Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia and 20 other LIV Golf pros take OWGR into own hands

Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed and late addition Anthony Kim will lead a group of 22 LIV Golf players heading over to next week's International Series Macau on the Asian Tour in a bid to pick up some much-needed world golf ranking points.

News emerged this week that LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman has conceded defeat in ever receiving Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points in their 54-hole tournaments. 

LIV Golf first applied for OWGR points in July 2022 but they were officially snubbed in October 2023 as a result of not meeting certain criteria.

Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau both revealed their disappointment at the OWGR board ahead of LIV Golf Hong Kong. 

As it stands, only four LIV players find themselves in the world's top 50 - Rahm (3), Tyrrell Hatton (17), Brooks Koepka (30) and Cameron Smith (50).

Norman said: 

The decision to omit LIV Golf events from OWGR points means a number of LIV players have rapidly tumbled down the world ladder.

Reed has dropped to 105th, while Garcia has dropped much worse to 645th.

It means the likes of former Masters champions Garcia and Reed are not currently eligible to compete in the US PGA, US Open or The Open. 

They are both eligible to compete in next month's Masters, however, as a result of having both slipped on the green jacket. 

LIV Golf star Joaquin Niemann received invites to compete in both The Masters and US PGA last week.

That was based off his Australian Open victory at the end of last season.

The red-hot Chilean, who was mentored by Garcia, has since gone on to win two of the first three LIV Golf events of the 2024 season at Mayakoba and Jeddah. 

Given Niemann has not picked up any OWGR points for his most recent wins, he finds himself down in 76th place on the world ladder despite just about every Tour pro and golf fan in the world believing he is a top 10 player in the world in 2024. 

CONFIRMED: LIV Golf players will be competing at International Series Macau presented by Wynn #InternationalSeries #ThisISEverything #LIVGolf @asiantourgolf @livgolf_league pic.twitter.com/XzfluXasRA

— International Series (@intseriesgolf) March 5, 2024

But back to the original story, and 21 LIV Golf players are going to head over to Macau to compete on the Asian Tour following the completion of this week's LIV Golf event in Hong Kong. 

Former US Open champion Graeme McDowell and European Ryder Cup hero Ian Poulter are also going to tee it up in the tournament from 14-17 March. 

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Carlos Ortiz, who leads the International Series rankings after winning in Oman last month, is another LIV Golf star in action. 

Talor Gooch is not one of the names chasing OWGR points on the Asian Tour.

Last year's Individual champion on LIV Golf remains out of all four majors in 2024. 

Gooch made a controversial comment last week when he said if Rory McIlroy wins the career grand slam at The Masters next month then it will need an asterisk because the tournament will not feature the best players in the world. 

Rahm thinks Gooch should have been considered for major invites, like Niemann. 

Here's a look at the 21 LIV Golf players competing in the Asian Tour's International Series Macau event: 

• Harold Varner III
• Pat Perez
• Patrick Reed
• Kalle Samooja
• Anirban Lahiri
• David Puig
• Eugenio Chacarra
• Sergio Garcia
• Andy Ogletree
• Danny Lee
• Kevin Na
• Caleb Surratt
• Anthony Kim
• Kieran Vincent
• Ian Poulter
• Lucas Herbert
• Graeme McDowell
• Jason Kokrak
• Carlos Ortiz
• Mito Pereira
• Sebastian Munoz
• Hudson Swafford

What do you make of the OWGR's decision to exclude LIV Golf? What do you make of LIV players chasing OWGR points elsewhere? Share your thoughts and comments over on the GolfMagic social media channels. 

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