Former world No. 1 Jon Rahm said the Official World Golf Ranking system is no longer fit for purpose, making his comments a day after LIV Golf formally withdrew its application for players to receive world ranking points. of their tournaments.
LIV Golf first applied in July 2022 for OWGR recognition, which helps determine entry to golf's four majors, but was rejected in October primarily because its format has only 54 holes with no cuts.
Reigning Masters champion Rahm, who was No. 1 for 52 weeks, most recently in April and May, is currently ranked No. 3 despite switching to LIV Golf in December. Only four LIV Golf League players are ranked among the top 50 in the world.
“I'll be honest, I didn't know they were still trying to get points for the world ranking. But the only thing I can say is that I'm going back to what I said two years ago at the DP World Tour Championship,” Rahm told journalists on Wednesday. “I didn't think it was a good system back then. And if anything, the more time goes by, the more wrong it becomes.”
Rahm highlighted the rise of Joaquín Niemann as an example of why the ranking system was out of control. The Chilean, number 76 in the ranking, who won last week's LIV Golf event in Saudi Arabia, received invitations to three majors: the Masters, the Open and the PGA Championship.
“I'm very happy to see Joaco receive invitations… While we still don't have a clear path to the majors through LIV, I think they should take everyone into consideration,” Rahm said. “If anyone in this world doesn't believe that Joaco deserves to be in the top 10 or doesn't know that he is one of the best players in the world, I don't know what game he is watching.
“We can say that. I think anyone who watches golf can tell who the best players in the world are. Obviously I don't think the rankings fully reflect that right now.”
2020 US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, who moved to LIV Golf in June 2022, said: “I think what is right is what is best for the game, and we should focus on having the best players in the majors.
“What I think about it is that we need to find a way collectively, for all the governing bodies, everyone, to come together and sit down and figure this out, because we need to do this for the fans.”
LIV Golf CEO and commissioner Greg Norman told players in a letter Tuesday that the league would work with the governing bodies of the four major championships to get more players on the courses.
Rahm added that it is not up to the players to find a solution.
“Our job should not be to set rules, impose them or enforce them. We are here to entertain,” Rahm said. “It is the job of the governing bodies to do this and adapt to the changing environment.”
Reporting by ESPN's Mark Schlabach and Reuters contributed to this report.
