Lee Westwood was pleased to make it into the top 40 at The Open Championship over the weekend, but he used the opportunity to criticize the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).
Westwood, a veteran golfer on the LIV Golf tour, now holds the 930th spot on the OWGR list after his tied 34th finish at Royal Portrush propelled him up 3,759 spots.
Westwood can now boast that he is ahead of his son, Sam, who is ranked 2,759th on the list while playing on a mini-tour. This highlights Westwood’s concerns with the OWGR’s method of ranking golfers.
“I think that just proves that without world ranking points it makes a bit of a mockery of the system,” Westwood said at LIV Golf’s UK event.
Westwood, like many LIV Golf stars, believes that their events should contribute to the OWGR. However, the league’s recent application for inclusion is currently pending review.
Initially, LIV Golf sought accreditation when the league started in 2022, but it was denied. As a result, LIV golfers can only earn OWGR points by participating in major championships or international tour events.
For instance, Dustin Johnson, currently ranked 571st, only climbed that high after finishing tied 23rd at The Open. Johnson, a former world number one golfer, has seen his ranking drop significantly since joining LIV.
Only Bryson DeChambeau (16th) and Tyrrell Hatton (21st) are in the top 50 of the OWGR rankings. Other LIV Golf stars such as Jon Rahm and Patrick Reed are not in that top tier despite their strong performances.
Hatton has been vocal about LIV Golf players receiving recognition for their accomplishments in the league, particularly when it comes to qualifying for major tournaments.
“I think there’s a lot of guys out here that you certainly want to be playing in majors. If there’s a better pathway for that for us, then that’s brilliant,” Hatton said.
Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
