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CAmeron Smith has pocketed more than $14 million in prize money this year, according to trainer Grant Field, who is “the most collected bogan from Queensland”. But the working-class hero earns nearly 10 times the world’s No. 2 now that he’s officially joined the rival LIV Golf Series and become a golf beard-toting villain.
The decision, which won its first major victory in July, shocked traditionalists. Smith, 29, was closing in on the No. 1 ranking, a feat achieved by only three Australians and has the game to touch the history books. Instead, golf’s version of a gap year is risking futures and legacies to battle against lesser players on poorer courses.
Greg Norman confirmed something that has long been rumored on Tuesday. Smith will turn heads on the PGA Tour to join the Rebel Tour, which is backed by fellow Australian Norman, LIV’s chief executive and chief spruiker, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
The move, Smith explained to Golf Digest, is first and foremost a lifestyle decision. “That’s the biggest thing I’m going to join. [LIV’s] The schedule is exciting, Smith said. “I get to spend a lot of time at home in Australia and I’d probably do an event there. I couldn’t do that, and it was great to have that part of my life back.
LIV is the classic addition-for-less equation. LIV stands for 54 in Roman numerals and LIV players are required to play 54 holes in three rounds, not more than four of the PGA’s 72 holes. For Smith, spending time in Australia means more than hunting green jackets in Augusta, watching rugby league and chasing cars with friends.
LIV’s tighter eight-game schedule also allows Smith more time with family. Winning the Players Championship in March was the first time Smith had seen his mother Sharon and younger sister Mel in more than two years. In the year In 2013 he experienced severe homesickness at the start of his touring career, but settled in Ponte Vedra Beach, Jacksonville in 2015.
A reported $143 million signing fee to join LIV will take Smith’s lifestyle away from golf. Smith is proudly blue-collar with the hunger and ambition to come. “[Money] There was definitely a reason for making that decision, I’m not going to ignore that or say it wasn’t a reason. “It was a business decision, an offer I couldn’t ignore.”
LIV’s website trumpets the format of the game as “golf, but louder.” It’s a lolly scramble for players and agents. This week’s LIV Golf Invitational Boston Smith will make his debut as a LIV player with AU$36.2m to be split between the 48 pros, with AU$5.8m going to the tournament winner and AU$174,000 for the last place finisher. .
LIV also offers a “Clubs” event where the tour’s 48 players are divided into 12 teams, such as the Crushers, Fireballs, High Flyers, and others, who compete for an additional $7.2M per event. This may have been an additional motivation behind Smith’s LIV decision. He’s crazy about team sports, raised in Queensland’s Origins mania by his grandfather, a champion bull rider.
Last month, Smith looked forward to hosting next month’s Presidents Cup teams at Quail Hollow, where he was an automatic selection for the international team. But his LIV switch will now eliminate him (a Smiths Open win would earn him an annual invitation until he turns 60 in July), and he won’t even earn world ranking points as of Friday.
Smith and Australian Marc Leishman are both managed by Bud Martin Golf Super Agent. Their double betrayal brings Norman’s zeal for the Australian team to challenge LIV’s “club” a few steps back into reality. Australian PGA champions Jeddiah Morgan and Wade Ormsby will make up four of the eight Australian LIV signings.
“LIV Golf is showing the world that our truly international league is attracting the world’s best players and growing the game for the next generation,” exclaims Norman. Signing Smith and Leishman will bring Norman’s lifelong dream firmly back into focus. He and Rupert Murdoch launched the World Golf Tour in 1994 only to have the PGA cheat.
Now that Norman has the world No. 2 — and some revenge on the PGA — the coup would be to bring the LIV tournament to Australia, which Smith obviously craves as well. Despite golf’s current situation, the LIV Players still have the Australian Open at Royal Queensland in November and the Australian Open at Victoria Golf Course in December.
“These two major Australian events will headline the upcoming summer of golf, the biggest for years, and our fans will no doubt be looking forward to a line-up of homegrown stars such as Cam Smith and Marc Leishman.” PGA Australia chairman Rodger Davies said in a statement.
Norman revealed earlier this month that LIV would like to hold an event in Australia in 2023 and is scouting potential locations. Royal Queensland is where Smith first played as an amateur, and Norman has a history at the Australian golf course in Sydney. The question for these courses, as it was for Smith, remains: Is Flake worth the cash?
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