LIV Golf has hit out at what it calls an “unprecedented” ruling that can see solely the highest 10 finishers awarded world rating factors at its occasions.

The Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) board revealed its choice to award LIV gamers factors for the primary time, on Tuesday.

Nonetheless, whereas the Saudi Arabia-funded circuit, which begins its fifth season in Riyadh this week, has referred to as the information a “long-overdue second of recognition”, it’s sad on the limits placed on the rankings factors for its 57-man fields.

In all 24 different males’s skilled golf excursions which might be a part of the OWGR, all gamers who make the reduce earn factors.

In an announcement, LIV mentioned “this consequence is unprecedented”, including “no different aggressive tour or league in OWGR historical past has been subjected to such a restriction”.

“Underneath these guidelines, a participant ending eleventh in a LIV Golf occasion is handled the identical as a participant ending 57th. Limiting factors to solely the highest 10 finishers disproportionately harms gamers who persistently carry out at a excessive stage however end simply exterior that threshold.”

In its assertion, the OWGR board mentioned it was awarding factors to LIV “in an effort to replicate the altering panorama of the boys’s skilled recreation”.

Nonetheless, it added that the factors had been being restricted to the highest 10 finishers as a result of it “recognises there are a variety of areas the place LIV Golf doesn’t meet the eligibility requirements set out by OWGR”.

For the primary time, LIV occasions will likely be performed over 4 rounds in 2026, though they are going to nonetheless don’t have any midway reduce.

“We anticipate that is merely a primary step towards a construction that absolutely and pretty serves the gamers, the followers and the way forward for the game,” added LIV in its assertion.

“We entered this course of in good religion and can proceed to advocate for a rating system that displays efficiency over affiliation.

“The sport deserves transparency. The followers deserve credibility. And the gamers deserve a system that treats them equally.”

The winner of this week’s opening occasion of the LIV Golf season is projected to obtain 23.03 OWGR factors, which is analogous to European DP World Tour occasions (25).

The victor at this week’s PGA Tour occasion – the WM Phoenix Open – is anticipated to obtain 59 factors.

The winner of a PGA Tour signature occasion earns 66 factors, whereas the FedEx Cup play-off occasions on the finish of the season – with diminished fields and no cuts – will see 37 factors awarded to the winner.

OWGR factors are vital to gamers as a result of they’re essential in qualifying for the annual 4 majors.

England’s Tyrrell Hatton and American Bryson DeChambeau are, at twenty second and thirty third respectively, the one LIV gamers on this planet’s prime 50, with 5 others among the many prime 100, together with Jon Rahm at 97th.

In current weeks, five-times main winner Brooks Koepka and 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed have been two of the largest stars to depart LIV in favour of a return to the PGA Tour.