'Laughable' - Jon Rahm hits out at golf's new world ranking system despite Rory McIlroy endorsement
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Updated 17/11/2022 at 10:09 GMT
The world of golf is already split after the emergence of the LIV Golf series, and there appears to be another brewing disagreement on the cards. Rory McIlroy had described the new world rankings as "much fairer" only for fellow Tour member Jon Rahm to repeatedly call them "laughable", with further damning statements from other leading players on the Tour.
'I'm going to be blunt as I can' - Rahm on 'laughable' ranking system
Jon Rahm has risked stoking further discontent in the golfing world after describing the new world rankings system as "laughable".
The Spanish player attacked the system just a day after Rory McIlroy - who part-engineered the changes - described the new setup as "much fairer".
Rahm told chief executive of the DP World Tour, Keith Pelley, his opinions, and then also spoke to the media.
He complained that despite the upcoming DP World Tour Championship event in Dubai having seven of the top 25 in the field, it has half the rankings points on offer as compared to the RSM Classic in Georgia, which has none of the top 25.
All this takes place against the ongoing backdrop of LIV Golf's emergence onto the golfing scene, and their subsequent war of words with the PGA and European Tours.
“I'm going to be as blunt as I can. I think the OWGR [Official World Golf Rankings] right now is laughable,” Rahm said, via the Telegraph.
“Laughable, laughable, laughable. The fact that the RSM doesn't have any of the top 25 in the world but has more points than this event where we have seven of the top 25 is laughable.
“The fact that Wentworth [the PGA Championship] had fewer points than Napa [the Fortinet Championship] is laughable.
“Look, I understand what they are trying to do with the depth of field but having the best players in the world automatically makes the tournament better. I don't care what their system says. I think they’ve made a mistake. They have devalued the value of the better players.”
The changes reflect the decision to award points based on the number of ranked players in a tournament rather than the specific quality of the ranked players present.
“I understand they are giving certain value to the depth of the field,” Rahm continued. “But would you rather win a tournament when you have the No. 1 player in the world or because you have the 30th? I think it's more valuable if you're beating the best players in the world. I think a lot of people would agree and it should reflect that.”
Padraig Harrington agreed, saying: “These changes are going to hammer the European Tour – they really are."
LIV player Lee Westwood also commented: “It’s a mess and it’s no shock that it favours the PGA Tour."
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