LIV Golf players will not be able to earn World Ranking Points at upcoming events in Bangkok and Jeddah, the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) has said.
But OWGR says it received insufficient notice to conduct a review before the series’ upcoming October events.
A review of the changes to the Mena Tour is underway, OWGR confirmed.
The Saudi-backed LIV Golf will hold invitational events in Bangkok from October 7-9 and in Jeddah from October 14-16.
A statement from the OWGR said the communication from the Mena Tour “detailed significant changes” to its membership structure, as well as a preview of the first series of tournaments in the 2022-23 season.
He added: “The notification of these changes given by the Mena Tour is insufficient to allow OWGR to conduct the usual necessary review prior to the LIV Golf Invitational Bangkok and the LIV Golf Invitational Jeddah.
“Only after the review is complete will a decision be made on the allocation of points to the new Mena Tour ‘limited field tournaments’, defined by the Mena Tour in its rules as “any tournament approved by the Mena Tour, which includes a field of players of less than 80 players”.
“Regular official Mena Tour events held over 54 or 72 holes with a cut after 36 holes, and its Tour Championship, usually held over 54 holes without a cut, remain eligible for inclusion in the OWGR.”
LIV Golf is currently not recognized by the OWGR, which means players risk falling in the rankings and missing out on entry into major tournaments.
All LIV Golf players have joined the Mena Tour, which has been inactive since the start of the global pandemic, as part of the deal.
Mena Tour commissioner David Spencer said the LIV Golf alliance marked “a very exciting day” for the Tour and its players.
The 48 players who took part in LIV’s event in Chicago last month, including Open champion Cameron Smith and six-time major winner Phil Mickelson, wrote to OWGR President Peter Dawson last month asking that ranking points be awarded for past and future events.
LIV Golf, which offers a $25 million purse at its events and is led by two-time major winner and former world number one Greg Norman, launched in June and has caused deep divisions in the sport.
Big winners Brooks Koepka and former world number one Dustin Johnson are among other players who left the PGA Tour to join LIV.