'OWGR Was Never Prepared For Entity Like LIV' - Greg Norman

Greg Norman believes the Official Golf World Ranking (OWGR) body isn't equipped to deal with a new entity like LIV Golf and questioned why it has been allowed to hold a monopoly over the game for so long.

The likes of Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau have been sliding down the rankings since leaving the PGA Tour, and Norman insists LIV's "top-down" approach has highlighted inadequacies within the OWGR set-up. 

He said: "I understand OWGR has got to go through a process with a technical committee and they say there's a time period to go through, I get all that. But at the end of the day, knowing the players who are sitting on the sidelines who are missing out, which is detrimental to the PGA Tour and the majors as well, it shows you that the OWGR was never prepared for a new entity like LIV Golf. 

"You've got to expect the unexpected sometimes, and when somebody comes along like we have with an incredible business model that actually is working, and has been proven to work as we've shown over the last eight tournaments this year, you've got to have that flexibility and adaptability to allow a new entity coming in.

"LIV Golf is a top-down, not a bottom-up approach and OWGR was never ready for that. So they've got to sit back and it does bode the question: Are they the only ones? Why are they the only ones? Why can't there be other institutions that come out with world ranking points along the same algorithms that have been used by the OWGR today?"

Norman has cut a frustrated figure in his quest for ranking points and has repeatedly questioned the OWGR's credibility. As it stands, Johnson has fallen outside the world's top 30 while DeChambeau is no longer among the top 50. Norman admitted it's "definitely a hurdle" but, despite the protestations, remains confident that LIV's "two-pronged approach" will yield the desired outcome.   

"We worked closely with the technical committee and felt like we ticked all the boxes that needed to be ticked, and so we put in our application back in July," he added.

"And because of the other opportunities that we recognised through the MENA Tour, helping a developmental tour that was stuck in the mud from the COVID days, and to resurrect them, we identified that. Actually, they reached out to us and we studied it for quite a few months to see whether it was there. 

"Now when you look at that avenue or two-pronged approach we've taken, we're very, very confident we've checked all the boxes on it to get OWGR points."

LIV's application does appear to fall short in meeting the OWGR's criteria. Most notably, there is no cut, the field size is too small, events aren't played over 72 holes and there is no clear qualifying route. In response, Norman refused to rule out format changes and insisted he and his team are ready to act as and when required.

"We have discussed that internally, no question about it. We do our internal analysis as well to tell us the next steps we need to take. Until we hear back from the technical committee, we're just going to wait and see before we come out with any other thoughts or opinions that we might have. We've got very good answers, if they asked the question."