OWGR Gets Masters Champ as New Chair — Is It the Fix It Needs?

The Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) is set to get a new Chairman in the coming months as a Masters Champion will take the reigns. But is it what the ranking needs to gain trust and relevancy back?

Over the past few years, the OWGR has come under fire for its partialness toward PGA TOUR and DP World Tour golfers. LIV Golfers have had their rankings impacted tremendously as the league’s three-day, 54-hole tournaments do not qualify for OWGR points.

LIV stopped chasing approval from the OWGR last March. Now, the OWGR is making a major change.

⛳️ NEWS: Masters Champ Trevor Immelman will be the next chair of the OWGR pic.twitter.com/XWILnZ3sUZ

— Golficity (@Golficity) January 7, 2025

2008 Masters Champion Trevor Immelman will now be the chairman of the OWGR, the PGA TOUR announced this morning:

“The Governing Board of the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) has appointed Trevor Immelman to become its new chairman, beginning April 10. Immelman, who won the 2008 Masters Tournament at Augusta National, will succeed Peter Dawson CBE, who has held the role since 2016.”

There could be changes Immelman could make to perhaps make the OWGR more fair across the board. While LIV does not play the “traditional” four-day tournament, surely there is still a path to making it effective across the professional game as a whole.

Besides, the whole idea that it is not “real golf” has been pushed to the wayside, especially as LIV Golfers have been winning Majors after leaving the PGA TOUR.

Immelman commented on his new role:

“The Official World Golf Ranking has always been a huge part of my life and professional career. Growing up in South Africa and falling in love with the game as a youngster, the ranking system was how I tracked and followed my favorite players and understood who the best players in the world were.

Two changes have already been made to the OWGR system as of the announcement on January 7. 

• Starting from Week 1, 2025, tournament fields that have Low Field Ratings will use a new points distribution curve that awards a greater percentage of available points to top finishers in those tournaments. Although there is no change to the total amount of points awarded for these tournaments, a steeper points distribution curve gives 50% more points to the winner of low field rating tournaments, with a 26% overall increase in points to the top five. This will enable additional upward movement in the ranking for the best-performing players in these low field rating tournaments.
• The inclusion of the TPGA (Chinese Taipei) into the OWGR system effective Week 1 of 2025. The TPGA (Chinese Taipei) has worked continuously with the OWGR over the last 20 months, providing requested documentation and making necessary adjustments to further adhere to long-standing OWGR eligibility and format criteria.

Cover Image via Golfweek