Fans stunned by OWGR revelation involving Tiger Woods and it's good news for LIV Golf
Asian Tour International Series event PIF Saudi International backed by LIV Golf carries a higher OWGR Field Rating than Tiger Woods' Hero World Challenge on the PGA Tour.
The Asian Tour's International Series season finale backed by LIV Golf this week carries a higher Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) Field Rating than Tiger Woods' Hero World Challenge on the PGA Tour - and also the DP World Tour's Nedbank Golf Challenge.
The update was first posted to social media by popular golf social media account Flushing It during the first round of the Asian Tour's PIF Saudi International that got underway on Wednesday.
This week's PIF Saudi International marks the final event of the Asian Tour's 2024 International Series where LIV Golf's Peter Uihlein leads the season race.
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As a result of the International Series being heavily backed by LIV Golf, this week's field sees a number of LIV Golf stars in action such as Tyrrell Hatton, Sergio Garcia, Joaquin Niemann, Patrick Reed and Dustin Johnson.
It's without doubt the strongest Asian Tour field of the season, and with it a record prize purse for the circuit in 2024.
Meanwhile runaway World No.1 Scottie Scheffler is a red-hot favourite to defend the PGA Tour's Hero World Challenge at Albany in The Bahamas.
Scheffler is going in search of a ninth victory of the season.
Tournament host Tiger Woods, who turns 49 in three weeks' time, is not able to play as he continues to recover from the sixth back surgery of his career in September.
With LIV Golf events remaining shut out of OWGR points, a number of the breakaway league's biggest names are taking full advantage of this week's Asian Tour season finale with world ranking points on the line.
Flushing It took to X / Twitter to make an interesting observation that the 20-man Hero World Challenge hosted by Woods is this week dwarfed by the Asian Tour's PIF Saudi International in terms of OWGR Field Rating.
The PIF Saudi International carries a field rating of 123.95355 as opposed to the Hero World Challenge's 117.67668.
The DP World Tour's Nedbank Golf Challenge comes in third with 99.68761.
Both prize purses at this week's PGA Tour and Asian Tour events stand at $5m, with both winners set to earn $1m.
The winner of the DP World Tour's Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa actually earns a little bit more at $1.025m.
The Official World Golf Ranking's Field Rating is calculated as follows:
- Every player in a tournament field contributes Performance Points as determined by the player’s individual Strokes Gained World Rating
- The sum of these Performance Points determines the Field Rating
- Field Rating replaces what was previously referred to as a tournament Strength of Field (SoF)
The only slight negative for LIV Golf and Asian Tour players is that the winner of the 20-man Hero World Challenge on the PGA Tour is projected to earn nearly 10 more points (31 vs 21) than the winner of the PIF Saudi International at Riyadh Golf Club.
Some golf fans still find that baffling that a 20-man limited field event on the PGA Tour can even be handed OWGR points in the first place, but that subject is for another day.
As Flushing It notes, however, it's certainly a step in the right direction for the Asian Tour's International Series backed by LIV Golf that it topples the PGA Tour in at least one OWGR category for the first time.
"This week is a great example of just how quickly the professional golf landscape has changed," tweets Flushing It.
"The International Series event on the Asian Tour has a higher field rating according to the OWGR than the PGA Tour and DP World Tour sanctioned events.
"The PIF Saudi International is also the most compelling. As the Asian Tour draws to a close, the International Series standings winner will be crowned and several more players will gain access to the LIV Golf Promotions Event next week, hoping to earn a contract on the LIV Golf League for 2025.
"Three years ago, no one would have predicted Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge would not be the top billing of the week. But here we are. Things are moving fast, and they’re moving east."
LIV Golf and Asian Tour fans will also be pleased to learn the International Series is seemingly going from strength to strength heading into 2025.
News emerged today that the International Series will make its first entry into the subcontinent next year, bringing stars of the LIV Golf League and Asian Tour to International Series India presented by DLF.
The tournament staged at DLF Golf and Country Club on the outskirts of Delhi will mark the first on a groundbreaking 2025 calendar for the LIV Golf League-backed set of 10 Asian Tour events.
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