The controversial LIV Golf Series has been searching for a route to legitimacy and thought it found it by aligning with the little-known MENA Tour, based in Dubai. LIV’s hope was that by doing so, it would be awarded valuable world ranking points as soon as its tournament this week in Bangkok.
Only it didn’t work out that way. The Official World Golf Ranking — one of the paths for players to be eligible for golf’s four majors and other big tournaments — said earlier this week it needed more time to make a decision despite LIV CEO and commissioner Greg Norman pushing for action to be taken.
Bryson DeChambeau, who jumped from the PGA Tour to LIV earlier this year, responded by accusing the OWGR of “slow playing” the request and said of the organization “lies are being told” to block the Saudi-backed circuit.
“They’re delaying the inevitable,” DeChambeau, who won the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot, said after his round Friday in Thailand. “They’re going to just keep playing a waiting game, where we’re going to keep dropping down in the rankings to where our points [if and when they are granted] won’t ever matter.
“That’s what they’re trying to accomplish, and I hope that people can see right through that rather than believe the lies that they’ve been told.”
Notably, the OWGR panel includes PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and DP World Tour chief Keith Pelley, both of whom have taken hardline stances against LIV with the PGA Tour banning the players who have bolted for the rival faction.
David Spencer, the MENA Tour commissioner, also thinks the OWGR’s denial on Thursday was erroneous.
“We have had various communications with OWGR since submitting our 2022/23 schedule, MENA Tour handbook, exemption criteria and our field ahead of our opening event of our new season which tees off today,” he said in a statement “None of this communication pointed towards any technical reason for the LIV Golf Invitational Bangkok to be treated any differently to any MENA Tour event, every one of which has received OWGR since we were accepted into the OWGR framework in 2016.’’
According to reports, it’s possible LIV could seek legal action over the decision.
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