Cameron Smith wants LIV to live on but ‘100 per cent’ would return to PGA Tour

BEDMINSTER – Cameron Smith wants LIV Golf to survive but if it does not, he would “100 per cent” return to the PGA Tour.

“I mean, if it was the only option, I think that’s where everyone would want to be for sure, 100 per cent,” the Australian and former world No. 2 told reporters on Aug 4 in Bedminster, New Jersey, ahead of this week’s LIV New York event.

“It would go back to old times.”

But he hopes LIV can continue.

“I want it to work, really, to be honest. It’s great fun out here,” said the 32-year-old, noting that the breakaway tour is working hard to get them playing in 2027.

“The team that we’ve got, I feel like we make each other better, better people and better golfers as well. Yeah, I’d hate to see it go away. We’ll see what happens.”

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced in April that it will not continue its financial support of the league beyond this season. Smith signed with the breakaway league in 2022, receiving a contract reportedly worth US$140 million (S$179 million).

“What we’ve been able to do for golf in Australia is really quite important to me, junior golf, the Little Rippers, the event that we have down there, the people it brings out to showcase our great league,” added Smith, the captain of the all-Australian team Ripper GC.

“It would be a shame for all that to go away, and I feel like we’ve worked really hard over the last three or four years to kind of make that all happen.”

LIV Golf’s Adelaide event in February was among the league’s most popular stops this season and set records for golf in Australia. More than 115,000 fans attended across the week in Adelaide, making it the highest-attended golf event in the country’s history.

“Australian golf is important to me. I think it (LIV) improves it,” Smith said. “I think all the numbers are up. The memberships are up. Social play is up. I think that’s in part because of us. So I think it would be a shame for Australian golf if it did go away.”

Though multiple reports say the LIV team championship scheduled for late August in Michigan will be cancelled amid the league’s financial troubles, the players have reportedly been told to prepare as if it is on schedule, and Smith said he is doing just that.

“We had a great year there last year in Detroit, and we’re hoping we get back there,” he said of the season-ending event set for Aug 27 to 30 at The Cardinal at Saint John’s Resort in Plymouth, Michigan, a Detroit suburb.

“It’s a great golf course, a great venue, and the crowds really turned up as well. Yeah, would be disappointed if it wasn’t.”

LIV Golf has been mum on the status of the US$40 million event, which has US$11.2 million going to the winning team. However, The Cardinal, which also hosted the 2025 team championship, has no tournament infrastructure or fan hospitality built out yet, Front Office Sports reported last week – likely pointing towards a cancellation.

The future of LIV Golf was the topic of discussion among the team captains and tour executives, and then in a players-only get-together, in Bedminster on Aug 4.

According to The Athletic, most players did not speak following the meetings, but those who did confirmed that two-time US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau took the helm in the players-only gathering.

“Bryson just ran through what he knows, and obviously, we’re trying to do it as a group, but we’re individuals as well, so I think the next two to three weeks is going to be where it’s at,” Richard Bland told The Athletic.

“We’re in this together... I think probably in the next two to three weeks we’ll have a bigger picture.

“We’re just in that kind of stage at the minute that we’re positive with what’s going on, but we just need everything to be fully signed off so you can go forward.”

Regarding the team championship, Bland said: “I don’t know. We’ve just got to wait and see on that.” REUTERS