LIV Golf player Travis Smyth expressed deep shock at the lack of Official World Golf Ranking points on offer at the International Series event in Egypt on the Asian Tour.
The event was won by fellow LIV Golf participant Andy Ogletree. Ogletree banked 4.49109 points according to the OWGR website. Runner-up and eight-time DP World Tour winner Bernd Wiesberger earned 2.69465 points.
American James Piot picked up 1.07786 for coming outright fifth at Madinaty Golf Club and this is what Smyth picked upon. The Australian came 12th and earned 0.53893. In comparison, Scottie Scheffler earned 4.59972 points for coming tied for ninth at the Cadence Bank Houston Open.
“To get 1 world ranking point last week on the @asiantourgolf you had to come top 5. Just 1 point…” Smyth tweeted on Monday.
“If anyone comes across a regular Asian Tour player cracking the top 150-200 in the world it will pretty much mean they’re dominating the Tour.”
To get 1 world ranking point last week on the @asiantourgolf you had to come top 5. Just 1 point… If anyone comes across a regular asian tour player crack the top 150-200 in the world it will pretty much mean they’re dominating the tour.
— Travis Smyth (@travsmythg) November 14, 2022
Smyth, 27, is currently ranked sixth in the Order of Merit on the Asian Tour. He won the Yeangder TPC back in September and his second-place finish at the International Series England event earned him a spot at LIV Golf’s inaugural event near London. He has made three LIV starts in total.
His form on the Asian Tour in 2022 has helped him reach 407th in the world rankings from 762nd at the start of the year. This is not the first time he has taken issue with the OWGR points on the Asian Tour.
Back in September, Berry Henson was critical of the Tour for only rewarding Smyth 2.28 points for winning in Taiwan, something that Smyth also described as “a joke.”
“2.28 first place @OWGRltd points for the winner this week on @asiantourgolf I’m sorry but that’s a crock of (excrement emoji),” Henson posted on Twitter on September 25.
Lee Westwood also replied to Henson’s tweet saying, “Yes but someone that represents you on that board voted for that change.”
The OWGR has been under the microscope in 2022 as LIV boss Greg Norman has continuously applied pressure on the board to award the Saudi-backed series with ranking points.
The controversial new league formed an alliance with the little-known MENA Tour in a bid to meet OWGR criteria, but their bid is still under review.
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