Jon Rahm finds himself in unfamiliar territory, sitting outside top-50 players in the world, and the LIV Golf star was reminded of his fall by one PGA Tour player
PGA Tour star Michael Kim could not resist highlighting his jump above Jon Rahm in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), after impressing at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last weekend.
Kim secured his second top-10 finish in two starts at Bay Hill, ending the Signature Event in fourth at eight-under-par, three shots behind champion Russell Henley. His impressive showing saw him climb from 68th to a career-best 52nd in the rankings, and he was quick to point this out on Twitter with a playful jab at Rahm.
“I’m currently a better golfer than Jon Rahm,” he tweeted on Monday after the OWGR was updated. “OFFICIAL world golf ranking.”
Usurpingly, Kim’s tweet led to plenty of debate in the replies before he quickly clarified: “It’s obviously tongue in cheek, everyone,” in a follow-up tweet. While Kim is now 52nd, Rahm has slipped to 59th, having fallen out of the top 50 first time in eight years last month, following his decision to make the move to LIV Golf at the end of 2023.
Since its launch in June 2022, LIV has been unable to offer OWGR points at its events, and there are no signs of this changing. Rahm addressed the league’s ranking issue when making a return to the DP World Tour at the Dubai Desert Classic in January, describing it as “wrong”.
“They told me early on, I think even before I signed in the early conversations, that they were not going to pursue those discussions to the same level because they knew where it was directed,” Rahm said “I think at this point to not give LIV world ranking points and the credibility it deserves, I think is wrong.
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“I understand we’ve all made a decision, and it’s not as easy as it sounds, but to say that LIV players don’t deserve some spots in major championships, I think, is wrong, and I hope that evolves into what it should be, right… The world ranking points need to figure something out because it’s not fair for anybody in that sense.”
Upon his arrival this year, LIV’s new CEO Scott O’Neil indicated that the league had stopped seeking official recognition from the OWGR, telling The Times: “I think our time with the world rankings has passed,” and expressed his desire for inclusivity, “On behalf of golf and fans around the world, you want to see the best players on the biggest stages.”
“There are several paths to go down,” he said. “And from conversations with the majors we are hoping the situation continues to evolve in our favor and we are very confident it will.” Since then, LIV have gone on to secure qualifying spots into both the US Open and Open Championship.