The freefall for most LIV Golf participants in the Official World Golf Ranking has been steady and spectacular since joining the alternative circuit last year, one that, unfortunately for them, doesn’t offer OWGR points.
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Headlines of Major champions hitting all-time ranking lows – Dustin Johnson falling outside the top 50 for the first time in 13 years, Bryson DeChambeau outside the top 100, Sergio Garcia outside the top 150 – have been constant, with seemingly only one way for them to be curbed: play well in a Major championship.
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The later was indeed the case for at least a trio of LIV regulars competing at the Masters. Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka shared second place on Sunday, four shots off the pace of eventual winner Jon Rahm.
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And Patrick Reed enjoyed a T-4 finish at Augusta National, a place where he’s had four top-10s in 10 starts, including his 2018 win. Those performances reversed personal slide that had begun to look like they couldn’t be halted.
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For Mickelson, the change was most pronounced. The 52-year-old World Golf Hall of Famer entered the week at Augusta ranked 425th – the lowest he had been since 1990 – but rocketed back inside the top 100 to 72nd place. It’s still far from the 32nd-place ranking Mickelson held after winning the 2021 PGA Championship, but it’s nice to move in the right direction.
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Koepka, a four-time Major winner, admitted he wouldn’t be able to take many positives away from his stumble on Sunday at Augusta, where he held a two-shot lead entering the final round only to post a closing 75. Still the consolation could be jumping from 118th to 39th in the OWGR.
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Like Mickelson, Reed seemed to come out of nowhere on Sunday to push his way on to the leaderboard. Unlike some of his LIV peers, Reed has played in a few DP World Tour and Asian Tour events that offer World Ranking points, so he had fallen only to 70th in the OWGR ahead of the Masters. His T-4 finish bumped him to 45th.
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Below is a list of all 18 LIV golfers who competed and how their OWGR fates shook out this week at the Masters. Mickelson, as you can see, started 2023 ranked 213th, was 425th entering the Masters and 72nd after his T-2 finish, for a 353 spot jump.
