LIV Golf events can be streamed live on the Fancode app and website
Indian fans wanting to watch favourites like Anirban Lahiri, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and so many other stars can use the Fancode app, a prominent streaming service featuring live broadcasts of Indian and international sports events, which now streams LIV Golf Tour events into India.
Anirban Lahiri spoke recently and highlighted the added viewer interest in the team format used by the LIV Golf Tour, emphasizing the camaraderie among players and the unique challenges posed by diverse global venues as LIV traverses the globe from Adelaide, Australia to Hongkong, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, the UK, Mexico and USA. Anirban too has really enjoyed the bonds within the close-knit LIV Tour player community.
The focal point of Anirban’s recent interview facilitated by Fancode revolved around LIV Golf’s decision to withdraw its application from the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). Anirban questioned the relevance of the OWGR, since the way the points may have been allocated would be disappointing and potentially humiliating for players of the stature of major winners and former World No.1’s participating in the LIV league.
A few days earlier, Greg Norman, the Australian golf legend and LIV Golf CEO, explained the tour’s decision to withdraw its appeal for world rankings. He said to the LIV players, “We have made significant efforts to fight for you and ensure your accomplishments are recognized within the existing ranking system. Unfortunately, OWGR has shown little willingness to productively work with us.”
“The rankings are structured to penalize anyone who has not played regularly on an “Eligible Tour” with the field ratings disproportionately rewarding play on the PGA Tour,” Norman wrote. “This is illustrated by the fact only four players inside the top 50 are not PGA Tour players (Jon Rahm (3), Tyrrell Hatton (17), Brooks Koepka (30) and Cam Smith (45)) and by the precipitous decline of LIV players generally, notwithstanding extraordinary performances in LIV events.
“Even if LIV Golf events were immediately awarded points, the OWGR system is designed such that it would be functionally impossible for you to regain positions close to the summit of the ranking, where so many of you belong.”
Norman called for an independent ranking system and said the league continues “to seek meaningful communication and relationships with each of the Majors to ensure that LIV Golfers are fairly represented and golf fans around the world have opportunities to see the best competition possible.”
A case in point is Anirban who currently ranks 350th on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) having fallen sharply since leaving the PGA TOUR in March 2022 when he stood 92nd. Despite solid play, Anirban and other former PGA Tour stars have lost their positions, and Anirban’s qualification for the Indian team in the 2024 Paris Olympics is completely jeopardised, despite him deserving a spot.
LIV players like Anirban are now earning scarce points only on the DP World Tour and the Asian Tour’s exciting new elite International Series of 10 events. However the points allocated to even the winners on these tours have been reduced vastly compared to PGA Tour players.
The Masters, the year’s first major, has recognised good play even on the LIV Tour by inviting LIV individual winner Joaquin Niemann of Chile for this April’s event despite his not featuring in the world’s top 50 on the current OWGR.
Time will tell if the OWGR will be modified so it’s not so heavily skewed towards rewarding PGA tour members or a new independent ranking system will come into use.
Photo – LIV Golf