LIV Golf suffers blow as players denied ranking points / Photo: Quinn Harris - GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File
-
Sciver-Brunt fit for England's T20 World Cup semi-final
-
Bordeaux-Begles handed favourable draw in Champions Cup defence
-
Key challenges for Laporta in second Barca term
-
'Thought they'd never be caught': The strike that killed Iran's Khamenei
-
Canada to join Eurovision Song Contest
-
Djokovic, Sinner hope for easier ride after Wimbledon scares
-
Swedish court orders Google pay $1.46 bn for favouring its price comparisons
-
Injured Serena's Wimbledon doubles bid with sister Venus in doubt
-
German FA headquarters searched in Euro 2024 graft probe
-
European stocks mostly drop with eyes on US Fed
-
Village People singer Victor Willis dies at 74
-
Genesio replaces Beye as Marseille boss
-
Thousands rush to get tickets for Bayeux Tapestry's UK show
-
Catholic society defies Vatican again by ordaining new bishops
-
Chinese firm sells hyper-real, 'always loyal' humanoid robots
-
Breakaway Catholic society defies Vatican again by ordaining bishops
-
World's oceans break June heat record: EU monitor
-
Venezuelans search, suffer one week after deadly quakes
-
China imposes 'national security' rules on overseas investments
-
Asian stocks mostly up as traders eye crucial US jobs data
-
'Nothing left except death': Myanmar families grieve huge war toll
-
Ronaldo and Modric struggle to defy Father Time at World Cup
-
England face DR Congo hurdle, USA prepare for World Cup moment in spotlight
-
The secret lives of Ukraine's deep-strike drone team
-
Myanmar mourns as post-coup conflict death toll hits 100,000
-
NATO project tests perennial grass to clean Ukraine's war-hit soil
-
Vietnam unveils 'baby bonus' after scrapping two-child policy
-
Duffy returns for New Zealand against West Indies
-
Majestic Olise raises France to another level at World Cup
-
Mbappe dazzles as France march on at World Cup; Norway, Mexico advance
-
Mexico see off Ecuador to break 40-year World Cup curse
-
US govt lifts restrictions on powerful AI models, Anthropic says
-
'My dream is broken': Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
-
Trump earned over $1 bn from crypto ventures in 2025
-
Indian sailors fear returning to Gulf after Middle East war
-
The Afghan women farmers keeping their village alive
-
Fear and anger brew inside Meta amid AI frenzy
-
Asian stocks fluctuate as traders eye crucial US jobs data
-
After 250 years, the 'American dream' is tarnished but alive
-
Madison Square Garden: from Nazis to Knicks, and now... Taylor's wedding?
-
'I'm going to stay calm': 48 hours under the rubble in Venezuela
-
'Love it': Wimbledon's military stewards tradition turns 80
-
Breakaway Catholic sect defies Vatican again by ordaining bishops
-
Venezuela quake survivors cherish kindness of strangers
-
Mexico v Ecuador World Cup game delayed by one hour: FIFA
-
US deports first migrant to Pacific nation Palau
-
Talks in Qatar after US-Iran deal: What we know
-
Potter admits Sweden couldn't live with France in World Cup defeat
-
Germany's ePA Rollout Puts Europe's Health-Data Supply Chain to the Test, Black Book Provider Pulse Finds
-
Florida's Wildlife Corridor Is Turning Five! Live Wildly Celebrates with a New Interactive Map Showing How Greater Conservation Inside the Corridor Can Bring Billions in Benefits
LIV Golf suffers blow as players denied ranking points
LIV Golf players will not receive world ranking points for this week's event in Bangkok or the tournament in Jeddah later this month, the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) organisation said on Thursday.
The Saudi-backed LIV Series has yet to be given ranking points but the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) Tour announced on Wednesday that players at the next two events would be awarded points after a strategic alliance between the circuits.
The top 50 players in the rankings qualify automatically for all four major tournaments.
OWGR said it had been given insufficient notice and that a decision on whether to award ranking points would only be made following a review.
The organisation said it received a communication from the MENA Tour at 1205 GMT on October 5, detailing "significant changes" to its membership structure along with an outline of the initial series of tournaments in the 2022/23 season.
"OWGR notes that the first two tournaments in this series appeared to be the same as the LIV Golf Invitational Series tournaments in Bangkok and Jeddah," it said in a statement.
"The communication from the MENA Tour included a starting field data file for the Bangkok tournament, confirming that to be the case.
"A review of the changes to the MENA Tour is now under way by the OWGR.
"Notice of these changes given by the MENA Tour is insufficient to allow OWGR to conduct the customary necessary review ahead of the LIV Golf Invitational Bangkok (October 7-9) and LIV Golf Invitational Jeddah (October 14-16).
"Only after the review is complete will a decision be made on awarding points to the MENA Tour's new 'Limited Field Tournaments'."
The MENA Tour has been inactive since the start of the global coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
LIV has already staged five events in its inaugural year but without any ranking points awarded to its players -- including British Open champion Cameron Smith, former world number one Dustin Johnson and six-time major winner Phil Mickelson.
Golfers on the rebel circuit have been banned from the PGA Tour, ruling out American players from qualifying for the 2023 Ryder Cup.
European stars to have left for LIV, including stalwarts Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia, have all plummeted down the world rankings and seem unlikely to make Luke Donald's team for the two-yearly contest, which takes place near Rome.
A.Anderson--AT
