In the last 24 hours on social media, Justin Thomas has debated the topic that every golfer and every golf fan wants answers for: the Official World Golf Rankings.
Two days ago, Flushing It posted a tweet that stated Jordan Spieth was in last place in the Hero World Challenge but still stood to earn 2.0886 OWGR points should he stay in last place.
Flushing It also pointed out that this is just short of the number of points you earn if you finish third at the Indonesian Masters this week, the event that LIV Golf player Lee Westwood is playing in.
Third place bags you 2.36477 at Royale Jakarta Golf Club to be precise, but Thomas responded to Flushing It’s claim that international players could be deprived of vital OWGR points that could help them qualify for major championships.
“An event with 15ish (sorry not sure the exact number) of the top 20 in the world? It’s all about the quality of the field. The new system is hurting events like this more than it does that,” he said.
An event with 15ish (sorry not sure the exact number) of the top 20 in the world? It’s all about the quality of the field. The new system is hurting events like this more than it does that. Like anything in golf, play well enough in big events and you’ll be rewarded
— Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) December 2, 2022
“Like anything in golf, play well enough in big events and you’ll be rewarded.”
Thomas maintained that if you have a spot in the Hero World Challenge, an event with just 20 players, then you have earned it. 15 of the world’s top 20 players are playing in the Bahamas this week.
Flushing It also suggested that a player such as Tom Kim, who has won events in India, Pakistan and Singapore, would still be playing on the Asian Tour under the new system which supposedly undervalues international tournaments on other tours.
Thomas, 29, claimed that Kim took his chances on the PGA Tour and earned his membership. That much is true. Three starts after obtaining a Special Temporary Membership last season, he won the Wyndham Championship and he followed this up with a win at the Shriners Children’s Open.
The current debate on the allocation of OWGR points largely concerns field sizes and the quality of players in each field. Tiger Woods, Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler have all been critical of the system in recent weeks.
Rahm described the current state of affairs as “a bit of a joke” after winning the DP World Tour Championship, which featured seven top-25 players compared to zero at the RSM Classic in America. The RSM Classic had more OWGR points on offer.
The field ranking of the RSM Classic with 156 players was 215.42631, whereas the DP World Tour finale with 50 players had a rating of 121.09537. Adam Svensson went from 174 to 72 in the world, but Rahm didn’t move from number five.
“The RSM got more due to more people. Smaller fields are getting hurt in OWGR by the changes as much as anybody,” Thomas said in reply to another tweet that questioned why there were more points on offer at the RSM Classic than in Dubai.
I have no problem with them getting points, they just need to meet the criteria like everybody else. But they don’t in 7 of the 8 categories from my understanding. Every tour went thru the 2-3 year process to earn OWGR pts, no reason they shouldn’t be different right?
— Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) December 3, 2022
“DP got robbed getting low points, but was a smaller field. The best players playing against each other deserves a lot of points, no? It’s the BEST in the world… IMO.”
The comparison between these events which everyone seems to refer to is just another situation that has been criticized by various players on various tours.
In November, LIV Golf player Travis Smyth pointed out that to gain one OWGR point at the International Series Event in Egypt on the Asian Tour, you needed to finish in the top five.
In the same week, Scheffler came tied for ninth in the Cadence Bank Houston Open and earned 4.59972 points. This comparison could allude to the initial point made by Flushing It.
Thomas was also quizzed on LIV Golf obtaining OWGR status, but maintained that like every other tour, ranking points are granted over a lengthy process and not overnight.
LIV Golf entered a strategic alliance with the little-known MENA Tour in pursuit of OWGR points, but the board has put the application under review.
“I have no problem with them (LIV Golf) getting points, they just need to meet the criteria like everybody else. But they don’t in 7 of the 8 categories from my understanding. Every tour went thru the 2-3 year process to earn OWGR pts, no reason they shouldn’t be different right?”
.