Trevor Immelman wears many hats. His main job is as CBS’ chief golf analyst, but he is also chairman of the Official World Golf Ranking, giving him an important position in the fractured world of professional men’s golf.
As chairman, Immelman will work closely with LIV Golf and CEO Scott O’Neil as the leading group seeks OWGR accreditation. Currently, players in the Saudi-backed league do not receive points for LIV events, but that could change in the coming months as LIV tweaks things to meet OWGR standards. Immelman spoke to reporters Friday at the PNC Championship pro-am and noted that LIV could be OWGR accredited by the time the league’s next season begins in February.
“I think there is an opportunity,” Immelman said, via Sports Illustrated. “We’ve been working hard. I’m in constant contact with my board, who are quite busy people, as is Scott, and I said no decision has been made yet.”
LIV first submitted a proposal for ranking points in July 2022. The OWGR board rejected that request in October 2023. OWGR board chairman Peter Dawson said at the time that the decision to deny LIV’s request was “not political”.
“It’s purely technical. LIV players are obviously good enough to be in the rankings,” Dawson said at the time.
In March 2024, then-LIV CEO Greg Norman formally withdrew the league’s request for points. But O’Neil and LIV submitted a new application on June 30, and Immelman and the OWGR board reviewed it. LIV has communicated with Immelman about earning points as the start of the fifth season approaches, and the leading group has made changes to increase the chances of earning OWGR points. LIV added a new qualifying route by adapting its Q-School and announced last month that it would switch from 54 holes to 72 holes in 2026. While many saw the format shift as a way to curry favor with the OWGR, Immelman noted that the number of holes was not a sticking point in the eyes of the OWGR.
“I’m not entirely sure the number of holes they played has ever been an issue,” Immelman said, via Sports Illustrated. “If you look at the OWGR and how it’s put together with over 25 eligible tours around the world, thousands of golfers ranked around the world, it’s about meritocracy. That’s one of the beauties of our sport and the beauty of the professional game is that you’re earning a tour, fighting to keep your job on that tour. So it was really more in that sense of working with them to understand their competition from that point of view: meritocracy, promotion and relegation and it self-selection aspect of how their competition is constructed.”
Promotion and relegation have always been the bigger concern regarding the OWGR. With only two places available through the Asian Tour’s International Series and two during the promotional event, the closed nature of LIV has been the biggest barrier to OWGR points, which provide access to major championships.
Immelman said O’Neil and LIV have been working to “evolve” their league since resubmitting their application, and that more changes could be on the way, with the size of the fields potentially increasing.
“They’re going to expand their field a little bit, from what I’ve been told, and could potentially grow even more in the coming years,” Immelman said, via Golf Channel. “It’s a very collaborative process between Scott and I right now and our board is trying to figure this out.”
Immelman is the non-voting chairman of a board that includes the heads of the four major championships, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings and Nick Dastey, the director of the Australasia Tour. Immelman told reporters that the vote to approve LIV’s bid does not have to be unanimous. Monahan and Kinnings did not recuse themselves from voting on LIV’s application, unlike in 2023 when Monahan and then-DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley recused themselves.
“I see myself more as a point guard in this role, gathering information, disseminating that information to the board, and then they make their decision,” Immelman said. “I have worked extremely hard – and you can ask Scott that question, as he has done – to find a solution for this.”
LIV Golf starts its season from February 4 to 7 in Riyadh.
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