“I might be one of the few that like it. We have more world ranking points today than we did yesterday. I saw the winner gets 23 points this week. In Qatar he gets 20. In my mind we’re the second best tour in the world right now,” Uihlein said.
“Obviously there are things that probably need to get worked out with the top 10 or whatever, but the reality is we have more points today than we did yesterday. I’m all for it.”
“I’m not scared of a blow-up every now and then on a hole in particular, so now I have more holes to make it up,” he said.
“I personally, whether I agree with it or not doesn’t matter. It’s just part of it now where you have to deal with it. But for me personally, I think it’s going to benefit me long term, which is nice.”
While LIV Golf has finally secured Official World Golf Ranking points, the way they will be distributed has not gone down well with several players across the league.
Jon Rahm was among the first to speak out after the announcement ahead of the season opener in Riyadh. While welcoming the recognition, the Spaniard made it clear he felt LIV was still being treated differently.
“It’s fantastic that we’re being recognized in a way,” Rahm said. “With that said, I don’t like how we’re not being treated the same as every other tour.
“It seems like the rules that have been in place don’t really apply to us, with only 10 of us getting points. It doesn’t seem fair. The small fields out there throughout the course of the year, their players get full points.”
Talor Gooch shared similar frustration, suggesting the decision failed to address long-standing concerns.
“I don’t think the right thing was done, which is not any different than what we’ve experienced here at LIV for the last four or five seasons. Anybody who says that the right thing was done and the fair thing was done, I don’t think they’re in tune with the reality of things”
Ian Poulter took a more balanced view, welcoming the breakthrough but questioning the formula behind it.
“First and foremost, it’s good to have LIV recognised finally,” Poulter said. “That’s a massive plus. On the flip side, I’m not sure about the algorithm they’ve used to figure out the points.”
Lee Westwood also raised concerns about how the system could affect younger players trying to climb the rankings.
“It’s a start. But if you think 11th in a LIV event doesn’t deserve OWGR points, you’re more biased than I thought. It’s the young guys… that will suffer most from this decision,” Westwood said.
LIV Golf itself echoed those concerns in a statement, saying the limited points structure unfairly impacts consistent performers and emerging talent.
What was meant to be a step forward for the league has instead opened up fresh debate, with many within LIV feeling the ranking system still falls short of true recognition.
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