LIV Golf

Cameron Smith ripped the Official World Golf Ranking system after the organization chose to not award points for LIV Golf events.

Smith called the rankings "almost obsolete" over the refusal to recognize LIV Golf.

"I think it is almost obsolete now," Smith told reporters Wednesday. "We've got some guys out here who are playing some of the best golf in the world and they're outside the top 100, 200 in the world. It's pretty ridiculous."

Smith has dropped from No. 2 to No. 15 in the world after leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf last year. Brooks Koepka, who is ranked No. 18, is the only other LIV golfer currently ranked in the top 50.

Major championships could wind up being significantly altered as a result of the decision. Players who do not have exceptions qualify for majors based on their spot in the world rankings, which could leave some high-profile names out in the cold.

For example, Patrick Reed would currently only be eligible to compete in the Masters and would not qualify for any of the three other majors. It's possible some LIV golfers who do not currently have exceptions will wind up having to sit out the major season entirely.

"Obviously, it's disappointing," Reed said. "Until the actual world ranking reflects the actual top players in the world, then to me it's just kind of a broken system. Just because we play on a different tour, it shouldn't matter."

It's unclear if the proposed merger between LIV and the PGA Tour will impact the OWGR's decision in the future. The two leagues are currently slated to continue operating separately, but it's possible that changes in the coming months. It seems likely that LIV golfers, who are currently ineligible for PGA Tour events, will be allowed back onto the Tour if they so choose, which would give them the chance to earn rankings points.

As it stands, the fracturing of golf into two separate leagues is setting the stage for majors to feel a little underwhelming without the stars of LIV golf.

After Tuesday's decision that golfers who compete in LIV Golf League events won't be able to earn Official World Golf Ranking points this season, Bryson DeChambeau believes changes are needed for the criteria to qualify for major championships.

Per ESPN's Mark Schlabach, DeChambeau told reporters Wednesday that he believes the top 12 finishers in LIV Golf's points race should receive invites to the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and Open Championship.

"It's just been par for the course, unfortunately," DeChambeau said ahead of this weekend's LIV Golf Invitational Jeddah at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in Saudi Arabia. "I think at this point in time, now that they're not allowing it, we would love to find another way to be integrated into the major championship system since I think we have some of the best players in the world. Top 12 on the list, the money list, at the end of the year or the points list at the end of the year, would be, I think, obvious for the major championships to host the best players in the world at those four events each year."

Official World Golf Ranking chairman Peter Dawson sent a letter to LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman and COO Gary Davidson on Tuesday informing them that the OWGR governing board voted unanimously not to recognize LIV Golf as an eligible tour in the points system. Officials from Augusta National Golf Club, PGA of America, United States Golf Association and The R&A were part of the board that denied LIV Golf's application.

The letter pointed out that there were concerns over LIV Golf's team concept in which players compete in individual and team competitions simultaneously over each event.

LIV Golf has six players ranked in the top 100 of the OWGR, but Cameron Smith (No. 15) and Brooks Koepka (No. 18) are the only two ranked in the top 50. Many players saw their rankings drop when the PGA Tour and DP World Tour suspended them for competing in LIV Golf.

"It's honestly sad that they've done that, and people are going to say that it's sad that we came over here," said DeChambeau, who is currently ranked No. 132. "But it's like, look, this is an amazing opportunity for every one of us. I think we've told that narrative quite a bit, and we want to continue to change and grow the game in places like Saudi Arabia, like Singapore, like Australia, numerous places we've all been throughout this year, and we're going to continue to do so over the course of time."

The Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) board has rejected LIV Golf's application for world ranking points.

OWGR chairman Peter Dawson issued the following statement on the matter to the Associated Press' Doug Ferguson.

"We are not at war with them," Dawson said. "This decision not to make them eligible is not political. It is entirely technical. LIV players are self-evidently good enough to be ranked. They're just not playing in a format where they can be ranked equitably with the other 24 tours and thousands of players trying to compete on them."

The Saudi-backed professional golf tour began play in 2022. The season consists of 54-hole, no-cut tournaments in which there are simultaneous four-player team and individual competitions.

Per Ferguson, OWGR guidelines state that tours should have a 36-hole cut and an average of 75 golfers per tournament field over a season. LIV Golf consists of 12 four-person teams for 48 golfers total.

Dawson said the committee could work around those requirements but that the issue was a "closed shop." For starters, the same 48 players stick around all season unless alternates are needed in case of injury.

In addition, the top 24 players from the previous season are invited back, but exceptions are also made for players who signed lucrative deals with LIV Golf, including Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, all of whom are outside the top 24.

LIV Golf being excluded from getting world ranking points makes for a situation where the true top players in the world are not properly ranked. For example, Dustin Johnson isn't in the top 100 right now, and only two players (Cameron Smith and Brooks Koepka) cracked the top 20.

"Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, of course they should be in the ranking," Dawson told the AP. "We need to find a way to get that done. I hope that LIV can find a solution—not so much their format; that can be dealt with through a mathematical formula—but the qualification and relegation."

We'll see if any changes are made down the road so that LIV Golf tournaments can be included in the world rankings, but for now, the league still has two 2023 competitions left beginning with a tournament in Saudi Arabia from Oct. 13-15. The team championship will then take place in Miami from Oct. 20-22.

Team Europe had an extraordinary opening day at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy, to kick off the 2023 Ryder Cup on Friday, taking a commanding five-point lead (6.5 to 1.5) over Team USA heading into Saturday's action.

In the morning foursomes, Europe won all four matches led by Spaniard Jon Rahm and Englishman Tyrrell Hatton easing by world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns 4&3. Norwegian Viktor Hovland and Swede Ludvig Åberg posted the same result over Max Homa and Brian Harman to give the Europeans an early 2-0 lead.

The final matches were more of a competition, but the European pairings of Irishman Shane Lowry and Austrian Sepp Straka and Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy and Englishman Tommy Fleetwood defeated the U.S. pairings of Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, respectively, 2&1.

Team USA needed a mighty resurgence in the afternoon four balls, and while it seemed the pairing of Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas would get the Americans on the board, the European pairing of Hovland and Hatton holed a birdie putt on the 18th to walk away with a tie.

Scheffler and Brooks Koepka then played Rahm and Nicolai Højgaard to a tie. Max Homa and Wyndham Clark also tied Robert MacIntyre and Justin Rose before McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick claimed a 5&3 win over the U.S.'s Morikawa and Xander Schauffele.

Team Europe's five-point lead is the largest for either side after Day 1 in Ryder Cup history. Friday is also the first time Team USA completed the first day without winning a match.

The Americans will need a big Saturday if they hope to truly compete for Ryder Cup glory. Here's a look at the tee times and pairings for Day 2 of action:

• Match 1, 1:35 a.m. ET: Justin Thomas/Jordan Spieth (USA) vs. Rory McIlroy/Tommy Fleetwood (EUR)
• Match 2, 1:50 a.m. ET: Scottie Scheffler/Brooks Koepka (USA) vs. Viktor Hovland/Ludvig Aberg (EUR)
• Match 3, 2:05 a.m. ET: Max Homa/Brian Harman (USA) vs. Shane Lowry/Sepp Straka (EUR)
• Match 4, 2:20 a.m. ET: Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele (USA) vs. Jon Rahm/Tyrrell Hatton (EUR)

The U.S. pairings of Thomas and Spieth and Scheffler and Koepka have arguably the best chance to get some points back for the Americans on Saturday when they meet Europe's McIlroy and Fleetwood and Hovland and Åberg, respectively.

However, McIlroy, ranked No. 2 in the world, is the most experienced player on either side and figures to give the Americans a good battle again on Day 2 alongside his partner in Fleetwood.

Match 4 could present some issues for the Americans as the pairing of Rahm, ranked No. 3 in the world, and Hatton should put some significant pressure on Cantlay and Schauffele.

Team Europe entered this year's Ryder Cup favored to win it all, and after jumping out to such a significant lead on Friday, there's little doubt that they'll nail down the victory for the first time since 2018.

Brooks Koepka provided a straightforward response when asked about his LIV Golf peers who failed to earn a place on a Ryder Cup squad.

"Play better. That's always the answer," he told reporters Wednesday ahead of the event.

Koepka is the sole LIV representative between the two Ryder Cup teams.

Bryson DeChambeau was the most notable omission for the United States.

"I am playing better than Winged Foot," he said, referencing his 2020 U.S. Open victory. "If you look at it, it would have been nice to at least just have a call. There's numerous people that I think (U.S. captain) Zach (Johnson) should have called out here, and we didn't get that."

The Europe team is missing some prominent stars as well, including Ryder Cup stalwarts Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood. Rory McIlroy believes this is an example of how the tournament is bigger than any one player.

"It's certainly a little strange not having them around," he told reporters. "But I think this week of all weeks, it's going to hit home with them that they are not here. I think they are going to miss being here more than we're missing them."

Plenty of fans will contend the stars who signed with LIV Golf made their bed and now have to lie in it. Davis Love III, a vice-captain for the United States, basically said as much to Sports Illustrated's Gabrielle Herzig in August.

"We tried to tell these guys before they went to LIV. 'Do you understand what could happen?'" he said.

In the case of the American golfers, the Ryder Cup captain might be less inclined to select LIV-based golfers because they aren't facing the same challenges or quality of competition on the PGA Tour. It's even more cut-and-dried for the Europeans since they withdrew from the DP World Tour when they signed with LIV Golf, thus making them ineligible for the Ryder Cup.

The status quo could change depending on what the merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf looks like in its final form. Until then, a lot of golfers are left with what's a binary choice between LIV and the Ryder Cup.

Six-time major champion Phil Mickelson announced that he will not be betting on football games this year as he continues his recovery from gambling addiction.

"Most of you will enjoy this football season with moderation while having lots of fun and entertainment. The fantasy leagues will provide banter amongst friends and money won or lost betting won't affect you," Mickelson wrote on social media. "I won't be betting this year because I crossed the line of moderation and into addiction which isn't any fun at all."

Per ESPN's Mark Schlabach, Mickelson's revelation comes nearly a month after professional gambler Billy Walters alleged in the book Gambler: Secrets from a Life of Risk that Mickelson "bet more than $1 billion on football, basketball and baseball over the past 30 years."

Walters claimed that Mickelson made 858 wagers of $220,000 and 1,115 bets of $110,000 from 2010 to 2014. It was estimated that the 53-year-old lost around $100 million through his wagering over the last three decades.

"The money wasn't ever the issue since our financial security has never been threatened, but I was so distracted I wasn't able to be present with the ones I love and caused a lot of harm," Mickelson said in his statement. "This lack of presence has been so hurtful. 'You're here but you're not with us,' is something I've been told often throughout my addiction. It affected those I care about in ways I wasn't aware or could fully understand."

Walters also alleged that Mickelson attempted to place a $400,000 bet on Team USA in the 2012 Ryder Cup, which he was competing in at the time. Mickelson denied that accusation.

Walters stated in his book that he and Mickelson "formed a betting partnership" in 2008, which gave him access to Mickelson's offshore sportsbook accounts that he used to place big wagers. The two of them ended their partnership in the spring of 2014 amid a federal probe into stock trades they each made.

Walters was the subject of an insider trading case and convicted on charges of conspiracy, securities fraud and wire fraud in April 2017. He was sentenced to five years in federal prison, though his sentence ended up being commuted by then-President Donald Trump. He and Mickelson had a falling out over the veteran golfer's refusal to testify in the case.

"If you ever cross the line of moderation and enter into addiction, hopefully you won't confuse your enablers as friends like I did. Hopefully you won't have to deal with these difficult moments publicly so others can profit off you like I have. But hopefully you WILL have a strong and supportive partner who is willing to help you through being your worst self, and through your worst moments like I have in Amy," Mickelson wrote, referring to his wife. "She has loved me and supported me through my darkest and most difficult times. I couldn't have gotten through this without her."

While the relationship between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf may be mended, some of the LIV defectors are still feeling the impact of their decision on their careers, namely two-time major champion Dustin Johnson.

Johnson, 39, was not selected to compete in this year's Ryder Cup despite being a part of five previous American teams.

"I would love to be a part of the team," Johnson told The Palm Beach Post Tom D'Angelo. "But to be honest, I haven't really played that well this year. But have I played well enough to be on the team? Yeah. I didn't have the best year. Was it good enough to make the team? I think so.

"If I would have been playing on [the PGA Tour], yeah, I would have made the team. Do I think I can help the U.S. team? Absolutely."

This year's Ryder Cup begins on Sept. 29 and will be held at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club near Rome. Johnson will have to settle to be a spectator for the first time in a while despite once again being one of the best players on the planet.

Johnson was not selected by US captain Zach Johnson despite finishing in the top-10 five separate times this season.

He didn't have a great time at the majors this year, however. Outside of a top-10 finish at the US Open, Johnson tied for 48th at the Masters, tied for 55th at the PGA Championship and missed the cut at The Open Championship.

"If I would have played a little better at the majors, I think I definitely would have had a really good chance to be on the team," Johnson said. "But just struggled a little bit in the majors this year, which happens."

Johnson joined the LIV Golf circuit in June 2022 and won two tournaments while on the tour. He helped the US win the Ryder Cup in 2021 and was a member of the team in 2010, 2012, 2016 and 2018.

"When you've been a part of teams for the last 12 to 14 years, you want to be a part of it because they are great events" he said.

Brooks Koepka, who won the PGA Championship back in May, is the only former member of LIV to make the 12-man American Roster. He was one of Zach Johnson's six captain picks announced last month.

Billy Walters is one of the biggest, most notorious sports gamblers in United States history, and he wrote in his book Gambler: Secrets From A Life At Risk, co-authored by Armen Keteyian, that Phil Mickelson placed over $1 billion in bets in his lifetime.

"I don't know anyone individually that has ever bet more than Phil Mickelson," he told Darren Rovell of the Action Network.

Walters also said that Mickelson bet at least $313 million when the two operated as betting partners, and likely sustained around $100 million in losses over the past three decades.

The book alleged that Mickelson attempted to wager $400,000 on the 2012 Ryder Cup while he was a part of Team USA.

"Have you lost your f--king mind?" Walters said was his response to Mickelson when allegedly approached to make the bet for the golfer. "Don't you remember what happened to Pete Rose? You're seen as the modern-day Arnold Palmer. You'd risk all that for this? I want no part of it."

Mickelson denied the allegations in a statement:

I never bet on the Ryder Cup. While it is well known that I always enjoy a friendly wager on the course, I would never undermine the integrity of the game. I have also been very open about my gambling addiction. I have previously conveyed my remorse, took responsibility, have gotten help, have been fully committed to therapy that has positively impacted me and I feel good about where I am now.

The 53-year-old's ties to the gambling world haven't been a secret during his career. In 2015, Gregory Silveira of La Quinta pleaded guilty to three counts of money laundering a sum of about $2.75 million for a "gambling client" that ESPN's Outside the Lines reported was Mickelson.

He was not charged with a crime.

And in 2021, Robert Snell of The Detroit News reported that "Dandy" Don DeSeranno, a mob-connected bookie, handled bets for Mickelson and testified in a 2007 trial that he couldn't pay Mickelson back an amount of $500,000. Again, Mickelson was not charged with any crimes.

But in 2022, the golfer did acknowledge publicly that he had a gambling addiction in an interview with Bob Harig of Sports Illustrated.

"My gambling got to a point of being reckless and embarrassing," he said. "I had to address it. And I've been addressing it for a number of years. And for hundreds of hours of therapy. I feel good where I'm at there. My family and I are and have been financially secure for some time."

Brooks Koepka's attempt to qualify for the U.S. Ryder Cup team took a hit Sunday following the BMW Championship.

Strong finishes from Xander Schauffele and Max Homa lifted the two over Koepka in terms of automatic qualifiers, which means that Koepka will not be getting that distinction.

This solidifies the six automatic qualifiers for the team as Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay, Schauffele and Homa.

Even with limited opportunities to ensure qualification, Koepka made quite the case. He finished in second place at The Masters and won his third PGA Championship. Additionally, he had a 17th-place finish at the U.S. Open and a 64th-place finish at The Open Championship.

This does not signal the end of the line for Koepka—who is part of the LIV Golf Leaguez—but it does put his future in the hands of U.S. captain Zach Johnson. He will make his six captains picks following next week's Tour Championship, and Koepka's seventh-place standing could be enough to secure one of those spots.

However, the LIV distinction does complicate this. The tour has sparked controversy since its inception in 2022 and Johnson has admitted that he hasn't had as much exposure to the players on that tour.

Jordan Spieth, Cameron Young and Collin Morikawa are all behind Koepka in the rankings but could nab spots ahead of him, as is Lucas Glover who has been possibly the hottest golfer in the world in recent tournaments.

Johnson's decision will be a difficult one as the U.S. prepares to take on a Europe team headlined by players like Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and BMW Championship winner Viktor Hovland.

Rory McIlroy did not hold back when asked about his take on Phil Mickelson's gambling controversy.

McIlroy had a quip ready when asked about the excerpt from Mickelson's former gambling partner, Billy Walters, as he referenced the fact that Mickelson will not be on the U.S. roster for the Ryder Cup this fall.

"At least he can bet on the Ryder Cup this year," McIlroy said, per Mark Giannotto of the Memphis Commercial Appeal, "because he won't be a part of it."

The excerpt claimed that Mickelson had bet an estimated $1 billion over the past three decades. Walters also claimed that Mickelson attempted to place a $400,000 wager on the U.S. to win the 2012 Ryder Cup, which could have been career-threatening.

While Mickelson is technically eligible for the team, he is very unlikely to be picked due to both his performance this year and his polarizing nature as a result of his association with LIV Golf. After starting the Major season with an eight-under finish that put him tied for second at The Masters, he missed the cut at both The U.S. Open and The Open Championship, and he finished tied for 58th in the PGA Championship.

While he won't be on the team this year, his legendary tenure in the event is still notable. He has been involved with every Ryder Cup since 1995, serving as vice captain in 2021.

McIlroy is confirmed to be on the European team at this year's Ryder Cup, which is set to start September 29 at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Italy.