"The Majors need ‘top 25 in the world’ players”: LIV Golfer Graeme McDowell shares his verdict after LIV Golf‘s world ranking points setback

LIV Golf star Graeme McDowell believes the majors are missing something very important: LIV players. The rebel tour's stars are not banned from participating in the events, but it is difficult for them to qualify. Many qualifying routes require OWGR ranks or points earned, and that's impossible on the breakaway tour.

According to Mirror, McDowell believes the biggest thing that needs to change is getting more access to major tournaments for LIV players.

"I think the big keys right now are major championship access for players on LIV," he said.

Graeme McDowell named Talor Gooch and Joaquin Niemann as two notable absences. He believes that they are among the top 25 golfers on the planet despite a dip in OWGR ranks. That is, of course, due to OWGR not counting LIV events. McDowell continued:

"You start looking down the list of guys that are not exempt for the Majors next year. Joaquin Niemann and Talor Gooch are just two off the top of my head. The Majors need those guys because they are ‘top 25 in the world’ players."

In fact, McDowell believes that LIV players are among the world's best, and the fact that they're competing with one another frequently confirms that.

"You get chewed up quite quickly on LIV because you're playing against some very, very good players every week. It’s nice to remember that you can still play the game a little bit, and get that confidence and belief in myself that I can still win tournaments," he stated.

OWGR may not recognize the rebel tour, but Graeme McDowell is firm in his belief that LIV has top-class players.

"That's always been important to me in my career, to have weeks where I feel good about myself, and then compete and kick on. The international series, they're fantastic. And I think they'll continue going from strength to strength," McDowell concluded.

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Graeme McDowell wants more LIV at majors

Last year, several LIV Golfers were present at the Masters, PGA Championship, US Open, and Open Championship. There were more than 15 golfers from Greg Norman's tour in the Masters field.

Graeme McDowell is unhappy with LIV majors qualifications

Taking it a step further, Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson finished T2 at the Masters before Koepka actually won the PGA Championship. LIV players can participate and some of them can compete, but it is more difficult to qualify. Recently, the majors said they wouldn't be changing anything to accommodate them.

Fred Ridley, chairman of Augusta National, said that nothing would change after Mickelson and others asked for exemptions (via Sports Illustrated):

“If you look back over the history of the Masters tournament, and the qualifications that existed, we have changed those qualifications in numerous times, dozens of times. We look at those every year. We don't make changes every year, but we do look at them under the current circumstances."

"As you'll recall last year, there was some speculation as to whether or not we would invite LIV golfers. We stayed true to our qualification criteria. We invited everyone who was eligible."

Naturally, this leaves the door open for LIV members to qualify, but it certainly doesn't make it any easier. Graeme McDowell wants that to change, but it may not.