Cam Smith, Five PGA Members Join LIV Golf

Cam Smith, five PGA members join LIV Golf originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Cameron Smith, the No. 2 golfer in the world according to World Golf Ranking, is officially joining LIV Golf.  

The Australian was first linked with the breakoff league in mid-July, days after winning his first major, the Open Championship. He seemingly deflected media inquiries in the month since, preparing for the Tour Championship, where he finished 20th. 

Smith is headlining the latest exodus of players expected to leave the PGA Tour in favor of the new league. He’s joined by Joaquin Niemann, Marc Leishman, Anirban Habiri, Harold Varner III and Cameron Tringale. Mito Pereira is also rumored to jump on this wave of departures. 

These athletes are expected to compete for LIV as soon as this weekend, when the league travels to Boston for its fourth of eight tournaments this season. 

The emergence of LIV Golf over the past season could pose a threat to the future of the PGA Tour. 

Critics of the Saudi-backed league accuse it of sportswashing, while the players who have joined say it’s a necessary competitor to the PGA Tour that improves the quality of the game, as evidenced by recent increases in tournament purses on the PGA Tour.

Smith currently trails only 2022 Masters winner Scottie Scheffler in the world rankings. That’s expected to be short lived. 

Not only are LIV players suspended from competing on the PGA Tour, but their events are not currently eligible for world ranking points. Former world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, an early defector to LIV, recently fell out of the top 20 for the first time in more than seven years. 

The 2022-23 PGA Tour begins Sept. 15 with the Fortinet Championship in Napa, Calif. Tour officials are certainly holding their breath, hoping for no more major losses between now and then.