LIV Golf getting world ranking points would start with the Saudi-funded league applying to the Official World Golf Ranking, and chairman Trevor Immelman said Thursday that first step has not happened.
Immelman, who took over as OWGR chair three weeks ago, said he has spoken with LIV CEO Scott O'Neil on the phone and met with him for a casual conversation during the Masters.
Sportico reported earlier this week that LIV Golf and the OWGR were in “serious discussions," which Immelman found to be “an interesting choice of words.”
“They have not put any application in. Whether that happens or not, I guess time will tell,” Immelman said in a telephone interview.
“I have enjoyed getting to know Scott O'Neil over the last few months,” he said. "We've spoken on the phone a couple of times. We met in person at the Masters, just really introduction stuff. We're in the same position we have been without any application from their side.
“The ball is in their court.”
The OWGR denied LIV's original application in October 2023, saying it could not fairly measure the league with some two dozen other tours around the world because of what amounted to a closed shop and the possibility of competition being compromised by having team scores count simultaneously with individual results.
LIV withdrew its application in May 2024.
LIV now has 54 players — 13 four-man teams and two wild cards — a roster that stays the same same (except alternates for injury) all season. It started a “promotions” event that offered three spots at the end of 2023, but that was reduced to one spot last year. The leader of the Asian Tour's International Series also gets a spot in LIV provided he's not already a member.
O'Neil replaced Greg Norman as the CEO of LIV Golf this year.
The four majors use the world ranking to help determine its fields, and the heads of those organizations voted to deny LIV's application.
The U.S. Open and British Open this year created a category to provide a path for at least one LIV Golf player this year. Joaquin Niemann earned that spot in the U.S. Open. The Masters has said it can get the field it needs through use of its special invitations.
Immelman did not say whether he had any inclination from his meetings with O'Neal that another application was in the works.
“Our process is not to go chasing tours,” Immelman said. “We have an open door policy. Whoever wants to apply is more than welcome. There isn't any pressure from our side. We allow these tours to figure out what their best strategy is.”
But he said the rejection letter former OWGR Chairman Peter Dawson sent to LIV in October 2023 was “quite clear” with the position the board had found at the time.
“I would say that is still case,” Immelman said. “But until a new application is put in, there's nothing really we can do about it. If the LIV Golf League is wanting to be part of the OWGR, then they need to go ahead and put another application in. That's really where we are."
Immelman said he has enjoyed getting to know O'Neil, whom he described as a “very smart guy who understands the business world in sport.”
“He'll be the first to tell you he's still learning the golf landscape,” Immelman said. “I'm sure he'll do that quite fast.”
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
FILE - Philadelphia 76ers chief executive officer Scott O'Neil speaks to reporters at the team's NBA basketball training facility, July 8, 2013, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
FILE - International team captain Trevor Immelman waves toward the gallery before a foursomes match at the Presidents Cup golf tournament at the Quail Hollow Club, Sept. 22, 2022, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, file)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
