That has left the likes of Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau and Joaquin Niemann, who has won two of the first three LIV events of the season, outside the world top 50.

Only Jon Rahm (3), Tyrrell Hatton (17), Brooks Kopeka (30) and Cam Smith (45) are in a list otherwise dominated by those on the PGA Tour, and Norman said the decision would remove “any ambiguity about its [the OWGR] relevance”.

Niemann’s absence seems especially questionable given his performances so far, which included winning the Australian Open, a triumph that earned him a spot at the Open Championship and invites to the Masters and PGA Championship.

In the letter, sent on the eve of LIV Golf Hong Kong, Norman wrote that “a resolution which protects the accuracy, credibility and integrity of the OWGR rankings no longer exists.

“We have made significant efforts to fight for you and ensure your accomplishments are recognised within the existing ranking system. Unfortunately, OWGR has shown little willingness to productively work with us.”

LIV officials have privately expressed exasperation with the OWGR on several occasions, and, in a small gathering for media during the event at Centurion Club in England last year, suggested they had done everything asked of them to meet the requirements for accreditation.

The promotions event and place for the winner of the Asian Tour’s International Series order of merit was also believed to have satisfied the need for a player pathway.

But the decision to award status lies with the OWGR board, which is made up of the four majors, plus PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley and Keith Waters, a DP World Tour executive who oversees the Federation of PGA Tours.

Even though the latter three recused themselves, there has long been a suspicion their influence lingers within the process, despite board chairman Peter Dawson, the former CEO of the R&A, saying the organisation was “not at war” with LIV.

“This decision not to make them eligible is not political,” he was quoted as saying after the decision last year to deny entry. “It is entirely technical. LIV players are self-evidently good enough to be ranked. They’re just not playing in a format where they can be ranked equitably with the other 24 tours and thousands of players to compete on them.”

But Norman said the amount of time that has passed since LIV’s first tournament in England in July 2022, and the way the OWGR was structured, made it “functionally impossible for you [the players] to regain positions close to the summit of the ranking, where so many of you belong”.

That, Norman suggested, meant the OWGR, which he said were “structured to penalise anyone who has not played regularly on an ‘Eligible Tour’”, could no longer be considered an official ranking.

In golf’s ever-changing world, “an entirely independent ranking system would best serve the league, tours, players, fans, and stakeholders”, he said.

“Golf fans deserve to see the best players in the world play in the best tournaments,” Norman wrote. “That has always been our goal. We continue to seek meaningful communication and relationship with each of the majors to ensure that LIV Golfers are fairly represented and golf fans around the world have opportunities to see the best competition possible.”

The majors could give direct exemptions to LIV players through its season-ending points list, but the majors also directly denied the league’s OWGR bid.

And when Fred Ridley, the Augusta National chairman, invited Niemann to the first major of the year he cited his victory at the Australian Golf Club in Sydney, and said nothing of his wins in Mayakoba in February and in Jeddah on Sunday.