The Saudi-backed LIV Golf series has signed a “strategic alliance” with the Middle East and Africa (MENA) Tour, which it says will earn its players world ranking points.
LIV Golf is currently not recognized by the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), so players risk falling down the rankings and missing out on entry into major tournaments.
The Mena Tour has been recognized by OWGR since 2016.
LIV Golf chief Atul Khosla said the deal would prove “mutually beneficial”.
All LIV Golf players have now joined the Mena Tour as part of the deal, although the OWGR has yet to confirm whether they will now automatically earn World Ranking Points.
“We are taking this mutually beneficial action to support the game developmentally and because of the prominence and fairness of LIV golfers who qualify for OWGR points,” Khosla said.
The Mena Tour was launched in 2011 and primarily hosts 54-hole events across the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, providing players with a pathway to the Asian Tour and Asian Development Tour.
He has been inactive since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 but is expected to return with the LIV Golf Thailand event in Bangkok this weekend.
The Mena Tour said it will submit the final field to the OWGR before the tournament begins on Friday and that it “expects” the ranking points to be confirmed.
“It’s a very exciting day for the Mena Tour and our players,” said Mena Tour Commissioner David Spencer. “This is great news for the future of many young players on our circuit.”
LIV Golf, led by two-time major winner and former world number one Greg Norman, launched in June and caused deep divisions in the sport.
Six-time major winner Phil Mickelson, former world number one Dustin Johnson and Open champion Cameron Smith are among the players to join LIV, which is offering a $25 million purse at its events.
The DP World Tour and PGA Tour strengthened their alliance in response to the new tour, while the PGA suspended and fined players who left to join the breakaway series.
This prompted LIV Golf to file a lawsuit against the PGA Tour, claiming it violated competition laws, with the PGA Tour responding by throwing a counterclaim.
The BBC has approached OWGR for comment.