The breakaway LIV Golf tour has caused a divide in the sport, and one of its stars, Joaquin Niemann, has spoken out about the need for the tour to be recognized in the official world rankings. Despite not being given ranking points, the 25-year-old Chilean has been invited to play in the upcoming Masters tournament at Augusta National.
Niemann, who has won two of LIV’s first three events in 2024, believes the current system is “a lie” for some players. With LIV events not contributing to the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), Niemann finds himself ranked 91st in the world, despite being among the favourites to win the Masters.
“Right now the game is divided, and it is not helping,” Niemann said. “It is hard to get a ranking system where everyone is happy.”
The LIV league has been denied accreditation by the OWGR, and its commissioner, Greg Norman, recently told players that the application to join had been withdrawn. This has resulted in many of the big names who left the PGA Tour slipping down the rankings, with only a few LIV players, such as Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, and Brooks Koepka, remaining in the OWGR’s top 50.
Sergio Garcia, who defected to LIV
Niemann, however, has been awarded a special invitation to play in the Masters, which begins on Thursday and concludes on Sunday. This decision, according to Sergio Garcia, who defected to LIV in 2022, shows that golf’s major tournaments “know what they are doing” and recognize the talent of players like Niemann.
“They can see what is going on and know Joaquin, for example, is not the 91st player in the world,” Garcia said. “They know he is probably top 10, or top 15 at worst, and that is why he gets an invite to play at the Masters.”
Despite the ongoing rift between the PGA Tour and LIV, Niemann remains hopeful that a unified system will emerge over time. “It could be sooner or later, I don’t know. Hopefully, it will happen soon. I feel like the world ranking is a lie for a few players,” he said.
As the Masters tees off, all eyes will be on Niemann and other LIV players to see how they perform on the game’s biggest stage, despite the ongoing debate over the tour’s recognition in the world rankings.
