"They're definitely top-ranked players" - Xander Schauffele backs LIV golfers as the circuit abandons it's attempt to get OWGR recognition

Xander Schauffele has backed LIV Golf to get them recognition in the OWGR, stating that the good players were playing in the league including some of them being in the top ten.

For two years, LIV Golf had been trying to get recognition from the OWGR but the organization made it clear that the Saudi-backed circuit couldn't meet their criteria. Since joining the rival circuit, several top players have witnessed their ranking plummeting.

In the Tuesday press conference ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Schauffele said that he was fortunate to be on the other side of the fence and was just trying to play well and gain ranking points. He added that it was clear from the start that the format of the LIV wouldn't meet the criteria for OWGR.

"The LIV Tour definitely has really good players, and players that are in the top 10 or top 25 in the world, and there's many of 'em. So, they're just sort of unranked right now, but to me, I do believe they're definitely top-ranked players in the world," he added.

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LIV Golf gives up its quest for the OWGR

The LIV Golf will not bid for the OWGR's acknowledgment anymore. On Tuesday, LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman wrote in a letter to the membership that the league will now cease to meet the OWGR criteria to gain some ranking points.

"We have made significant efforts to fight for you and ensure your accomplishments are recognized within the existing ranking system,” Norman said as per Golf Digest. "Unfortunately, OWGR has shown little willingness to productively work with us."

LIV Golf has not received the OWGR points for several reasons. One of the reasons is a shorter field, 54-hole event.

Last year, the Saudi-backed circuit associated with the MENA Tour, hoping that it might grant them the ranking points. However, OWGR rejected the plea once again, leaving the associated players with not many options to gain ranking points.

In 2023, Peter Dawson, chairman of the OWGR board, said that the decision to not award the Saudi-backed circuit the ranking points was not political, as the players were good enough to be ranked.

He was quoted as saying via Global Golf Post:

"This is about, should a tour whose formats are so different and whose qualification criteria are so different, can they be ranked equitably with other tours who conform to the OWGR norm and have more competition to them than perhaps the closed shop that is LIV?"

Currently, World No. 3 Jon Rahm is the highest-ranked golfer in the LIV. Besides him, only Tyrrell Hatton (17), Brooks Koepka (30), and Cameron Smith (45) are ranked in the top 50 of the OWGR. Rahm and Hatton are new signings and are yet to face the effect of not playing on OWGR-approved events. While Koepka and Smith were helped by their exploits in last year's Majors.