Hovland about the big talk: – Makes it less worthwhile

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• Follow Viktor Hovland second round in the AP Invitational from 19.35 on discovery+, Eurosport.no and Eurosport Norway

On Tuesday this week, CEO of LIV Golf, Greg Norman, confirmed that the tour has given up the fight to gain points via the Official World Ranking (OWGR).

– It has now become clear that the best way forward for LIV as a league and for you as LIV golfers is not through the current world ranking. A solution that protects the credibility and integrity of the ranking is no longer possible, Norman said in a letter sent to the players on the tour.

Set this? The case continues below the video.

Hits the ball twice in one stroke – avoids penalty

Rejected

The controversial golf tour has since the summer of 2022 applied for so-called “OWGR accreditation”. Last October, that application was rejected. The reason was that the format with which LIV Golf operates could not be implemented with the ranking criteria.

– This is about whether a tour that has such different formats and qualification criteria can be ranked on an equal footing with other tours that follow the OWGR norm and have more competition than LIV, said Peter Dawson, chairman of the OWGR back in autumn.

The OWGR justified the rejection of the LIV request with the tournament format, which includes 54-hole tournaments with no cut and with a small star field and the limited access for players to join LIV, limited relegation for underperforming players and the emphasis on team competition.

Absolutely possible

Discovery’s golf expert Marius Thorp does not buy Dawson’s explanation and believes that a ranking system that ranks all the players on all the tours should be possible.

– That in itself is not a very good argument. It should be possible to set up a system that would have given a better picture of the best players in the world. You manage to set it up on different tours and levels, so that you get more points where the quality of the starting field is better.

– If I remember correctly, there are several tours that play 54 holes that are ranked. So it should certainly be possible to create a system, with criteria based on the number of rounds, whether there is a cut or not, and the size and quality of the starting field.

However, Thorp believes that the LIV tour would have received as many ranking points as PGA tournaments and the largest DP World Tour tournaments is not fair.

– When they play 18 fewer holes and there is a smaller starting field, they should get fewer points. But on the other hand, LIV knew when they launched their tour and model that it could be a challenge with the current system. So they shouldn’t be all Greek to them.

Set this? The case continues below the video.

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– Less worth

In order to gain entry into golf’s four major tournaments, the ranking is an important criterion. As of now, there are only four players on the LIV tour who are ranked in the top 50 in the world rankings; Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Brooks Koepka and Cameron Smith.

For Thorp, the absence of several of the best LIV players in the majors is the biggest consequence of a flawed ranking system.

Viktor Hovland was asked at the press conference ahead of this week’s Arnold Palmer Inviational what he thinks about the LIV tour not getting ranking points.

– The ranking is not an objective truth. It is created to try to rank players as well as possible. Now that you have a large part of the best players in the world who don’t get ranking points, it makes the ranking less valuable. But after all, I don’t show up in tournaments to try to improve my world ranking, says Hovland.

Watch the interview with Hovland’s new coach, Grant Waite, in the video window at the top of the story!

Hovland started the tournament at Bay Hill with a round of 71 (-1) on Thursday. He tees off at 19.35 on day two.