Former Ryder Cup star Poulter blasts irrelevant rankings
Former Ryder Cup star Ian Poulter said Tuesday that golf’s world rankings are “irrelevant”, and the majors need to decide if they want the best players regardless. Englishman Poulter, who once would have depended on being in the world’s top 50 to get into majors, elite tournaments and Ryder Cup teams, told AFP: “I don’t even know where I am in the world rankings.”
The 48-year-old has had top-12 finishes in all four majors in a career spanning more than two decades, but now plies his trade on the controversial Saudi-bankrolled LIV circuit. Last week the breakaway tour withdrew its application to join the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) after trying since July 2022 to gain recognition for its 54-hole, no-cut $25 million tournaments.
“The rankings do not reflect the top 100 players in the world, so therefore, they’re not relevant any more,” said Poulter. He was speaking ahead of this week’s International Series Macau, one of 10 Asian Tour events bankrolled by LIV and its backers the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) to the tune of $2 million.
The winner of the International Series order of merit wins an automatic place on LIV. The lucrative Saudi foray into golf and other sports has triggered accusations of “sportswashing” of the kingdom’s rights record.
Poulter earned almost $400,000 last week for a tied-eighth finish at LIV Hong Kong, won by Mexico’s Abraham Ancer, yet slipped another eight places to 472 in the rankings. The rankings are largely used to decide who qualifies into golf’s four majors.
“The more time goes on, the more it proves to be wrong,” US Masters champion Jon Rahm, who left the PGA Tour for LIV in December and is still ranked world number three, said last week. The majors can make exceptions and issue their own invitations, as has been done with Joaquin Niemann, who has won two out of three LIV tournaments this year.
“Now they’ve given one player a chance, before you know it there will be a solution,” said Rahm. “I think it’s opening the door slightly.”
‘It’s a stalemate’
Poulter was not so sure, especially since all the majors, tours and governing bodies, except LIV, have influence over the OWGR. “If the majors want to give allocated spots, I know one side of the fence will say: ‘Why should they?’.
“I know the other side of the fence are going to say: ‘They need to.’ “Then it’s a stalemate, it’s a standoff.” Plenty of PGA Tour players agree the rankings are not fit for purpose without LIV players such as current major champions Brooks Koepka and Rahm.
World number four Viktor Hovland said last week: “When you have a huge chunk of really good players that are not getting any ranking points, it definitely devalues that ranking.” There will be ranking points available however in Macau this week, where more than 20 LIV players have made the short trip over from Hong Kong. — AFP