“There has never been a better time to unlock real financial investment, bring team golf and innovation to the forefront, drastically lower the fan age demographic, and put fan experience and fun at the center of everything we do. LIV Golf represents the future of the sport and will ensure the future of the golf ecosystem for years to come.” These were the strong words from Scott O’Neil when he took over as the LIV Golf CEO from Greg Norman earlier this year. O’Neill is a representative of the future of LIV Golf, more precisely, what he aims to achieve. And it looks like the Saudi-backed league is taking big and improved steps in that direction.

The organisation has applied for the Official World Golf Rankings points again, the first time under new leadership. The application for accreditation comes nearly two years after the previous attempt, which was made under the leadership of Australian golfer and former LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman. The new application for accreditation was announced by OWGR, who stated that they had received the application on Friday and that a review process has commenced to check the merit.

“The OWGR Board is committed to a thorough evaluation process of all applications, and LIV’s application will be reviewed in accordance with OWGR’s criteria to ensure fairness, integrity and consistency,” said Trevor Immelman, chairman of the OWGR board of directors, in a statement. “We appreciate the interest of LIV Golf—and all tours—in contributing to the global landscape of men’s professional golf through OWGR. Further updates will be provided as the review progresses.” Trevor Immelman, who is the head of OWGR, stated.

Immelman, who is the 2008 Masters Champion, took over as the OWGR’s new board chair in April, succeeding Peter Dawson, who had held the post since 2016. Dawson had rejected LIV’s previous OWGR application, but at the time also said, “LIV players are self-evidently good enough to be ranked, they’re just not playing in a format where they can be ranked equitably with the other 24 tours and thousands of players trying to compete on them”. Regardless, the three-year-old golf league will be looking for a change in fortunes this time around with a new face at the helm of OWGR. In an Instagram post, the Saudi-backed league made its thoughts clear.

“We thank OWGR Chairman Trevor Immelman for his continued leadership and willingness to move the sport of golf forward for the benefit of all players and most importantly, the fans. LIV Golf is committed to working together with the Official World Golf Ranking and its board to ensure the very best players are competing in the game’s most prestigious events. We are confident our application addresses the outstanding questions that exist to support a more global, all-encompassing, and accurate ranking system,” O’Neil quoted in the post.

The post also had the following statement as a footnote. “We are hopeful the review and approval process can progress ahead of the 2026 Major season.” This is very important for LIV Golf as a lot of their future is likely to be based on the decision the OWGR board makes.

Upcoming contracts underline an unsure LIV Golf future

The 2026 season is a crucial one for LIV Golf, with several big players’ contracts set to expire. Bryson DeChambeau is LIV’s most marketable personality, and his contract is set to expire at the end of the 2026 season. The likes of Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, and many more are also in the same boat. The allure of the money on the LIV side could prove to be not enough, especially with things like Ryder Cup and OWGR points at stake.

The OWGR points are a huge determining factor in who gets to compete in the majors in a season. Currently, several LIV players get to play in the majors because of their past accomplishments on the PGA Tour. A change to that is absolutely necessary. The last time, OWGR rejected the Saudi-based Tour’s application on several grounds.

54 holes, rather than the standard 72 holes, smaller playing fields, guaranteed spots in the league, and no cut lines were the reasons given for the rejection in October 2023. So far, none of the problems have been addressed by the Tour, but it remains to be seen what changes Scott O’Neil has in mind with the application and what has been altered to get a different result.

Do you think LIV Golf deserves OWGR points, or do you agree that they should not be given the leeway?