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Rory McIlroy Have asked a question life golfThe Saudi-funded breakaway tournament announced its new format will change from three rounds to four next year.
LIV organizers are determined to have it recognized by the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to further enhance the competition’s legitimacy and standing in the sport, and hope the change to 72 holes will be another step on the path to ranking points.
The OWGR had initially rejected LIV’s request for ranking points over concerns about it being a closed shop of 54 players, rather than participation being based on merit. There were also concerns about LIV impacting team competition performance.
McIlroy, who is preparing to play in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links this week, has been one of LIV’s most vocal critics, and has a point He “hated” the tournamentHowever, his stance has softened with time.
Asked what he thought about the change to four rounds, he said: “I think it’s a strange move because I think he could have got ranking points with three rounds. I don’t think three rounds versus four rounds was holding him back.
“It definitely puts them more in line than the traditional golf tournaments that we’ve all done. It gets them back into a position of not really being disruptive and falling more in line with what everyone else does. But if they felt like they needed to do that to get ranking points, then I think that’s what they had to do.”
“Yeah, I think the tricky thing is you have the LIV guys, and let’s say potentially they get a world ranking, but because the strength of their region is going to be so weak because a lot of guys have already fallen down the rankings because they haven’t had ranking points for so long, I don’t know if the ranking points will actually give them an advantage. It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out.”
McIlroy is in Abu Dhabi at the start of the DP World Tour play-offs with a chance to win the Race to Dubai title for the fourth consecutive year.
England’s Marco Prange is McIlroy’s nearest rival, but the world number two has a significant points lead.
“I know I have to play well over the next few weeks but I’ve got good records here and at the Earth Course next week [Jumeirah Golf Estates] Too.
“I know that if I play the way I know I can play, hopefully everything will work out the right way. Yes, I’m looking forward to the challenge. I’m looking forward to feeling it again and trying to win another challenge.”