It's time for warring sides to settle ranking points issue

It's time for warring sides to settle ranking points issue

Spare a thought for Richard Bland whose short putt miss last week on Stonehill's 18th at the LIV Golf Invitational Bangkok cost him more money than perhaps we should think about, and probably a few sleepless nights.

Jon Rahm, who won just €291,000 for his win in Spain last week, must be scratching his head in trying hard to understand the amount that Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra received at the same time whilst playing 18 holes less in Bangkok.

One can only imagine the interesting conversations Rahm and many other golfers must be having with their wives on this subject, especially when a few days ago Dustin Johnson was handed a bonus of $18 million as the individual champion of the inaugural LIV season.

Surely common sense will prevail, and petty issues and egos will be set aside in the ongoing saga between the PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed LIV Golf. The rift is hurting everyone concerned.

Lawsuits have been filed here and there and insinuations of hypocrisy have been quoted.

Back in August, several LIV players filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour claiming monopolistic power with anti-competitive practices.

However, another lawsuit has allowed LIV players to play on the DP World Tour until a ruling is expected in February.

Concern surrounds the credibility of team events such as next year's Ryder Cup and future Presidents Cup as well as majors.

The main problem is that every LIV defector will drop in the world rankings as their tour does not receive ranking points, which casts a dark shadow of unfairness on the whole world ranking points system.

An agreement is required, and emotions should be kept aside.

To have former world No.1 Dustin Johnson now ranked at around 100 in the world does seem to make a mockery of professional tournament golf at the moment and is not an accurate reflection.

One thing is for sure is that the current fragmentation in professional golf isn't benefitting anyone.

Out of Bounds: "The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future." -- Oscar Wilde.

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