The LIV professionals are currently dominating the Asian Tour event as they aim to accumulate world ranking points.
At the International Series Event in Omna, Louis Oosthuizen and his fellow LIV pro Carlos Ortiz are currently tied for first place.
Although LIV Golf is taking a break this week, the next event will commence on March 1 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. However, several players from LIV are not idle as they participate in Oman’s International Series tournament under the Asian Tour banner. These golfers can easily be located atop of the leaderboard.
The tournament at Al Mouj Golf in Muscat sees LIV players taking control after two rounds. Sharing the top spot with a score of 12 under are Louis Oosthuizen, major champion and avid supporter of LIV from the beginning, and Carlos Ortiz – both displaying impressive performances throughout.
This week on the Asian Tour, many LIV pros are searching for a way to qualify into major tournaments.
The ranking extends beyond that. Sharing the third position is professional golfer Peter Uihlein from America, leading LIV players Lucas Herbert and Kieran Vincent at 10 under after completing the first 36 holes of play.
Joaquin Niemann and Matthew Wolff, who were both tied for 10th place in the tournament, also earned LIV paychecks. Niemann was recently given a surprise invitation to the 2024 Masters while Wolff used to play on Brooks Koepka’s team at LIV amidst controversy.
Seven of the top 10 positions at the halfway point in the field are held by 21 LIV players.
The reason behind the hard work and presence of well-compensated LIV players in Oman this week is solely to earn world ranking points.
LIV golfer and two others receive unexpected Masters invitations from Augusta.
Players primarily qualify for the four major championships in men’s golf, namely the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and Open Championship through The Official World Golf Ranking system.
LIV tournaments have not granted global ranking points so far and following the OWGR’s ruling in October, this isn’t going to change anytime soon. Consequently, players of LIV who witnessed a considerable drop in their rankings upon joining the emerging tour are under compulsion to participate elsewhere if they desire accreditation for points.
One rare opportunity they have is to participate in the Asian Tour, particularly in events that are part of the International Series funded by PIF. The Oman tournament happening this week falls under this category.
The number of world ranking points available in Oman is difficult to determine. However, due to the low OWGR strength of the field, even if one emerges as champion they are unlikely to receive a noteworthy point boost.
Oosthuizen serves as a perfect illustration of how much ground players can cover in a brief period. In the previous year, Oosthuizen’s position plummeted to No. 441 on the OWGR rankings! However, after clinching two triumphs during South African events authorized by DP World Tour towards the end of last year; he has significantly ascended and currently resides at No.133 ranking spot. Another victory this week ought to elevate his standing even further up on the leaderboards!
