Players competing in the upcoming LIV Golf events in Bangkok and Jeddah will not earn world-ranking points despite a new partnership between the Saudi-backed circuit and the Mena Tour.
The Mena Tour announced a strategic alliance with LIV Golf on Wednesday, which looked set to result in the breakaway series earning world-ranking points.
The tour confirmed the Saudi Arabia-backed series would become part of, and sanctioned by, the Dubai-based circuit. Launched in 2011, the Mena Tour has been recognised by the Official World Golf Rankings since 2016.
But on Thursday, the OWGR said that it had not received enough notice to carry out a review before the LIV Golf invitational events in Bangkok, Thailand, from October 7-9, and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from October 14-16, tee off.
The OWGR confirmed that it is currently reviewing the changes to the Mena Tour.
The body said in a statement on Thursday: "Notice of these changes given by the Mena Tour is insufficient to allow OWGR to conduct the customary necessary review ahead of the LIV Golf Invitational Bangkok and the LIV Golf Invitational Jeddah.
"Only when the review is complete will a decision be made on awarding points to the Mena Tour's new 'Limited Field Tournaments', defined by the Mena Tour in its Regulations as 'any Mena Tour-approved tournament, which comprises of a player field of less than 80 players'.
"Regular official Mena Tour events conducted over 54 or 72 holes with a cut after 36 holes, and its Tour Championship, typically constructed over 54 holes with no cut, remain eligible for inclusion in the OWGR."
LIV Golf, which staged its first event in June, has to date not been given ranking points.
The Mena Tour, which like LIV Golf comprises 54-hole events, had said prior to the OWGR's response that this week's Bangkok Invitational would be the first event on the series to earn world-ranking points.
In statement released late on Wednesday, Atul Khosla, the President and Chief Operating Officer of LIV Golf, said: “We are taking this mutually beneficial action to support the game at the developmental level and because of the importance and fairness of LIV golfers qualifying for OWGR points.
“We’re pleased to create pathways that give more opportunities for young players, while also giving fans rankings that include all the world’s best golfers.”
The Mena Tour, which returned earlier this year following a two-year hiatus because of the Covid-19 pandemic, holds events primarily across the Middle East, North Africa and Asia. It provides a pathway for players into the Asian Tour and Asian Development Tour.
LIV Golf Thailand forms the opening event of the 2022/23 Mena Tour season.
The Mena Tour had said on Wednesday that the final field for the Bangkok Invitational would be submitted to the OWGR ahead of play starting on Friday, when the final field rating and winners’ points were expected to be confirmed.
It added that, “as a result of the alliance, all LIV Golf players have joined the Mena Tour”.
World ranking points carry significant weight in gaining entry into golf's four majors. Last month, the 48 players who contested the LIV Golf event outside Chicago sent a joint letter to OWGR chairman Peter Dawson urging him to award ranking points to the series.
The Thailand event, which tees off on Friday, represents the sixth LIV Golf tournament since its launch, and will feature reigning Open champion Cameron Smith and former world No 1, and two-time major champion, Dustin Johnson.
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.
The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?
My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.
The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.
So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.
THE APPRENTICE
Director: Ali Abbasi
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 3/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Engine: 80 kWh four-wheel-drive
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 402bhp
Torque: 760Nm
Price: From Dh280,000
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh289,000
