The LIV Golf Riyadh has been the first tournament of the Saudi league season and also the first in its history to award world ranking points. The big prize goes to Elvis Smylie as the winner, but it’s interesting to see how it has affected the other ten players (there have been eleven in total) who have received some prize, including the Spaniards Jon Rahm and David Puig, second and fourth respectively.
– Smylie: He is the first major beneficiary of this new world order. With the victory, he moves from 134th place to around 75th. He had missed the cut at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic of the DP World Tour.
– Rahm: First time receiving points in LIV Golf and, therefore, the first time benefiting from his great performances beyond the individual ranking of the Saudi league or the monetary prize. He started the week in 97th place and will move to around 65th.
– Uihlein: Finished third on his own. He has been the only one from LIV who has not publicly complained about the world ranking decision. “We have more points than yesterday and for me that’s already good news,” he noted. The American moves from 201st place to around 150th.
– Puig: Finished fourth tied with Abraham Ancer and Thomas Pieters. He started the week in 95th place and will rise to around 83rd.
– Ancer: Moves from 618th place to approximately 344th.
– Pieters: From 568th to around 325th.
– Detry: Finished eighth on his own. The Belgian started the tournament in 63rd place and will be around 60th.
– Herbert: Finished ninth tied with Grace and An. The Australian will move from 259th place to around 222nd.
– Grace: From 462nd to 392nd.
– An: From 112th to 105th.
These are all approximate calculations, as it depends on what the players participating in the DP World Tour and PGA Tour tournaments add up this Sunday. Depending on their performances, they will move up or down places. The only certainty is that Rahm, in the best case, will be 62nd and Puig 81st.
