LIV Golf stars handed majors lifeline after being left in world rankings limbo

LIV Golf stars person been fixed the accidental to play their mode into adjacent season's Open Championship, with 3 spots successful the large connected connection astatine this week's Australian Open

Two stars from LIV Golf are acceptable to vie for a coveted spot successful adjacent season's Open Championship, with 3 places up for grabs astatine this week's Australian Open.

Aussie golf natives Cam Smith, Marc Leishman, and Lucas Herbert volition each enactment successful their location lawsuit connected the DP World Tour, having besides competed successful past week's Australian PGA Championship. They'll beryllium joined by chap LIV prima Joaquin Niemann, who is defending the rubric helium won past year.

Niemann's 2023 triumph earned him a spot astatine this year's Open astatine Royal Troon, a prize that's erstwhile again disposable this year. Smith, a erstwhile world No. 2, doesn't request to interest astir securing his Open spot, having already won the Claret Jug successful 2022 astatine St Andrews.

However, his Ripper teammates Leishman and Herbert volition beryllium battling it retired for the spot. Leishman, a erstwhile PGA Tour prima who hasn't competed successful a large since 2022, volition nary uncertainty beryllium anxious to unafraid his return. Many LIV golfers, similar Leishman, person plummeted down the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) owed to the Saudi-backed circuit not carrying ranking points.

Looking to marque a quality successful his location state this week, helium stated: "I deliberation those 3 Open spots are huge. Definitely a large drawcard for this event. We each privation to beryllium playing the majors, but certainly, it's other information to play good this week if we request any.

"The Open title spots, they person a fewer events that person it and if it works in, I'll decidedly look astatine playing those. But arsenic acold arsenic satellite rankings and chasing those for me, I'm not going to bash that."

The apical 3 players who aren't already exempt volition unafraid a travel to Royal Portrush arsenic portion of the R&A's 2025 Open Qualifying Series. Niemann's show successful Australia and beyond past twelvemonth besides earned him a uncommon invitation to vie astatine the Masters, which is intelligibly Herbert's motivation.

"So Jaoco [Niemann] past year, it's evidently a large dainty and if 1 of america was to triumph this week and we got the invitation to play the Masters, it'd beryllium very, precise cool," helium claimed.

"I'd emotion to get backmost into a scenery of play wherever thing translates a spot much straight for america playing evidently retired determination connected LIV. Major exemptions are truly important. It's a large absorption of ours and I deliberation you astir apt spot a fewer much guys from LIV coming retired to play these events oregon play the Aussie Open anyway, successful years to travel with those connected the table."