LIV Golf has been slowly yet steadily growing its audience in the community. However, despite all of this, there’s still one thing that the league doesn’t have. Yes, we are talking about the OWGR and its refusal to allocate the alternative tour any recognition leading to them withdrawing their application for the same. But even so, one can’t deny the fact that they have many top players in the world. Even Xander Schauffele agrees.

The PGA Tour Pro recently expressed his opinion on the athletes who currently play in the Saudi-backed league. Meanwhile, as he did so, the 30-year-old went ahead to admit how good they are all the while expressing his belief in them being part of the top-ranked professionals in the world.

Xander Schauffele and his nod of approval of LIV Golf Pros

“The LIV Tour definitely has really good players,” said Schauffele as he expressed his approval for the golfers who play on the breakaway league. Adding on, he said, “There’s many of ’em,” while alluding to the “players that are in the top 10 or top 25 in the world.” Moreover, the pro also conveyed his belief in how they are the cream of the crop in the sport of golf, “So, they’re just sort of unranked right now, but to me, I do believe they’re definitely top-ranked players in the world.”

Such an admission comes in the wake of the CEO of LIV Golf, Greg Norman, withdrawing the league’s bid for world ranking points. The Australian, in a letter to the players of the alternate Tour, conveyed the circuit’s decision to no longer attempt to appease the OWGR and its qualifications criteria.

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“We have made significant efforts to fight for you and ensure your accomplishments are recognized within the existing ranking system,” wrote Norman in a statement before unfortunately adding, ” OWGR has shown little willingness to productively work with us.” Meanwhile, the decision to do so comes after two years following July 2022, when LIV Golf had applied for the accreditation of the ranking body.

Thus, this puts an anti-climatic end to the PIF-funded circuit’s fight to gain OWGR recognition for its players who the current world No.5 had expressed his approval of. But even so, he believes there is a reason why the ranking body has not included the league in its fray.

Schauffele’s support for OWGR’s decision

The 7-time PGA Tour champ pointed out how LIV Golf not being awarded any points boils down to it not meeting the guidelines that were set forth by the body. “It seems that they haven’t met the criteria,” expressed Schauffele ahead of this week’s event, the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

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Additionally, he said while conveying his take on the whole situation, “I haven’t read too much of it, to be completely honest, but it seems that they’re not seeing sort of eye to eye on making an exemption to make LIV have World Ranking points.” Well, the withdrawal of the same did take the whole golf world by surprise, especially since it comes at a time when the negotiations of the PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger are still ongoing. One can’t help but wonder what the recent decision would mean to the whole situation.

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