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The golf world spent Tuesday reacting to the news that LIV Golf would expand its tournaments from 54 to 72 holes starting in 2026.
Some fans made light of the change on social media—“Golf but Longer” was a common joke—noting how adamant LIV Golf backers were initially that shorter events were needed to attract a younger audience. Meanwhile, LIV’s players and fans celebrated more golf, such as the league’s biggest star, Bryson DeChambeau. “By moving to 72 holes, LIV Golf is taking a proactive step to align with the historic format recognised globally,” the two-time U.S. Open winner DeChambeau said in a statement. “This is a fantastic evolution of the LIV Golf product.”
An evolution that many believe has a purpose behind it. Last July, LIV Golf re-submitted its application to the Official World Golf Ranking board hoping to have its events recognised by the organisation and award World Ranking points. Since the league’s inception in 2022, its players have seen their place in the World Rankings drop because of a lack of points. In turn, their ability to qualify for major championships, many of which use the OWGR as a criteria for automatic entry, has been greatly diminished.
If the move to 72 holes was driven to gain OWGR status, however, it has left one prominent golfer—reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy—a little confused.
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“I think it’s a peculiar move because I think they could have got ranking points with three rounds,” McIlroy said on Wednesday during a press conference ahead of this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on the DP World Tour. “I don’t think three rounds versus four rounds is what was holding them back.”
When LIV Golf’s first application to the OWGR was rejected in 2023, the OWGR board cited the teams element of LIV events and a then-lack of avenues into the league. On Monday, LIV Golf announced that it was bumping up the number of players who’ll earn tour memberships from LIV Golf Promotions and from the Asian Tour’s International Series from one to two spots.
McIlroy elaborated more on why he felt switching to four rounds wouldn’t necessarily help its World Ranking cause.
“It certainly puts them more in line with traditional golf tournaments than what we’ve all done,” McIlroy said. “It brings them back into not really being a [disruptor] and sort of falling more in line with what everyone else does. But if that’s what they felt they needed to do to get the ranking points, I guess that’s what they had to do.”
McIlroy suggested that receiving World Ranking points may not be consequential, as it relates to access to the majors, in the short term due to the slide down the OWGR many that LIV stars have faced. That is because OWGR points are awarded and lost on a two-year (104-week) rolling scale; points accrued are maintained at full value for a 13-week period before being reduced in equal decrements for the remaining 91 weeks. DeChambeau is World No. 23 while Brooks Koepka is No. 229.
Rory McIlroy speaks to the media during a press conference prior to this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Richard Heathcote
“I think what’s hard is you’ve got the LIV guys, and say potentially they get World Rankings, but because their strength of fields are going to be so weak because a lot of the guys have fallen already in the rankings because they have not had ranking points for so long, I don’t know if the ranking points are really going to benefit them,” McIlroy said. “Yeah, it will be interesting to see how it plays out.”
McIlroy, seeking his seventh season-long Race to Dubai title, leads the standings as the DP World Tour culminates with this week’s Abu Dhabi event and the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. The top 70 tee on the standings tee up at Yas Links, while the top 50 on Sunday progress to the season finale.
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Main Image: Ben Jared
