Former Open champion Cameron Smith stunned the golfing world when he became one of the highest-profile golfers to jump ship and join LIV Golf just a month after hoisting the Claret Jug at St Andrews.
With rumours swirling around his future on the PGA Tour, the Australian’s winning press conference made for a tense atmosphere with the then Champion Golfer of the Year unimpressed with the focus on his future rather than his winning performance.
“I just won the British Open and you're asking about that. I think that's, pretty, not that good," he said back in July 2022 after winning the Open. “My team around me worries about all that stuff [my future]. I'm here to win golf tournaments."
Speculation would only intensify with Smith accepting of some criticism ahead of the FedEx Cup playoffs in 2022.
"I’m ready to cop some heat and I understand that’s where it’s at but like I said, I’m here to win the FedEx Cup Playoffs, that’s my No. 1 goal and whatever happens after that will come from me,” he said.
Smith would eventually make the move in late August 2022, joining LIV in a deal believed to be around $100 million. Smith was one of many to join the 54-hole circuit for a reported fee north of $100m. Others include Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, and Bryson DeChambeau.
Despite playing just five of the eight events in LIV’s inaugural season, Smith still finished inside the top-ten earners, winning roughly $7.3m in on-course prize money thanks to an individual win at LIV Chicago and a runner-up at the Miami Team championship.
Smith joined LIV Golf as the No.2 ranked player in the world, but with no ranking points available for LIV events, the Australian has slowly fallen down the rankings.
“I mean, I’ve tried to take it not that badly, to be honest,” he said speaking on the issue at the Saudi International in January 2023. “I think when you rock up to a tournament, you know who you have to beat, whether there’s a World Ranking or not. There’s generally seven or eight guys that are in that field that you know are going to put up a pretty good fight.
“For sure it hurts. I feel as though I was really close to getting to No.1, and that was definitely something I wanted to tick off, but kind of the longer that this stuff goes on, I think the more obsolete those rankings become."
HOW MUCH HAS CAMERON SMITH WON ON LIV GOLF?
In the 2023 season, Smith’s impressive performances have continued with the Aussie picking up two individual titles at LIV London and LIV Bedminster, winning $4m for each victory.
According to Forbes, he was the fifth highest-paid golfer of 2023 with $76m in total earnings on and off the course, with a lot of that coming from his signing fee with LIV.
Smith has already won more than $20m in individual prize money across the two LIV Golf seasons. By contrast, his career earnings after 175 events on the PGA Tour were $28,674,213. That figure places him inside the top 50 on the all-time list.
The 2023 LIV season features 14 events. Each tournament features 48 players in 12 teams of four who will tee it up to play 54-holes in both individual and team competition.
The prize fund for each regular season event are $25 million with $20m to be shared between the individuals - $4m for 1st place down to $120K for the 48th placed finisher (there’s no cut). $5m goes to the team competition with prizes of $3m, $1.5m, and $500K going to the first three teams.
