Patrick Cantlay says OWGR requires changes as LIV Golf abandons attempt to get recognized - “I don't know if broken is the right word”

Patrick Cantlay joined the likes of Xander Schauffele and Matt Fitzpatrick by sounding off on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). The 31-year-old said that the “World Rankings has a very particular set of criteria” which needs an updating. Noting that “broken” might not be the “right word,” Cantlay said that changes to the existing ranking system are “necessary.”

The World No.6 golfer’s comments came just hours after LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman announced the decision to abandon the circuit’s attempt to acquire OWGR recognition. Cantlay didn’t seem too happy with it. The 8X PGA Tour winner claimed that there has been “so much uncertainty and change in the last couple of years,” about LIV Golf.

Speaking about OWGR at a press conference ahead of the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational, Patrick Cantlay said:

“I think the World Rankings has a very particular set of criteria, and I don't know if broken is the right word, but I think that there's been so much uncertainty and change in the last couple years that it's inevitable that things need to be updated or things need to be changed. I don't know if we've worked through all the changes necessary, compared to all the changes that have happened in the last couple years.”

Furthermore, Cantlay also claimed that the PGA Tour has become tougher to win in recent years. The 2021 FedEx Cup champion noted that golfers on the circuit are playing “more aggressively” due to big stakes in the rankings.

Cantlay added

"I think it's harder to win out here than it ever has. I think guys play more aggressively. And the scores as you can see are lower and lower seemingly every year… I think, winning, you got to keep putting yourself in position time after time. Some of those weeks, you get the right break at the right time, and you hit a couple of putts that instead of going on the lip they go in. Usually, those are the weeks that you win."

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LIV Golf abandons attempt to get OWGR points

It is important to note that Cantlay’s comments on the rankings situation come after LIV Golf formally gave up on its attempt to acquire the ranking body’s recognition. According to Sports Illustrated’s Bob Harig’s report, CEO Greg Norman sent a letter to his players on Tuesday addressing his frustration with the officials.

The Aussie confirmed that the PIF-backed circuit has “formally withdrawn its application” to get OWGR recognition.

The letter read, as quoted by Sports Illustrated:

“A resolution which protects the accuracy, credibility and integrity of the OWGR rankings no longer exists. We have made significant efforts to fight for you and ensure your accomplishments are recognized within the existing ranking system. Unfortunately, OWGR has shown little willingness to productively work with us…

Even if LIV Golf events were immediately awarded points, the OWGR system is designed such that it would be functionally impossible for you to regain positions close to the summit of the ranking, where so many of you were prior to joining LIV, and deserve to remain based on your performance.”

It is pertinent to note that several PGA Tour players including Xander Schauffele and Matt Fitzpatrick have now come out to speak against the world ranking system. The golfers, like Cantlay, called for changes in the ranking system which is yet to recognize LIV Golf.