LIV Golf claims players can earn ranking points after Mena Tour agreement
- Published
Open champion Cameron Smith (right) said money was "a factor" in joining Greg Norman's LIV Golf series
The Saudi-backed LIV Golf series has signed a "strategic alliance" with the Middle East and Africa (Mena) Tour, which it says will allow its players to earn world ranking points.
LIV Golf is not currently recognised by Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), so players risk sliding down the rankings and missing out on entry to the majors.
The Mena Tour has been recognised by OWGR since 2016.
LIV Golf chief Atul Khosla said the deal would prove "mutually beneficial".
All LIV Golf players have now joined the Mena Tour as part of the agreement, though OWGR has yet to confirm whether they will now automatically earn world ranking points.
"We are taking this mutually beneficial action to support the game at the developmental level and because of the importance and fairness of LIV golfers qualifying for OWGR points," Khosla said.
The Mena Tour was launched in 2011 and mainly hosts 54-hole events across the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, providing a pathway for players into the Asian Tour and Asian Development Tour.
It has been inactive since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 but is set to return with the LIV Golf Thailand event in Bangkok this weekend.
The Mena Tour said it would submit the final field to OWGR before the start of the tournament on Friday and that it "expects" ranking points to be confirmed.
"This is a very exciting day for the Mena Tour and our players," said Mena Tour commissioner David Spencer. "This is great news for the future of many young players on our tour."
LIV Golf, fronted by two-time major winner and former world number one Greg Norman, was launched in June and has caused deep divisions in the sport.
Six-time major winner Phil Mickelson, former world number one Dustin Johnson and Open champion Cameron Smith are among the players to join LIV, which offers a $25m purse at its events.
The DP World Tour and PGA Tour strengthened their alliance in response to the new tour, while the PGA has suspended and fined players who left to join the breakaway series.
That prompted LIV Golf to file a lawsuit against the PGA Tour claiming it had broken competition laws, with the PGA Tour responding by launching a counter claim.
The BBC has approached OWGR for comment.