LIV Golfer Moves Back Inside World's Top 50

Because of the inability of LIV Golf to offer its players world ranking points, attention has regularly turned to the plight of players who have tumbled down the rankings since opting to play on the big-money circuit.

Previously, some of its biggest names, including Patrick Reed and Dustin Johnson, have fallen out of the top 50, while the winner of LIV Golf Mayakoba, Charles Howell III, fell another 11 places after the weekend to World No.312 – a drop of 139 places since singing for LIV Golf last July.

Even more damaging was the drop out of the top 100 of Richard Bland and Sebastian Munoz, which places their chances of qualifying for May’s second Major of the year, the PGA Championship, in jeopardy.

Bizarrely, though, it wasn’t all bad news for LIV Golf players in the world rankings following the tournament at El Camaleon Golf Club. Harold Varner III began last week’s tournament as World No.51, but even though his appearance meant he didn’t accumulate so much as a single world ranking point in Mexico, he rose two places to sneak back inside the world’s top 50 at World No.49.

He wasn’t the only LIV player to experience an unexpected boost either. New recruit Mito Pereira climbed two places as well, from World No.50 to World No.48. In both cases, though, the rise is highly likely to be the exception rather than the norm over the weeks to come.

Going the other way, Varner III’s Range Goats GC teammate Talor Gooch has seen his world ranking drop by a place to World No.44, with a fall out of the top 50 likely in the coming weeks.

For Varner III, Pereira and Gooch, whether they remain in the top 50 or not will at least not affect their eligibility for this year’s Masters. All three were in the top 50 at the end of last year, meaning they qualify.

Nevertheless, for Varner, a move back into the elite group will have been an unexpected bonus after a somewhat disappointing performance in Mexico, where he finished tied for 27th. The tricky part, though, will be staying there.