The divide in professional golf just deepened right as one side thought progress was near. Under the ruling, only the top 10 finishers and ties will receive OWGR points. While both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf released their statements on the OWGR’s decision, Tiger Woods was inevitably pulled into the controversy. What was supposed to be a battle between the two very different organizations turned into a flashpoint for fans questioning influence and fairness.
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“The Hero World Challenge is a 20 player, off season event. It received 30 OWGR points for the winner last year, and the top 17 all collected points. LIV Golf League events are 57 player fields during peak season. They receive 23 points for the winner this week, and only the top 10 collect points. Thoughts on that?” Flushing It Golf wrote in an X post.
The Hero World Challenge is a 20 player, off season event. It received 30 OWGR points for the winner last year and the top 17 all collected points.
LIV Golf League events are 57 player fields during peak season. They receive 23 points for the winner this week and only the top 10… pic.twitter.com/BoB5omJSND
— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) February 3, 2026
Tiger Woods hosts the Hero World Challenge at the end of every year, an invitation-only event that is not an official PGA Tour tournament but still receives OWGR points. It includes 20 elite golfers. The OWGR rated the field’s strength to be 114.85958 in 2025. That disparity becomes sharper when compared to a standard tour event featuring elite players like Rory McIlroy, which had a field strength of just 120.36085. Moreover, the winner of the 2025 Hero World Challenge, Hideki Matsuyama, received over 30.3 OWGR points, while Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, who won the Australian Open, received just over 20.7.
That’s not the only thing, as almost everyone playing the Hero World Challenge got points. As the post highlights, only the bottom three – Aaron Rai, Jordan Spieth, and Chris Gotterup – didn’t get OWGR points. Despite finally earning OWGR recognition, LIV Golf made clear the decision fell well short of expectations.
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“Under these rules, a player finishing 11th in a LIV Golf event is treated the same as a player finishing 57th,” LIV Golf wrote in its official statement. “We entered this process in good faith and will continue to advocate for a ranking system that reflects performance over affiliation.”
While LIV Golf never mentioned Tiger Woods’ name, the affiliation angle did stand out. In fact, that’s what many golf fans highlighted through their comments.
Fans turn spotlight on Tiger Woods and OWGR standards
As soon as Flushing It Golf’s post was uploaded, many fans began questioning the fairness of the decision. One fan summarized the sentiment bluntly, suggesting, “They get the points because it is Tiger’s event. The PGAT goes where Tiger leads it. Plain and simple.” Woods’ event is invitation-only with a limited field. In fact, it’s not even an official PGA Tour event. But it still gets many OWGR points. And many fans believe Woods’ involvement is central to why the event continues to receive favorable OWGR treatment. The remark reflects a wide belief among critics that the 15x major champion’s influence plays a role here.
Some fans focused less on LIV Golf getting fewer points and more on the Hero World Challenge getting any points at all. “I like where they have LIV at the moment in regards to points. But the Hero should not get any points ever,” one fan posted. This comment supports OWGR’s tougher stance on LIV. Although the Saudi-backed league has moved to the standard 72-hole format, it still does many things differently from most golf events. While supporting OWGR’s decision on LIV Golf, the user expressed frustration with what they see as leniency toward the Hero World Challenge.
Another user said, “Hypocrisy at its best.” The comment reflects the belief that the OWGR applies different standards across tours. Echoing similar sentiments, another user wrote, “1) The Hero World Challenge continues to be a massive disgrace and an ongoing mistake for the owgr to award points to virtually the whole field. 2) LIV needs to get points for at least the top 14 and ties.” The comment suggests the issue is not just favoritism, but an overall structure that fails to align point distribution with field size and competitive depth. He demands that at least 14 and ties should get OWGR points instead of just 10.
One fan went ahead and took aim straight at the selection process. “Agree on the Hero. I don’t mind the points tbh, but it can’t be Tiger just texting his friends to see if they want to play. That’s absurd,” the user wrote. Since it’s an invite-only event, it is largely up to Tiger Woods to decide whom to invite. There’s basically no merit system in place. The comment suggests that anyone with a good relationship with the Big Cat could earn strong OWGR points.
The backlash highlights a growing demand for consistency in golf’s ranking system. While LIV Golf now has a pathway to OWGR points, the limitations placed on its events, especially when contrasted with invitation-only tournaments like the Hero World Challenge, continue to fuel skepticism. Until uniform standards are applied across tours, debates over influence, affiliation, and fairness are unlikely to fade.
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