2 ex-PGA Tour pros make world ranking leaps after LIV event

Last week saw an exciting finish to the third LIV Golf event of the new world-ranking recognition era.

While Jon Rahm stole headlines with his first LIV win since 2024, the victory also earned Rahm a nice chunk of Official World Golf Ranking points.

But Rahm did not make the biggest leap in the world rankings among the competitors at LIV Golf Hong Kong. That honor belonged to two other former PGA Tour players who jumped up the ranking with top-10 finishes.

Here’s what you need to know.

Matthew Wolff and Harold Varner III climb rankings after LIV Golf Hong Kong

In case you missed the news, LIV Golf was officially recognized by the OWGR earlier this year, which means world ranking points will be dished out at every LIV event in 2026.

However, not everyone in the field gets points. As part of the OWGR’s decision, only the top-10 finishers in LIV events receive world ranking points.

Six players finished T8 in Hong Kong, which means a total of 13 LIV pros saw a significant boost in world ranking points.

None more so than Matthew Wolff. In his brief PGA Tour career, Wolff captured one victory and reached as high as 12th in the Official World Golf Ranking. He even finished runner-up at the 2020 U.S. Open.

But Wolff’s game fell apart toward the end of his time on the PGA Tour, and he left for LIV in 2022. His struggles have continued there, where he has failed to pick up a win. Last year, he finished 42nd in LIV’s individual standings.

Over that time, Wolff saw his world ranking plummet. Before LIV Golf Hong Kong, Wolff had dropped to 2,305th in the OWGR. But one good finish made a world of difference.

Thanks to finishing 5th in Hong Kong on Sunday, Wolff skyrocketed 1,531 spots up in the ranking. However, his new ranking won’t get him into any majors: 774th.

Another LIV pro, Harold Varner III, made a similarly massive leap up the world rankings after Hong Kong. Varner III never won a PGA Tour event before leaving for LIV in 2022, though he’s fared better than Wolff on LIV. Varner III captured a victory at LIV Golf Washington D.C. in 2023.

At LIV Hong Kong, Varner III finished at 18 under, five shots short of Rahm and one shot better than Wolff. His solo fourth also earned him a ton of world ranking points. To start the week, Varner III was ranked 1,385th in the OWGR. Thanks to his solo-fourth finish, he moved all the way up to 589th.

You can see a complete list of the top-10 finishers from the 2026 LIV Golf Hong Kong event, along with their world ranking movement, below.

LIV world ranking movement after LIV Hong Kong (top 10 finishers)

1. Jon Rahm: 54 to 36 in the Official World Golf Ranking

2. Thomas Detry: 70 to 61

3. Thomas Pieters: 430 to 270

4. Harold Varner III: 1,385 to 589

5. Matthew Wolff: 2,305 to 774

6. Carlos Ortiz: 183 to 160

7. Dean Burmester: 229 to 208

T8. Lucas Herbert: 166 to 156

T8. Sergio Garcia: 386 to 331

T8. Louis Oosthuizen: 372 to 323.

T8. Elvis Smylie: 73 to 73

T8. Graeme McDowell: 1,508 to 900.

T8. David Puig: 91 to 84