Spanish golf’s harvest at the LIV Golf Mexico City has been a juicy one. The complete podium of Jon Rahm, David Puig and Josele Ballester at Chapultepec has meant, beyond the usual big cheque from the Saudi league, a good number of very interesting additional points, especially from the world ranking point of view.
Rahm, for example, will find himself on the cusp of the world’s top 20, a position he has not held since 2024. It is true that the man from Barrika currently has the majors guaranteed, but anything that means being comfortably inside the world top 50 is one less worry.
Puig makes a significant leap in the world rankings with his solo second place in Mexico City. His best ever finish in the Saudi league will allow him to sit around 60th. That puts him on the doorstep of the US Open, the third major of the year for which he still does not have entry. There are two deadlines to be inside the top 60 and qualify for the US Open: 18 May and 15 June.
He already has the PGA absolutely secured, and has also put the US Open within reach, which this year will be played at Shinnecock Hills, New York. In addition, in the LIV ranking he will break into the top 10. Remember that the LIV ranking is another route to enter the US Open or the Open Championship, although for that he needs to be very high. The US Open spot will go to the highest non‑exempt player among the top three of the ranking, and for the Open it is the same idea — the highest non‑exempt player, although without a top‑3 limit
On the other hand, Josele Ballester will move up the world ranking to around 150th. He is still far from the PGA Championship, but he will have one last chance next week at the Singapore Open on the Asian Tour. If he were to win, he would have a chance of being invited, as he would be around the world top 100. That said, only a victory will do.
Finally, Luis Masaveu has fallen outside the top 10 and, therefore, out of the world ranking points distribution, although what he earns for the LIV Golf standings does him a lot of good to catch his breath and try to play a bit more freely in the coming weeks
