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About five years ago, I was teaching a young businessman in New Orleans. He was a solid athlete and had the potential to be a very good golfer, but he needed to iron out a few things. For one, his arms tended to get too close to him and “collapse” on his backswing, so we worked on keeping his arms farther away from his body going back to help increase his turn and move the club cleanly from in-to-out in the transition.

A few months later, he called me and told me he had watched a PGA Tour player in the first round of the Zurich Classic who did the same move I was describing: a young, up-and-coming Cameron Smith.

Instruction

He was right! It helps that Cameron Smith, now 29, can putt like a sorcerer, but his full swing helps him drive it deep and hit a lot of greens. 

Cam has a strong grip, which he matches with a flat left wrist while keeping the club as far away from his body as possible (and slightly across the line) at the top. This allows him to make a big turn and puts him in position to rotate freely through impact to hit nice draws. It’s a great model for so many players. Cam proves you don’t have to be big or super-strong (he’s but five-eleven and 170 pounds) to kill the ball, and he has a Claret Jug in his trophy case to prove it.

These are the six keys to his swing.

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The post Cameron Smith stripped of TPC Sawgrass privileges after signing with LIV Golf appeared first on Golf.

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Cameron Smith may have found a new tour, but he lost a parking spot.

In the wake of his signing with LIV Golf, the 2022 Players champion had his winner’s parking spot removed at TPC Sawgrass.

And that’s not all.

According to a report from Golfweek‘s Adam Schupak, the club also purged a replica bag with Smith’s winning clubs, plus photos, from the pro shop and clubhouse.

Schupak shared a photo of the parking spot, which has traditionally been reserved for the winner of the Players Championship, the PGA Tour’s flagship event held nearby its headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. What previously read “Reserved for 2022 Players champ Cameron Smith” now reads “Reserved for Tour players only.”

“If they go to LIV, they don’t have any of their (PGA) Tour privileges at TPC properties,” TPC Sawgrass general manager Derek Sprague told Golfweek. (Sprague did not immediately respond to follow-up questions from GOLF.com.)

Tour members get playing privileges at Sawgrass, but what makes the termination of Smith’s access unique — unlike many other Players champions — is that he lives in Ponte Vedra and was actually a TPC Sawgrass regular. Now, it seems, he’ll need to find another option.

Speaking to the media at the Players Championship in March, Smith said he lives 10 minutes away from Sawgrass. While he didn’t play the course too often — it’s usually softer and slower for recreational golfers — he said he practiced there three or four times a week.

“It’s usually pretty cruisey around here, have a chat to the boys out the back on the greenskeeping team and have a laugh at the boys back there,” Smith said at the Players. “It’s all fun and games most of the time. I find it hard to switch on, so I’ve made it a point this year to act as though I’m at a tournament.”

Smith, the No. 2 player in the world, made his LIV Golf debut at the Boston event last week. He won three times in 2022, including his first major title at the Open Championship.

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Wednesday: This doesn’t feel like a golf tournament.

Thursday: This doesn’t feel like a golf tournament.

(Friday and Saturday: I didn’t watch any golf.)

Sunday: Oh wow, this feels like a golf tournament.

I haven’t exactly been quiet about my general skepticism toward LIV Golf. The league has, after all, been an easy target. Take the recent announcement from LIV about its shorts policy. The press release read: “It’s believed to be the first time an elite professional golf league has allowed shorts to be worn during a round.” My immediate reaction was: What, so they don’t consider the LPGA to be an elite professional golf league?

There have been other little misses. I’ve had a tough time getting into the events’ YouTube broadcasts. I scoffed at Talor Gooch comparing his team’s LIV victory at Pumpkin Ridge to a Ryder Cup win and chuckled when an announcer said “Joaquin Lahiri” instead of “Anirban Lahiri.” And then there’s the considerable human-rights issues that come with the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia funding the league, which has created a divide in men’s golf.

I arrived at The International, the site of LIV Golf’s Boston event, for Wednesday’s pressers and practice rounds with little idea about what to expect. I’ve been to my fair share of PGA Tour and high-level amateur events but knew this would be different. But different how?

WEDNESDAY

It was easy to confirm my biases early in the week. LIV doesn’t allow spectators for practice rounds or pro-ams, so The International felt empty. While there were some notable moments from the Harold Varner-Bubba Watson shared press conference  — Varner was brutally honest about how tough the first 24 hours were in regard to social comments and feedback after committing to LIV — there were a handful of “what is going on?” moments for me, too.

A few guys in the media center (comedians, I think?) had some fun with their questions and asked Watson, “Since you have an injury right now, do you think there’s a chance maybe I could play for you? I’m like a 6 handicap, so I could hold up, maybe be like a 4 on a good day.” Later, the same guys asked Cameron Smith if he would “try to buy Florida” and about his hair routine. I tried to think about what would happen if someone asked major champions those same questions at, say, the Arnold Palmer Invitational. But this isn’t Bay Hill, nor does LIV want it to be.

After Wednesday’s pressers, I headed out to the course. I thought I was being punk’d. Aside from workers setting up a stage and LIV guest village, the course was empty. Turned out, the players weren’t starting their practice rounds until later in the afternoon. l walked back to the range and was relieved to find players there, alongside a handful of military veterans, whom LIV had invited for the day. I talked to a few vets who were loving the access. They were inside the ropes, standing just a few feet behind Cameron Smith on the range. “How cool is this?” one said. He had been to a handful of pro tournaments, but never this close. Thirty seconds later, he was asking a pro for a photo and an autograph while the player switched clubs.

The whole thing felt like a private event for which I had arrived awkwardly early.

THURSDAY

I returned to The International on Thursday. Based on festive social-media footage from the previous night’s LIV gala, I was hoping for a bit more action at the course. I met a member of the club who was caddying in the pro-am who told me that the membership was psyched about the event. He and his wife were volunteering for the week, and a few members had rented out their houses for players to stay in. I did what I usually do at events, walking most of the course forward and then turning around, walking it backward back toward No. 1, catching a shot or two from each group along the way.

I passed by Phil Mickelson’s group and learned that I share a mutual friend with one of the amateurs in his group. I walked two holes with him and his wife. They raved about the pairing party, and understandably so: They got the third pick of the night and discovered no one had chosen Phil yet. They were ecstatic at the opportunity to play with Mickelson and said he was the “nicest guy ever.” Martin Kaymer had played in a previous pro-am with the other amateur in the group, who was rocking a J.P. McManus Pro-Am bag. When a spot opened up, Kaymer invited him back to play this week. 

Phil got pulled aside to answer some questions for a video on the tee box of a par-3 and was definitely enjoying this particular hit. His energy was high and he was fully engaged. I wondered what it was like for him to go from playing all of his practice rounds and pro-ams in front of thousands of eager fans to no one at all. I continued my trek back to the media center. On the way, I ran into another amateur. He gestured to his group. “Don’t the pros just seem so much happier here?” he asked. It’s a point everyone in attendance delights in making.

I lost my bearings somewhere between the 3rd tee box and the 1st green (The International is quite a walk!), so I asked two guys for directions. They were LIV employees who looked to be in their early- to mid-twenties. It was their first week on the job. One came from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the other from the finance world. They were mostly there to observe the scene, just like I was. The whole us-vs.-them thing doesn’t exist at LIV events. After all, those on the ground assume everyone else there is all in.

I had had a conflict on Friday and Saturday, so I didn’t go to the tournament. Let’s fast-forward to Sunday morning.

SUNDAY

I arrived at about 10:30 a.m. Because the shotgun start wasn’t until after 1, I figured I’d be one of the first people on site. Wrong. The media lot was full, as was the fan zone, and people were milling all around the range. This was a full hour before any of the players even headed out. It was a crisp morning, music was playing, fans were playing putting and chipping games and the mood was up. It’s worth noting that big-time Tour events are electric on Sunday mornings, too, but this exceeded my expectations for LIV. It felt like a college football tailgate.

The practice area started to fill up just before noon. I was curious how it’d be with every player needing to use the practice facilities at the same time, but with a 48-player field, it worked. No one had to wait for a spot on the range or a hole on the green. Players were sorted by team on the range, and the mood felt relaxed. Cameron Smith went over to Lee Westwood and tried to pull down his socks. Smith jammed to the music playing over the speaker, and a few of the caddies lingered together. Matt Jones took a few moments to inspect Smith’s divot pattern (I learned he hits in a horizontal line as opposed to a vertical one). The ropes were fully lined with spectators, probably two people deep by the putting green and at least four deep by the range.

“Golfers and caddies, you have five minutes until the range closes and it’s time to go to your carts to head out to your starting hole.”

The emcee was doing his thing. He announced that Diplo would be performing after the round (and that they’d be selecting a lucky winner for a meet and greet, provided you used the correct hashtag). This part reminded me a bit of halftime at a college basketball game. He reminded spectators to check out the merchandise tent and even offered directions to the players. 

“Golfers and caddies, the range is now closed. Please head to your carts to be driven out to your starting hole.”

The players headed over to the left side of the range to hop into their carts, and I made my way over to the 1st tee. It was early afternoon and officially hot out. I didn’t count by hand, but I’d guess there were a few hundred people around the tee box and lining the 1st fairway. The gender ratio seemed to be close to 1:1, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen at a golf tournament before. I also was surprised to see the fans skewed younger than your average Tour event, a point the pros repeatedly hit on later. I saw a lot of college golf shirts from nearby Boston schools as well as parents with young kids. A volunteer told me they capped the event somewhere between 5,500 and 6,000 fans.

There were also at least 30 people inside the ropes. I found myself standing next to Bubba Watson as he mixed it up with fans and got people pumped up. Some sort of smoke machine went off in the middle of the fairway as the first group off No. 1, which included Matthew Wolff, made its way to the tee. A few skydivers appeared. People were cheering, and little kids were loving it. There was a huge countdown from 10 to the shotgun start, and people went nuts after reaching zero. It was like the fratty Massachusetts countryside’s answer to Times Square at New Year’s.

While the rowdiest, frattiest fans may be hushed at other events, they were fully embraced at LIV Boston. When a videographer saw one group of bros going nuts, he encouraged them to dial it up a notch while he recorded. The music is turned down slightly when players tee off, but it definitely doesn’t stop.

Dustin Johnson, Joaquin Niemann and Talor Gooch came to the 1st tee next. LIV has the last two groups go off the 1st hole to make for a better finishing stretch. The crowd had stayed in place after the first group teed off, waiting around to see these guys. I’ve spent a lot of time watching Johnson play golf, and something was different this time: I have never seen him talk this much. He and Greg Norman stood together, catching up and cracking jokes. Norman reached into DJ’s bag at one point to take a swing with his 9-wood, a club he was curious about.

I stood on the 1st tee for a couple hours to watch groups come through. There was at least 15 minutes of waiting time in between each group, which felt like a slightly longer interval than normal but made sense for a shotgun start. I chatted with the volunteer who was in charge of the 1st tee; this was her third LIV event. She was in her 50s, wore a Trump golf shirt and has spent much time around golf. She has volunteered at the Honda Classic for years and decided to do some LIV events this year.

“Take this long and we’ll be here all effin’ day, right, Harold?”

Oh no. This won’t be good. The first fan misdemeanor of the day occurred when Ian Poulter stepped off his tee shot at No. 1, and an over-served man delivered this observation to Harold Varner, who was playing in Poulter’s group. I anxiously awaited Poulter’s reaction. He walked to his bag, put away his driver and fired back at the fan with a choice two-word phrase.

The volunteer told me about a fan who shouted to Patrick Reed on Friday, “Hey, make sure to mark your ball this week!” Reed, the volunteer said, had the fan escorted off the property.

I waited a while for Phil and his group to make their way to the 1st tee. I expected there to be a huge crowd with him, but there wasn’t. Maybe that was due to his place on the leaderboard, or the distance from the 18th green to the 1st tee. I met a golf influencer who LIV had brought in to cover the action via Instagram, and she told me to check out the back nine.

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I headed to the 18th hole, which has an amphitheater green. About 150 people were sitting there watching. I heard a rumor that a Saudi prince was in one of the private boxes above the green as well.

I had to get back to work (my primary role at GOLF is in social media) so I settled in front of my computer to watch the final holes via the YouTube broadcast. I think any golf fan would have been excited to see DJ’s putt drop on the first playoff hole.

I’m glad I went back on Sunday because it allowed me to see LIV in action, to feel the energy of the event. It did have a different vibe than a typical tournament; the music guaranteed that. LIV’s focus is clearly on fan enjoyment and engagement.

I left LIV Boston with a different perspective on the whole thing. I’m not overly enamored with Greg Norman. I don’t like the way this has fractured the PGA Tour. I have serious misgivings about the source of LIV’s money. And (shoutout to Judge Freeman) I think the LIV players’ lawsuit is a little ridiculous. I was surprised to hear how many players believe they’ll tee it up on the PGA Tour again.

But it was eye-opening to see LIV’s model at work. As a spectator experience, the league undoubtedly is a draw for fans who want to cut loose and enjoy getting a little rowdy. The fan village was an easy win for kids, as were the skydivers and thumping music.

Someone asked me if I’d compare my experience at The International to what I’ve seen when the Harlem Globetrotters come to town. From a festivities and celebrations standpoint, maybe. But the Globetrotters aren’t trying to replace the NBA, nor do they have some of the biggest talents in their sport. LIV Golf does. And that’s what makes its future so complex.

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The tug-of-war in men’s pro golf feels two-sided most of the time. There is LIV Golf and there is the PGA Tour. But on occasion, rather quietly, a shadow figure hovers around that battle: the major championships. 

The pinnacle events of the sport, it is well known, are managed by various governing bodies. At times they are similar — the USGA and R&A act in concert to decide how golf is played at all levels — and at others they are different. But above all remains the notion that the majors matter the most. Or at least that’s what we’re led to believe.

But how much do the majors really matter?

It’s a question that has only been seriously asked this year as LIV golfers have in return for huge paydays risked the means by which they have long qualified for those events. They have joined a tour that currently does not award world ranking points, the easiest means for major qualification. Rank inside the top 50, you’re bound to play in every major. Top 60, you’re probably fine, too. And while many LIV signees would prefer to see change to the system, their joining LIV implies an acceptance that they might not play in the majors at all. Bubba Watson admitted that dilemma Wednesday, detailing how he told his children they might not be able to go to Augusta National next year. He didn’t seem to enjoy having that conversation, but he’s certainly come to grips with all potential outcomes.

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Woe is Bubba? Clear-minded is Bubba, at the very least.

LIV golfers will play their golf and let the governing bodies decide how to deal with them. Marc Leishman may be the best example. Leishman said multiple times during his press conference Wednesday that “hopefully” the world ranking points “sorts itself out” so that the major championships are not hurt by LIV golfers missing from the fields. Leishman is currently ranked No. 62 in the world, and in any other year he could easily play his way into next year’s big events. He’s played in the last 31 majors, but isn’t qualified for any of them in 2023. He and many other LIV golfers continue to mention that the ranking stipulation will eventually be sorted.

At the moment, only a select few LIV golfers are qualified for the 2023 Masters, the next men’s major. Cameron Smith is, as the reigning Open champion. He’s got it good. But Mr. Major, Brooks Koepka, will see the exemptions from his 2019 PGA Championship victory begin to run out in 2024. Most of Sergio Garcia’s major exemptions ran out this year, and with his world ranking plummeting, he will need to qualify for the PGA Championship, U.S. Open and British Open in some other way. The same could be said for Watson, who won two Masters, but is already speaking out about the idea that Augusta National could change its qualification for play.

“And I told them,” Watson said, “if they tell me that I can’t go, being a past champion, then I don’t want to be there anyway because that’s just — that’s just the wrong way to look at it it’s the game of golf. We are all trying to be the best players.”

Sitting next to Watson in the press conference was Harold Varner III, who played in each major this season for the first time in his career. Varner admitted that when he won the Saudi International in January, his sole focus was to earn enough ranking points to qualify for the Masters. “This is my first year playing in every major, so it was cool,” Varner said. “But, like, I think it’s way cooler making sure my kid doesn’t have to worry about anything. That’s about it.”

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Varner and Watson both continued on this thought late in their presser as Watson discussed how Smith’s world ranking is bound to fall.

Watson: You are not going to be playing any majors if they keep dropping you. 

Varner: I know. But it will be all right. We’ll live. A lot of kids’ lives will change.

Watson: We’ll live; you said LIV.

Varner: A lot of kids’ lives will change. I guarantee that.

Watson: I’m with ya, man. I’m with ya.

The relative indifference about being in or out of the majors is a mindset a number of LIV golfers have seemingly adopted, but discussions on the topic are often accompanied by a belief that some sort of decision is bound to arrive. 

Joaquin Niemann, who also joined LIV this week, just about dared the governing bodies to conduct majors without them: “I think we’ve got a lot of top players here, the top 48 players in the world. We earn our place in the majors and if they want to see real competition, they have to have the top players.”

So, what will the major championships do? 

We will look to Augusta National first. If the allegations in a lawsuit filed by LIV players earlier this month are true, Augusta National has not taken the rise of LIV lightly; the suit alleges that club representatives “threatened to disinvite players” from the 2022 Masters if they joined LIV. Publicly, though, club chairman Fred Ridley has shown no such aggression. In his Masters press conference in April, he said, “our mission is always to act in the best interests of the game in whatever form that may take. I think that golf’s in a good place right now.” Ridley certainly wants the best field possible at the Masters next year. He has a little more than 200 days to reach a conclusion on that front. 

Following him will be Seth Waugh, the CEO of the PGA of America, who has publicly decried LIV’s shaking up the pro golf ecosystem. A handful of LIV golfers are qualified for the PGA Championship, but not many. And playing their way into that event is not as straightforward because it doesn’t offer sectional qualifying like the U.S. and British Opens.

The heads of both the USGA and R&A have loosely mentioned that qualification exemptions can be altered for their majors, but will they actually do it? They’ll have multiple majors and many months ahead of them. Coincidentally, the European Ryder Cup team just announced an altered qualification process for 2023. Change is clearly possible, but moves these days are analyzed both in fairness and legality.

Of course, clarity could arrive jointly. Many of the people who make up the the Official World Golf Ranking board of governors are representatives of the same bodies listed above. A decision about those ranking points is what everyone hopes to hear, LIV golfers and fans alike. The clock is ticking.

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The newest list of LIV Golf commits has officially been announced, and it includes long-rumored Australian major-winner Cameron Smith as well as 23-year-old rising Chilean star Joaquin Niemann. 

Smith is the reigning Players champion and also the newly minted winner of the Open Championship, where he bested Rory McIlroy at St. Andrews last month. He’s ranked No. 2 in the World Golf Ranking, making him easily the highest-ranked player that LIV has signed to date. 

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Niemann, who the AP reported was having second thoughts about joining LIV Golf, had not signed a contract with the upstart tour as of last weekend. He traveled to Boston Monday and planned to discuss his future with his father, per the report. On Monday, Niemann made his decision to join the new league.

Smith and Niemann, who are both in their 20s, break from the mold of the classic LIV golfer, most of whom are in their late 30s or 40s. The two new signees are not only young but they also both have won big-time titles on the PGA Tour this season. Niemann won the Genesis Invitational in dominant fashion in February, the same week in which LIV Golf took a massive hit due to published incendiary comments from Phil Mickelson. 

Just over six months later, Niemann will now tee it up on a different tour and is expected to be suspended by the PGA Tour, as has been the case with previous LIV signees. Same goes for Smith and the four other pros who this week made their LIV commitment official: Harold Varner III, Marc Leishman and Anirban Lahiri. Cameron Tringale said on social media over the weekend that he, too, would be joining LIV. The six players are expected to be the final LIV signings for this week.

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Smith’s inclusion was first reported in the immediate aftermath of his Open Championship victory and had been rumored long before that. He even received a question about it in the championship press conference from St. Andrews. When asked that evening, Smith responded tersely: “I just won the British Open and you’re going to ask about that. I think that’s pretty not that good.”

When pressed again, Smith said, “I don’t know mate. My team around me worries about all that stuff. I am here to win golf tournaments.”

Tuesday’s announcement comes on the heels of the PGA Tour’s 2022 season, which ended Sunday night with McIlroy’s victory at East Lake, and on the verge of the next LIV event, which kicks off Friday just outside of Boston.

After not hosting an event for a month, LIV will host multiple tournaments in September while the PGA Tour looks forward to the Presidents Cup at the end of the month. Keen golf observers know that sentence on its own, considering the recent defections, is chaotic.

Smith would be an essential piece of the International Team roster, as would Niemann. But given the Presidents Cup is owned and operated by the PGA Tour, it is expected that neither Smith nor Niemann or even the lower-ranked Leishman and Lahiri will be allowed to compete in Charlotte.

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Cameron Smith, this year’s Open Championship winner, and up to six other players will leave the PGA Tour and join LIV Golf, according to sources from multiple outlets. 

Joining Smith, the world’s No. 2-ranked player, with the controversial, Saudi-backed series will be Joaquin Niemann, Harold Varner III, Mito Pereira, Marc Leishman and Cameron Tringale, according to Golf Channel, Sports Illustrated and ESPN, while the latter two are also reporting that Anirban Lahiri will also sign with LIV. All of the golfers, except Pereira, will play in LIV’s next event, next weekend just outside of Boston; Pereira is expected to join at a later date in hopes of playing next month’s Presidents Cup.  

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When reached Saturday night to confirm or deny the reports, a LIV spokesperson told GOLF.com: “We don’t comment on speculation.” 

Rumored for weeks, the signing of Smith marks the highest-ranked player to join LIV. Twice — after his Open Championship win and then ahead of the FedEx St. Jude Championship — the 29-year-old Australian would neither confirm nor deny speculation that he was leaving the PGA Tour, and Rory McIlroy revealed Wednesday that he had also contacted Smith to discuss a potential decision. 

“So my whole thing, like I had a conversation with Cameron Smith two days after the Open, and firstly, I wanted to congratulate him, but also I wanted — guys that are thinking one way or another, honestly I don’t care if they leave or not. It’s not going to make a difference to me.

“But I would at least like people to make a decision that is completely informed and basically know this is what’s coming down the pipeline. This is what you may be leaving behind. I just don’t want people making decisions — hearing information from one side and not from another. So I think that’s sort of been my whole thing this entire time. I’ve always said guys can do whatever they want. Guys can make a decision that they feel is best for themselves and their families. But I want guys to make decisions based on all of the facts.

“Sometimes I don’t think some guys made those decisions based on having all the facts in front of them.”

News

The departure of Smith, Niemann, Pereira, Leishman and Lahiri would also gut the International team ahead of the Presidents Cup, which begins in less than four weeks at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, N.C., though Pereira posted a Presidents Cup picture to his Instagram account on Saturday, hinting that he may join LIV after the biennial event. The Presidents Cup is backed by the PGA Tour, which has suspended every member who has played for LIV. 

Niemann’s departure, meanwhile, would become the second-highest ranked player on LIV’s roster — he’s currently No. 17 — though he told Golf Channel after Friday’s Tour Championship second round that he wanted to finish the event, “then see what my decision will be.” Niemann was also reported to be among those last week at a Tiger Woods and McIlroy-led players-only meeting to discuss changes to the PGA Tour in the face of the LIV Golf product, many of which, presumably, were part of those revealed this week. 

Only Niemann and Smith are among the 30 playing in the Tour Championship. Niemann was seven shots back of leader Scottie Scheffler when Saturday’s third round was postponed due to storms, while Smith was 11 behind. 

Notably, Varner had told Sports Illustrated in June that he had turned down a “nuts” offer to join LIV. Varner had won the Saudi International in January, but told Sports Illustrated that he had talked with basketball legend Michael Jordan and decided to stay; Varner is sponsored by Jordan’s Jumpman line. 

“I’m obviously not going,” Varner told Sports Illustrated. “I’ve spoken with Jay [Monahan], I’ve spoken with a lot of people I look up to, and it just wasn’t worth it to me for what it was worth. That’s pretty simple.”

On the Tour side, the departures follow those of Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and multiple others to LIV under the appeal of guaranteed money, though on Wednesday, Monahan sounded as if the Tour would not get in a bidding war over players. 

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“I’ve been pretty consistent throughout that for us, where we’re competing is with our product, and our product is our schedule,” Monahan said. “We’ve made some strong enhancements to that for top players and for our entire membership, coming into this year and certainly as we go into 2023.

“When you look at our schedule, the value of our platform and what players can achieve off of that platform based on their competitive success and the values that are conveyed through that platform, that coupled with some of these financial programs, when you look at being a member of the PGA Tour and you look at the financials moving forward, you can earn a tremendous — you can have a tremendous career. Your earnings potential is extraordinary.

“Again, you’re doing it in a way where you’re preparing yourself to achieve at the highest level of the game. You’re competing for trophies that matter. You’re competing for history and legacy.

“Look at the schedule. You go to next year, our fans are going to look at the schedule in January and say, the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the WGC Dell Match Play, the three player-hosted invitationals. For the first time, I know now that these players are going to be playing there; plus I know that these players are going to be playing additional FedExCup events, 20 events. To me, that is tremendously exciting as a fan, and as we have more excitement from our fans, we grow our business.

“But to directly answer your question, when you’re dealing with a non-economic actor, you have to come back to the core of who you are, and if the core of who you are is providing the single greatest competitive access and opportunities for players, and pipeline, then how do you make that stronger? And that’s what everything starts with. That’s what came out of the meeting last week. That’s what comes out of all the discussions we have at the PAC level and with our board.”

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“I’m a man of my word and whenever you guys need to know anything, it’ll be said by me.”

So said Cameron Smith on Wednesday in Memphis, site of the FedEx Cup Playoffs’ first round, the FedEx St. Jude Championship, in response to a report that he is set to join LIV after the conclusion of the PGA Tour season. It also led to a natural follow-up:

So … are you going to LIV?

“I have no comment to that,” Smith said. “I’m here to play the FedEx Cup.”

In other words, Smith will tell us big news when he thinks we need to know. But that’s where his view of current golf events diverges from ours: He’s happy to wait, but we need to know right now! The future of professional golf is in flux, and Smith — whose alleged $100 million deal with the Saudi-backed LIV Tour (first reported by the Telegraph) would kick in after the PGA Tour season concludes — is now in the thick of things. Smith hasn’t confirmed that he’s leaving, but he sure hasn’t denied it, either, nor given the type of loyalty pledge we’ve grown accustomed to from some other PGA Tour players.

There’s enough there to at least explore the question, then: How would Smith leaving be different? Because his departure is unlike any other LIV member. Here’s how.

He’s No. 2 in the world.

LIV’s top-ranked signee is currently No. 18 Dustin Johnson. Up to this point, that has been the easiest takedown of LIV fields: they lack the best golfers in the world. That’s a more difficult case to make should Smith, who is in the running for PGA Tour Player of the Year, make the leap. He would add instant credibility to the circuit; he’s 28 years old, in the prime of his career and playing the best golf of his life.

He’s the Players Champion.

It would be particularly awkward to return to TPC Sawgrass next season without the defending champion. The Players is the crown jewel of the PGA Tour, boasting the largest purse and the deepest field on an iconic golf course. It’s hosted around the corner from Tour headquarters and promises to be a cornerstone of the Tour’s vision going forward. And when Smith won last year’s event, he was a welcome champion: He lives just around the corner, practices at Sawgrass and was a breath of fresh air, his blond mustache-mullet combo has given life to golf fans everywhere. But now he cuts a distinctly different silhouette than the two previous Players winners, Tour loyalists Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy. If Smith is suspended when we roll into Ponte Vedra Beach next spring, that will be undeniably awkward.

He’s the Open Champion.

Smith’s reported agreement with LIV may or may not have been finalized before his Open Championship win. Regardless, the juxtaposition is still pretty striking. The fight for pro golf’s future has been framed as tradition vs. money, and should Smith leave he would have a weighty piece of tradition — the claret jug, won at St. Andrews — and then take the LIV money to boot.

Several players referred to winning an Open at St. Andrews as the “Holy Grail” last month. It’s dream stuff for golf junkies. So there’s some symbolic weight to Smith joining such historic company and then bouncing from the PGA Tour immediately thereafter.

But it’s more than just symbolic. Smith’s win also means he’ll be exempt into just about everything — at least, every event from which he wouldn’t be suspended. Barring drastic action from the R&A, Smith will be invited back to the Open for the next 32 years. He’ll be able to play the other majors for the next five years. And, were it not for the aforementioned iciness between LIV and the PGA Tour, he’d be exempt there for the next five years, too.

(Sidenote: The timing of Smith’s contract, if it indeed exists, is a fascinating subplot, given how much more he could have commanded after the Open than before.)

He can cite non-monetary reasons.

Smith was asked during last year’s FedEx Cup Playoffs what he’d do with $15 million. His response struck a chord with golf fans for its everyman quality.

“I don’t know. I’m pretty set to be honest,” he said. “I don’t know what I’d do, to be honest. Maybe some more fishing equipment.”

Perhaps his imagination has expanded since then. And I’m not naive enough to suggest that anyone leaving for a LIV mega-contract is doing it for significant reasons other than the money. But there was another report that came out Tuesday from Australian Golf Digest’s Evin Priest that could help put the pieces together. That report mentioned that in addition to a LIV event planned for Sydney in April there will be two International Series events scheduled around the same time. The International Series is a LIV-sponsored set of tournaments within the Asian Tour that will serve as a feeder tour of sorts for LIV. As a result, LIV will have done what the PGA Tour has not: Created something of an Aussie Swing.

There has already been plenty of chatter of an all-Aussie LIV team. Matt Jones and Aussie golf fans have always resented the PGA Tour for not taking care of its golf-rich region of the world. Smith himself has called for a PGA Tour event in his home country. It appears LIV may be accessing that market first.

He can bring World Ranking points.

LIV pros’ chances to get into future majors depends in part on their ability to accrue World Ranking points. They’ve already revealed part of their acquisition strategy: They’ll play some International Series events, effectively boosting an event’s field strength by all showing up at once. But as we mentioned before, LIV pros’ World Rankings don’t have an anchor at the top. At least, they didn’t until now. Smith dragging his No. 2 status into the mix means everyone else in the LIV ecosystem will play for more points as they attempt to tread water while the OWGR reviews its application.

But it’s also not that different.

Look, Cameron Smith leaving the PGA Tour is a very big deal. It changes the conversation. It shifts the narrative. He represents a serious weapon for LIV and a great talking point for its executives. But it feels more like we’re seeing battle lines drawn than anything. We knew there were a few more top pros that were going to make the leap to LIV by year’s end. There will be a few more, though none ranked as high as Smith.

But their defections won’t be endless. (Not this year, at least.) LIV already collected big names. Mickelson, Johnson, DeChambeau, Koepka. Now it appears to have a red-hot golfer on the line. It has established itself as a formidable competitor. Now slightly more so. But really what Smith’s signing would cement is just the idea that neither side appears to be going anywhere. We’re just figuring out the specifics of war.

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The post Securing Victory: The putting routine that led to Cam Smith’s win at The Open appeared first on Golf.

The post Securing Victory: The putting routine that led to Cam Smith’s win at The Open appeared first on Golf.

Sinking putts was the ultimate difference maker for Cameron Smith at St. Andrews. We’ve partnered with CDW to break down why the Aussie’s putting stroke has been so special this season. Luke Kerr-Dineen explains.

The post Securing Victory: The putting routine that led to Cam Smith’s win at The Open appeared first on Golf.

The post Cameron Smith dodges question about LIV Golf interest after Open victory appeared first on Golf.

The post Cameron Smith dodges question about LIV Golf interest after Open victory appeared first on Golf.

Cameron Smith was beaming with a smile as he sat in his post-victory press conference at the Open Championship on Sunday. There was a carefree mood in the room, and Smith was open and honest with the media as they picked his brain on the events of the day.

But then, as is the case more often than not in player availabilities these days, the focus shifted to LIV Golf.

“Cam, apologies for having to bring this up in these circumstances, but your name continues to be mentioned, has been mentioned to me this week about LIV Golf,” the reporter said. “What’s your position? Are you interested? Is there any truth to suggestions that you might be signing?”

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Smith was not happy his victory presser had taken such a turn, and he let the reporter know.

“I just won the British Open, and you’re asking about that?” Smith said. “I think that’s pretty not that good.”

The reporter didn’t budge.

“I appreciate that, but the question is still there,” he said. “Are you interested at all? Is there any truth in that?”

“I don’t know, mate,” Smith said. “My team around me worries about all that stuff. I’m here to win golf tournaments.”

The moment was a tense (and awkward) one, but it was also telling. When given the opportunity to squash rumors that he would soon leave the PGA Tour for the Saudi-backed league, Smith instead opted to dodge the question.

Should the newly minted Open champion decide to sign with LIV, he would be the highest ranked player on their roster of players at No. 2 in the OWGR.

LIV Golf retreated to the background of the golf world last week as the 150th Open Championship was played, but the league is expected to soon announce another batch of high-profile signings. Among those expected to make the leap include Ryder Cup captain Henrik Stenson, according to Sky Sport‘s Jamie Weir.

Stenson is expected to be stripped of his Ryder Cup captaincy should he sign with LIV.

The next LIV Golf event is scheduled for July 29 at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J.

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The post Tour Confidential: Cam Smith’s rise, Rory’s fall and St. Andrews  appeared first on Golf.

The post Tour Confidential: Cam Smith’s rise, Rory’s fall and St. Andrews  appeared first on Golf.

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us @golf_com. This week, we discuss Cam Smith’s win at the Open Championship, Rory McIlroy’s majors drought, St. Andrews and more. 

1. The Open Championship is complete, and Cam Smith is your latest major championship winner. Starting the day four shots back of Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland, Smith shot a stunning eight-under 64, aided in great part by one of the best clutch putting performances you’ll see. We’ll begin our round table with him. What will be your biggest takeaway from Smith going forward?

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Josh Berhow, managing editor (@Josh_Berhow): He does a lot of things right, but he does two things really well: make birdies and putt. Some people just have that second gear to put up low scores when the conditions allow, and he did. It was an impressive bounce back after he shot 73 on Saturday. His up-and-down on 17 deserves a ton of credit. He needed to save par on the hardest hole in golf and went up and around a bunker with his putter and pulled it off. 

Sean Zak, senior editor (@sean_zak): How he blacked out and made every putt on Friday and every putt on Sunday and somehow shot 73 in between those rounds. It’s wild. His putting stroke is so, so, so, so good. 

Zephyr Melton, assistant editor (@zephyrmelton): Smith’s putting is unbelievable. Every putt he strikes looks like it has a chance to go in — and in Rounds 2 and 4, they did! That ability to go unconscious on the greens is super impressive and keeps him in tournaments even when he falters in other areas.

Dylan Dethier, senior writer (@dylan_dethier): At any course that doesn’t demand greatness with driver — and especially those that DO demand greatness around the greens — Smith is That Guy. He proves that unsustainable stretches of red-hot putting actually are sustainable, as long as you have his putting stroke.

James Colgan, assistant editor (@jamescolgan26): Man, I think my biggest takeaway is that I’m a little tired of the motion sickness. Smith oscillates between oh my god good and good lord bad with a speed that makes my stomach churn. When it’s good, though, the number of players who can beat him wouldn’t fill the B-side of a vinyl.

2. One could make the argument, of course, that McIlroy didn’t do enough in his round of 70, which included 18 two-putts. The betting favorite coming into the week, McIlroy now stretches his number of years without a major to eight. In your opinion, what held McIlroy back on Sunday? And what does he need to do to break the drought?

Berhow: His putter held him back. The game is there, the drive is there, the mindset is there, the preparation is there. He just didn’t make the putts today he made much of the week. He finished top 10 in all four majors this year, so he’s doing everything he needs to. His time will come to win that fifth major, but what a heartbreaking ending when it seemed like that day was today.

Zak: Bad luck? He hit every green in regulation. He two-putted every green. If you eliminate Viktor Hovland, which Hovland did to himself, Rory started the day with a four-shot lead and got beat by a 64. There’s some bad luck to that.

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Melton: As many have noted, Rory’s putter didn’t cooperate on Sunday. Beyond that, though, he looked a little bit surprised when Smith rattled off four straight circles to pass him in the final round. Once that happened, Rory wasn’t able to kick it into high gear to catch back up. He just couldn’t push the right buttons on Sunday.

Dethier: I don’t think he needs to do anything differently to break the drought except play more major championships in his current form. Unfortunately he does have to wait eight and a half months before he gets to his next one — hopefully he’s in the same form when he does.

Colgan: First, I think he needs a hug. Otherwise, though, I agree with Dylan. This week’s performance would have won him three majors this year. It just so happened to come on the one week it didn’t.

3. The biggest story ahead of Sunday came from a player who didn’t make the weekend. Tiger Woods shot rounds of 78 and 75 and missed the cut, though he was clear that he would play again — and no, he did not wave goodbye atop the Swilcan Bridge. Lots to consider here. Woods struggled, but his surgically repaired right leg looked better. He also wouldn’t commit to any event after this week, so when we see him next is unclear. Our question is this, and it’s direct: After what you saw this week, and this year, does he contend ever again?

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Berhow: I think he’ll make more cuts but don’t see him contending much. It’s always going to be a double-edged sword for him. He’ll play less to keep his body healthy, but less reps will mean more rust when it comes to tournament golf. He could have a chance to be competitive at the Masters for a handful of more years because his course knowledge is so superior there. As for Friday, that send-off was pretty surreal. Probably the most memorable moment I’ve seen in person on a golf course in my life.

Zak: It would be foolish to say he’ll never contend again, so I won’t. He swears he’s getting stronger and things are getting better, but he also swears that we’ve got no idea what he’s putting his body through. He definitely cares a lot and way too much to struggle this much. So I think he’ll contend in a major next year. Maybe two!

Melton: I’m not very bullish on Tiger’s chances to contend again. His health just won’t allow it. I’d love to be proven wrong, though.

Dethier: The most encouraging thing I saw this week was how much better Woods seemed to be walking early in his rounds on Thursday and Friday. The most discouraging was hearing Woods describe just how brutal it is to prep for a tournament round. That’s clearly not a mountain he wants to climb more than a handful of times per year. He looked rusty more than he looked injured. I don’t know where that nets out.

Colgan: I can’t sit here and tell you that Tiger Woods won’t ever contend at the Masters again. But I think we’ve reached the point in his career when that development will be a surprise, and not the expectation.

4. Outside of the players, the star, of course, was the course, and St. Andrews was much discussed. Going into the week, the conversation revolved around whether the Home of Golf would hold up to the modern game, and during the week, the talk centered on the defense: quick fairways and tough pins, along with all of the other traps of a links course. Was St. Andrews a worthy host?

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Berhow: Yes! I don’t care if Cameron Smith won at 20 under. It’s a historic links and location, and everyone’s playing the same course anyway. It’s unique in a way only it can be. The wind is the main defense, and you can’t always account for that beforehand. I can’t wait for the next one here.

Zak: It was! Without much for Scottish weather, the R&A was forced into making the firm conditions become the story and tucking pins away from players. That’s fine! Xander Schauffele and Matthew Fitzpatrick called that tricked up, but major championship golf hovers so closely to the tricked-up line that it’s surprising it doesn’t cross the line more often. The 2030 Open (potentially) at St. Andrews will look different. Different weather, maybe a rolled-back golf ball and driver. We’re all good.

Melton: Absolutely. It produced an elite leaderboard and a compelling tournament, and identified a worthy champion. Tough to beat that trio.

Dethier: You an Old Course critic? I hear you! I will say that a course with four or five drivable par-4s is a bit strange. The scene on Thursday afternoon — when conditions led to 6+ hour rounds — was less than ideal. But this was my first trip to St. Andrews, and I am a full-on convert. To quote Tony Finau: This is the only course that could get away with it. This town, this course, this setting? It’s all perfect. Add some wind to the mix and the scores would have been a whole lot different.

Colgan: The winning score could have been 100-under and I wouldn’t have cared. That was the most fun I’ve had watching golf since the ’19 Masters. Clearly, the golf course played a role in the fun. The critics can kick rocks.

5. The story that has dominated golf didn’t disappear at the Open. From players to R&A boss Martin Slumbers, LIV Golf was talked about from Monday to Sunday. We’ll keep it Open focused and ask: In what capacity will we see LIVers next year?

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Berhow: I don’t see much changing. More guys will leave, some of them bigger names than others, but the major championships will continue on with a mix of PGA Tour and LIV players. That said, the next thing to watch for is if LIV Golf is granted world ranking points. Because if not, many of those players won’t be appearing in majors down the road.

Zak: The ones who qualify via major exemptions will be back. The others might all have to qualify in different ways. They may have to pile into Open Qualifying if they don’t have enough OWGR points. It could get weird. 

Melton: I’m sure they’ll be back, but the reception will likely be equally frosty. 

Dethier: We’re bound to see more scenes like we had with Dustin Johnson this weekend, pitting LIV against non-LIV players. That’s an inevitability as long as LIV keeps collecting top-ranked players. But Sunday felt like the last day of school. Some aging LIV stars seemed prepared to be saying goodbye. There’s plenty of uncertainty ahead.

Colgan: My prediction is that we’ll seeing them … in qualifiers to earn their way into the Open! Which is maybe not the worst thing in the world?

6. The major championship season is over. What’s the story/topic/winner/loser you’ll remember most?

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Berhow: I know it’s fresh so it’s an obvious answer, but it’s McIlroy at the Open. We’ve waited eight years for his next major title. This one is going to hurt for a long time.

Zak: I watched Cam Smith hit his tee shot on 12 at Augusta National into Rae’s Creek while sitting across from his agent. It changed everything for their next 24 hours. Solidified their already-booked flights. It felt like a huge lost opportunity. And then I saw Cam Smith pull this off today to sum up major season. What a fun season it was. 

Melton: I’ll give some love to Mito Pereira. His meltdown at the PGA provided some terrific theater, even if it was tough to watch. Here’s to hoping he gets a few more chances to break through.

Dethier: Since you’re all focused on the heartbreaking losers, I’ll take us back to Justin Thomas’ ridiculous back-nine charge at Southern Hills to come from absolutely nowhere to win the PGA Championship. 

Colgan: It really felt like the Masters was Scottie Scheffler’s pronouncement. It’s been a while since we’ve had a player come of age like that. His subsequent ascension to World No. 1 — and constantly nagging threat at majors — has only confirmed as much.

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