To be fair, there was nowhere to go but up. The 39-year-old hadn’t earned world-ranking points since a T-42 finish at the 2012 Honda Classic when he was still playing on the PGA Tour.
As golf in the Olympics continues to navigate its way towards relevancy, its latest challenge may be the one that puts it most in line with golf’s major championships.
There isn’t a leader among golf’s most important organising bodies who has been more bluntly critical of LIV Golf than PGA of America chief executive Seth Waugh.
There’s something to be said for the Official World Golf Ranking not changing its rules to appease LIV’s undeserved sense of entitlement… but that rigidness to the rules has likewise made the OWGR obsolete.
Between this and Talor Gooch’s recent comments about the Masters deserving an asterisk, you could start a winery with all the sour grapes being squeezed by LIV golfers as the majors approach.
Some on LIV Golf accepted what can only be estimated as generational wealth. Their omission from the OWGR is not a punishment, but the price of that payday.
Finishing runner-up at Pebble Beach moved Aberg all the way up to 11th in the world ranking, an amazing accomplishment considering the Swede turned pro only last June.
Bryson DeChambeau has urged the organisers of golf’s four major championships to make moneylist moves and create a category for his peers on LIV Golf, in the aftermath of the board of the Official World Golf Rankings denying points to the league.
When news broke that LIV Golf had once again been denied Official World Golf Ranking points and that was enough to bring Pepperell – a steadfast LIV sceptic – out of retirement with this self-deprecating knee-slapper.
LIV Golf’s application to receive Official World Golf Ranking points has been denied, according to reports from the Associated Press and Global Golf Post.
If there’s any consolation, Scheffler’s finish at Oak Hill did allow him to jump Jon Rahm and return to the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking. Although that was news to Scheffler.
This is the time of the year where the PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association) of America vs PGA Tour confusion reaches its peak. Confusion reigns about what golf’s other main bodies do, too.