Australian Cam Smith admits the LIV Golf line of questioning from attending media, and a number of keyboard warriors aggrieved by his subsequent decision to jump ship, somewhat overshadowed his Open Championship victory last year.
Smith claimed a maiden Major title on the Old Course at St Andrews in the face of mounting speculation that the mulleted Aussie was about to join Greg Norman’s Saudi-backed circuit.
And with the Claret Jug gleaming by his side in his winning press conference after Smith leapfrogged Rory McIlroy on Sunday at the Home of Golf, Smith’s smile soon soured when asked about the possibility of him joining LIV Golf following his famous ‘W’ at the 150th Open.
“It was definitely, I guess, a frustrating media conference after The Open,” Smith said ahead of this week’s LIV event.
“Perhaps a little bit overshadowed that I’d probably just won the biggest tournament that I’ll ever play in and someone was asking that, but as I look back on that, it’s just a guy trying to do his job.
“I suppose it was a little bit harder from then onwards, definitely whilst making the decision. Just some nasty stuff, I suppose, said by the keyboard warriors. I knew it was going to be tough, but I feel since I made the decision, I made the right one.”
Smith would rise to as high as number two in the world before joining LIV after the FedEx Cup playoffs in 2022 for a reported $150m. However, now the future of the Saudi shotgun start circuit would seem under threat as the tours attempt to realign by pushing through a shock deal with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which also bankrolls LIV.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan claims he can’t “see a scenario” in which LIV could co-exist should any such deal go through, yet Smith sees things differently, not just believing LIV is here to stay but also insisting that he and his fellow 47 LIV players are completely content with their schedule regardless of what the future may hold.
“Exactly like it is this year would be perfect for me, 14 and four majors, I’d take that for the rest of my career,” Smith said when asked how he’d like his future to look on tour.
“I really can’t see LIV Golf going away. I think team golf is here to stay and if you asked every one of us out here, all the 48 guys, I think everyone has such a good time and everyone enjoys what they’re doing out here.
“They love the competition and that team element really brings three or four guys really close that perhaps weren’t before. So, it’s good to see. It’s unique and I don’t think it’s going anywhere.”
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