV Golf CEO has been working hard to build great relationships with everyone in the golf community. And his efforts are clearly showing great results now.

Thant also added, “They’ve taken feedback from us on not just on the International Series ranking spots, but eligibility for the LIV Promotions event and how we do business in this region, because they do quite a lot of LIV work in this region as well. The relationship with them has actually improved dramatically since Scott has come on board.” O’Neil’s arrival has had a positive impact on the image of LIV Golf. His approach towards finding common ground with everyone in the golf community has helped him secure some big deals. If he can help LIV Golf secure OWGR status, then there’s no saying what else Scott O’Neil will be able to achieve with the league.