By arriving on the golf scene, LIV Golf showed serious ambitions and hopes that in a short period of time they will experience a great rise and take a leadership position in relation to the PGA Tour. However, four years later, things seem to be on standby and not much will change.
LIV Golf and the leaders of this project often share their dissatisfaction as they're not yet awarded OWGR points, being rejected once.
The OWGR rejected their request in October 2023, and two years later LIV resubmitted, so it will be interesting to see if they grant their request this time.
Peter Dawson, the former chairman of OWGR, shared his viewsabout the current situation. He believes that LIV playersare good enough to be awarded points, but he highlights certainprinciples that must be respected.
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Peter also stressed that, despite their financial power, there are discrepancies that do not coincide with the interests of the fans, which makes it difficult to give them agreen light.
"It is self-evident that players on the LIV tour are good enough to be ranked because they were before," he said, as quoted by Golf Magic.
"But OWGR has a duty to ensure that all of the thousands of players in the system are ranked equitably.
Some aspects of the LIV format made that impossible. In my opinion OWGR made the only decision it could at the time.
I know that LIV has now reapplied to be included in the OWGR system. I want all golf initiatives to do well and I cant see that LIV has been a success by any measure.
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Yes, it has given great wealth to a very few people but in terms of engagement its format of team golf isnt resonating anywhere near enough with the fan base."
Lack of optimism
Such statements certainly do not inspire optimism among the Saudi-backed Tour leaders, who are trying to improve year after year and gain the public's trust.
However, the public is still not open to their ideas and projects, believing that money cannot change what is essential in the world of golf - prestige and tradition.
This is why the PGA Tour continues to lead the way and wants to maintain it in the coming years.
