Trevor Immelman wears many hats. His main job is as CBS’ lead golf analyst, but he’s also the chairman of the Official World Golf Ranking which puts him in an important position in the fractured world of men’s professional golf.
As chairman, Immelman is working closely with LIV Golf and CEO Scott O’Neil as the breakaway league seeks OWGR accreditation. Currently, players on the Saudi-backed league do not receive points for LIV events, but that could change in the coming months as LIV tweaks things to conform to OWGR standards. Immelman spoke to reporters on Friday during the pro-am of the PNC Championship and noted that LIV could be OWGR-accredited by the time the league’s next season starts in February.
“I think there’s a chance,” Immelman said, via Sports Illustrated. “We’ve been hard at work. I’m in constant communication with my board, who are fairly busy people, as have Scott, and I said no decision has been made yet.”
LIV first submitted a proposal for rankings points in July of 2022. The OWGR board denied that request in October of 2023. OWGR board chair Peter Dawson said at the time that the decision to deny LIV’s request was “not political.”
“It is entirely technical. LIV players are self-evidently good enough to be ranked,” Dawson said at the time.
In March of 2024, then-LIV CEO Greg Norman formally withdrew the league’s application for points. But O’Neil and LIV submitted a new application on June 30, and Immelman and the OWGR board have been reviewing it. LIV has been communicating with Immelman about getting points as the start of its fifth season nears, and the breakaway league has made alterations to try to boost its chances of earning OWGR points. LIV added a new qualifying route by tweaking its Q-School and announced last month that it would be transitioning from 54 holes to 72 holes in 2026. While many viewed 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 OWGR’s eyes.
“I’m not exactly certain that the amount of holes that they’ve played has ever been a problem,” Immelman said, via Sports Illustrated. “When you look at the OWGR and how it’s made up with 25-plus eligible tours around the world, thousands of golfers that are 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 earning your way onto a tour, fighting to keep your job on that tour. So it’s really been more along those lines of working with them on understanding their league from that standpoint: meritocracy, promotion and relegation and the self-selection aspect of how their league is made up.”
Promotion and relegation have always been the bigger concern regarding the OWGR. With only two spots available via the Asian Tour’s International Series and two during the promotions event, the closed-shop nature of LIV has been its biggest impediment to OWGR points, which provide pathways to major championships.
Immelman said that O’Neil and LIV have been working to “evolve” their league since resubmitting their application, and that further changes could be on the way, with field sizes potentially increasing.
“They are going to be growing their field a little bit, it appears from what I’ve been told, and could possibly grow even further in years to come,” Immelman said, via Golf Channel. “It’s a very collaborative process right now between Scott and I and our board is trying to figure it out.”
Immelman is the non-voting chair of a board that is made up of 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 have not recused 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 as bit more of a point guard in this role, gathering information, spreading that information to the board, and then they make their decision,” Immelman said. “I’ve been working extremely hard—and you can ask Scott that question, as he has — in trying to find a solution for this.”
LIV Golf will begin its season February 4-7 in Riyadh.
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