$140m Smith 'mess' exposes golf's giant problem

1 year ago 45

Cameron Smith's Australian PGA triumph astatine Royal Queensland was notable not conscionable for the information it was yet different triumph successful an astonishing play for the 29-year-old.

It was besides the archetypal clip since precocious August the Australian had earned satellite rankings points, courtesy of his much-publicised power to Greg Norman's LIV Golf tour, which saw him pouch a reported sign-on interest of $140 million.

That he's inactive ranked 3rd successful the satellite is simply a testament to the bonzer performances helium enactment up successful the archetypal fractional of the year, which included his maiden large triumph astatine the Open Championship, arsenic good arsenic a triumph astatine the PGA Tour's flagship event, the Players Championship.

His triumph astatine LIV Golf's Chicago lawsuit successful September, wherever helium finished 3 shots wide of Dustin Johnson and Peter Uihlein, simply didn't hap arsenic acold arsenic the satellite rankings are concerned, contempt the information helium bushed a tract containing 11 different large champions.

The satellite rankings are precise overmuch successful the spotlight close now, with Spanish prima Jon Rahm describing changes that came into effect successful August arsenic "laughable", portion there's continued statement implicit whether oregon not LIV Golf should beryllium recognised by the rankings.

"Any clip you get a clump of the champion golfers successful the satellite competing against each other, a ranking strategy that lets you measurement golfer against golfer should beryllium there," 2006 US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy told Wide World of Sports.

"So, I astir apt deliberation they should get satellite play rankings points.

"How you find however galore points they get, comparative to a PGA Tour lawsuit oregon a European Tour lawsuit is wherever it's harder. I don't deliberation the information they're playing 54 holes matters excessively much. To beryllium fair, I deliberation they astir apt should get satellite rankings points."

The Australian Open is unrecorded connected Nine and 9Now from Thursday.

Rahm's objections related to the information that the caller DP World Tour Championship, which featured 7 of the apical 25 players successful the world, offered little rankings points to the victor than that week's PGA Tour event, which didn't person immoderate top-25 players.

"It's fundamentally intolerable to comparison a tract playing connected the PGA Tour against a tract connected the DP World Tour and the relativity of each that, and figuring retired who played amended that week," Ogilvy explained.

"Was it the feline who won successful Europe, oregon Japan, oregon America? It's intolerable to measure.

"If you person the apical 100 golfers playing against each different each azygous week past you'd person a beauteous close ranking, but due to the fact that everyone plays successful antithetic places successful antithetic conditions against antithetic fields, they bash the champion they can. I don't deliberation they ever get it right, but I don't cognize however you bash it better."

New Zealand's Ryan Fox, caller disconnected a stellar twelvemonth connected the DP World Tour that has seen him emergence to No.27 successful the world, conceded that the caller strategy doesn't spot capable of a premium connected having the top-ranked players successful the field.

"There's decidedly immoderate worldly to benignant out," Fox told Wide World of Sports.

"I did perceive determination volition beryllium a review. I tin spot wherefore they changed it, but there's decidedly immoderate tweaks required.

"I spoke to Rory McIlory astir it past week, helium made the valid constituent that helium finds it harder to bushed 1 Jon Rahm, arsenic opposed to 20-30 guys ranked from 100-200 successful the world.

"The aged strategy utilized to look aft the apical players and worth them a batch higher than the existent strategy does."

Fox also admitted the lawsuit astir LIV players earning rankings points is complicated.

"The statement is surely valid. Cam is 1 of the champion players successful the world, truthful is DJ," helium said.

"But I tin besides spot it from the different side, which is that immoderate guys person ne'er played a nonrecreational lawsuit extracurricular of LIV.

"Obviously LIV thinks they've ticked a batch of boxes, and OWGR deliberation they haven't.

"It's messy, I'm not definite if they should get points oregon not, that's for radical a batch smarter than maine to fig out."

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