LIV Golf was dealt a blow on Tuesday after the Official World Golf Ranking denied its application to receive points, which would help its players qualify for majors.
OWGR felt that LIV Golf's lack of player turnover and pathways were considered problematic, along with a format which sees team and individual scores intersect.
A statement on OWGR.com read: "The current structure is not consistent with the underlying principles of fairness and meritocracy on which the OWGR system is based."
OWGR also referred to comments made by LIV Golf player Sebastian Munoz relating to how the team standings influenced his individual play, something 'amplified by the decision that players from the same team can be grouped together'.
The statement did though invite LIV Golf to reapply should changes be made which made affect the outcome of said application and stressed that its refusal to sanction the upstart tour was not to be seen as a political one and is 'entirely technical'.
Cameron Smith is currently the highest-ranked LIV Golf member at 15th in the Official World Golf Ranking, 13 places lower than he was prior to signing with the Saudi-backed golf league.
Brooks Koepka is the only other player on the circuit currently ranked inside the top 50, which typically represents the cut-off for invites to majors though there are exceptions for players like those two, who have won major champions or other high-profile tournaments, or taken part in a Ryder Cup as Koepka has.
