Jon Rahm Rips World Golf Ranking System After LIV Pulls Accreditation Application

After the LIV Golf League withdrew its application to receive recognition from the Official World Golf Ranking on Tuesday, former World No. 1 Jon Rahm sounded off about the ranking system.

"I'm going to be honest, I didn't know they were still trying to get world ranking points. But the one thing I can say is I'm going to back to what I said two years ago in the DP World Tour Championship," Rahm told reporters Wednesday. "I didn't think it was a good system back then. And if anything, the more time that goes on, the more it proves to be wrong."

The Official World Golf Ranking system helps determine entry into each of golf's four major tournaments. LIV Golf originally submitted its application for recognition in July 2022 but was rejected this past October, mainly due to the fact that the league's events are played with only 54 holes and no cuts.

Rahm, the reigning Masters champion who was ranked No. 1 in the world as recently as last April and May, is still ranked No. 3 despite leaving the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf in December. He is one of just four LIV players ranked in the top 50 in the world.

Rahm cited the No. 76 ranking for Joaquin Niemann, who won last week's LIV Golf event in Saudi Arabia, as one of the examples of the ranking system being out of touch. Niemann has received invites to the Masters, Open and PGA Championship.

"I'm very happy to see Joaco get invites. ... While we don't have a clear path to majors through LIV yet, I think they should be taking everybody under consideration," Rahm said. "If anybody in this world doesn't think Joaco deserves to be in the top 10 or doesn't know that he's a top player in the world, I don't know what game you're watching. We can tell. I think anybody who watches golf can tell who the best players in the world are. Obviously I don't think the ranking is reflective of that right now to its entirety."

LIV Golf CEO and commissioner Greg Norman sent a letter to players on Tuesday saying that the league is planning to work directly with the governing bodies of the four major tournaments to get more of its players in the fields. Rahm said he doesn't believe it should be up to the players to figure out a solution.

"Our job shouldn't be to make the rules or impose the rules or enforce the rules. We're here to entertain," Rahm said. "It's the governing bodies' job to be doing this and be adaptable to the changing environment."