ORLANDO, Fla. — While playing in the pro-am at the PNC Championship on Friday afternoon, Trevor Immelman said he spent part of his round texting with Scott O’Neil, the CEO of the LIV Golf League, who desperately wants his organization to be be accredited by the Official World Golf Ranking.

Immelman is the 2008 Masters champion, and he's playing in the PNC Championship this weekend with his son, Jacob. For his main gig, he's the lead golf analyst for CBS Sports. But, critically to O'Neil, he's also the chairman of the OWGR.

In his first extensive media comments on the issue at the Grand Lakes Resort, Immelman said that he's forged a strong relationship with O’Neil since taking over as chairman of the seven-member board in April

LIV Golf will start its fourth season in February and the controversial Saudi Arabia-backed circuit views OWGR accreditation as an important step for its credibility and vital to its players who are earning no points when they compete in LIV Golf events. Only five players, led by Tyrrell Hatton, are among the top 100 in the current OWGR.

Immelman didn’t promise that a decision would be made in time for the start of LIV’s season, but said that LIV's pitch is very much top of mind.

“I think there’s a chance,” Immelman said when asked if a decision could be forthcoming before LIV’s first event in Riyadh. “We’ve been hard at work. I’m in constant communication with my board, who are fairly busy people, as have Scott, and I said no decision has been made yet.

“And people are like, 'What have you been doing for six months?' I’ve been doing a ton. I can promise. I am working on this10 hours a week since I took this role. Which is more than what was sold to me. But at the end of the day, my love for the sport and professional golf shines through. And we’re doing everything with the utmost integrity.

“And I would say Scott is doing the same, and that’s why we have a great relationship and we are trying our best to figure things out. But I don’t want anybody out there to think I just sit at home and do nothing and wake up every morning saying, 'Oh, here’s more time that I cannot give to LIV (and) points.'”

Scott O'Neil, LIV Golf
LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil is eager to get his league accredited by the OWGR. | Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

Immelman made it clear that he is a non-voting member of the OWGR board, which is comprised of the heads of the four major championships as well as PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings and Nick Dastey, the director of the Australasia Tour.

Unlike a previous bid that was denied by the OWGR in 2023, Monahan and Kinnings have not recused themselves from discussing or voting on the current application, which was submitted on June 30. Immelman said a unanimous vote of the board is not required.

“I see myself as bit more of a point guard in this role, gathering information, spreading that information to the board, and then they make their decision,” he said. “I’ve been working extremely hard—and you can ask Scott that question, as he has—in trying to find a solution for this.”

LIV Golf announced recently its plan to play all of its individual events in 2026 over 72 holes, changing from its 54-hole model.

Although that issue, and a lack of 36-hole cuts, has long been viewed as an impediment to OWGR accreditation, Immelman said that is not the case.

“I’m not exactly certain that the amount of holes that they’ve played has ever been a problem,” he said. “When you look at the OWGR and how it’s made up with 25-plus eligible tours around the world, thousands of golfers that are ranked around the world, it’s about meritocracy. That’s one of the beauties of our sport and the beauty of the professional game is earning your way onto a tour, fighting to keep your job on that tour. So it’s really been more along those lines of working with them on understanding their league from that standpoint: meritocracy, promotion and relegation and the self-selection aspect of how their league is made up.”

LIV's recent changes could help its case with OWGR

LIV Golf had 54 players in 2025, with 13 teams of four players and two "wildcard" players who weren't on a team. Nearly the entire roster of players had been chosen either by the league or team captains, with only one player in 2025 coming from a qualifying tournament known as the Promotions event.

For 2026, LIV Golf has increased the number of qualifiers from the Promotions event to two and two players have graduated off the Asian Tour’s International Series.

Although the league has yet to confirm any roster updates, there is speculation that it might add to its 54-player roster for 2026 by having some sort of weekly qualifying event or a pathway via the Asian Tour on a per-tournament basis.

Immelman said he’s spoken numerous times to O’Neil over the past six months in an effort to see the process through.

“They’re trying to figure out how their league is going to be evolving,” he said. “They’ve decided to go to 72 holes. And they’re going to be growing their field a little bit. It appears, from what I’ve been told, could possibly want to grow even further in years to come.

“And so it’s a very collaborative process right now between Scott and I and our boards trying to figure it out."

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Why LIV Golf Could Soon Receive a Long-Awaited Breakthrough.

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