Golf’s Schism Makes for Major Headache at the Masters

Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy top the OWGR rankings, but are they indeed the best players in the world? 

The Masters is one of those unique sporting events that tends to transcend the game of golf. It attracts casual fans who don’t usually follow the ups and downs of the different tours. Of course, as the name suggests, it is an elite event, bringing the world’s best players together for four days of action at Augusta National.

Yet, how do you understand the best players before the tournament? How would a non-golf fan find out which players are the cream of the crop from the field of 100 or so before heading into the tournament? Traditionally, of course, you would look at OWGR (Official World Golf Ranking) to see the list of the best players in the world ranked in order.

The current ranking system does not favor LIV players

Of course, OWGR still operates today, and every professional is listed on it, but there is a slight flaw in using it, and it all comes down to LIV Golf. For those not aware, LIV Golf is a breakaway competition backed by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. The upshot is that the new tour attracted some of the world’s best golfers – Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, and more – to play for a rival organization to the traditional PGA/European Tours. Those top players still come back to play the four Majors but don’t get the same ranking points as those who play the traditional tours.

In short, the schism means that the official world ranking does not always reflect everyone’s actual standing in terms of form. You can look at the Masters tournament betting odds to get an insight into who is expected to do well, and, in truth, that’s probably a better guide to form than the world rankings. For example, Joaquin Niemann has arguably been the star performer on LIV Golf over the past year. Indeed, Phil Mickelson recently claimed that Niemann was among the best players in the world. His official world ranking? Number 89.

Agreement must be made on how rankings work.

Most certainly, the hierarchy of world golf has an onus to get this sorted out. There have been some overtures to “fix” the ranking system, but there has been no formal agreement yet. It does leave a problem. Players on LIV Golf will see their ranking continually fall, making them less likely to qualify for future Majors. Moreover, it technically means that inferior players will have a superior ranking to some LIV players, perhaps diluting the quality of some competitions.

That said, the Masters will have no problem in terms of quality. The best players in the world will be there. Yet, it will be interesting to see how the LIV contingent fares against the top-ranked players – Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy – on golf’s traditional OWGR system. Emotions will be high, too. While there has been some sense of rapprochement between the players on disparate tours, tension remains. You can be sure that those behind the PGA Tour will not want to see an LIV player crowned as the Masters champion, and it certainly could happen.

All of this leads to an intriguing event. The Masters always delivers in terms of action, but this adds an extra layer to the narrative of one of the world’s most prestigious sporting events. There is an air of mystery around the event and a little tension. It could lead to fireworks on the course as we look on as the very best in theworld fight it out for the Green Jacket.