Despite being announced on the same morning, the year-end news from LIV Golf and the Official World Golf Ranking might seem unrelated. LIV will expand its field from 54 to 57 players in 2026, and the OWGR will now offer discounted world ranking points for events that finish in fewer than 72 holes.
The decisions, however, are at least partly related, because LIV Golf has its eyes set on receiving world ranking points now more than ever. And the OWGR continues warming to that prospect.
“Since the end of June, the Governing Board has endeavored to thoroughly evaluate the LIV Golf application,” Trevor Immelman, OWGR chairman, said in a press release. “We remain committed to the OWGR’s mission, which requires honoring the meritocracy woven into the professional game.
“As such, discussions have been regular and remain ongoing. To be clear, progress has been made, but there is no decision to share at this time. We will continue to work closely with LIV Golf as it continues to evolve to ensure its application is handled with fairness, integrity and consistency, as stated previously.”
And while that may mean LIV starts its 2026 year with no change to its point status, that “progress” is not insignificant. The league decided during this offseason to shift its events to 72 holes, bringing it in alignment with the vast majority of pro tours that receive OWGR points. It has also expanded access to its $25 million-events.
LIV’s Dec. 30 announcement focused on the addition of three extra “wild card” slots in its fields, all coming from next month’s LIV Golf Promotions event held in Florida. Eighty competitors will be narrowed to three, each of whom will earn a full season of starts, playing exclusively for themselves, not as members of a LIV franchise.
While the list of names in the Promotions field is modest, the existence of those pathways onto the once-very-closed circuit signals another way in which LIV is leaning in the OWGR’s direction. One of the main tenets of the OWGR’s meritocratic policies is ensuring that the tours it awards points to have pathways for golfers worldwide.
Will it be enough for LIV to receive OWGR points soon? The league spent much of 2025 believing it would receive points by year-end, which it will not. That said, the OWGR has shown itself capable of change, as traditional and slow-to-adjust as it may be. On Tuesday morning it announced that scheduled 54-hole tournaments will receive 75% of the world ranking points awarded to 72-hole events, and that any event shortened to 54 holes or 36 holes — from an originally intended 72 — will receive 75% and 50% of the original amount of points.
This move will protect the ranking from over-rewarding events cut short by weather, for example, like when Wyndham Clark’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am ended after 54 holes. Clark received the full amount of points that he would have normally received during a 72-hole event at Pebble Beach, but would not under the revised policy.
The adjustment, of course, can be viewed independently of LIV Golf, but look no further than the second press release quote from Immelman:
“In its extensive review of Ranking, the Governing Board determined that events comprised of less than 72 holes needed to be addressed.”
