Golf news: Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman join rebel LIV Tour

Cameron Smith has joined Greg Norman’s Saudi-backed rebel LIV golf tour, and despite pocketing a cool $100m for the move he claims money wasn’t the main motivation.

Aussie stars Cam Smith and Marc Leishman have joined the LIV Tour.

Greg Norman has landed the biggest blow yet for his Saudi-backed rebel tour after LIV Golf announced the blockbuster signings of Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman late on Tuesday night.

Smith and Leishman were widely touted as imminent recruits for the fledgling tour and the predictions came to fruition as the Australian duo took the big bucks on offer from LIV Golf, leaving them facing suspensions from the PGA Tour.

Smith is the most significant recruit yet for Norman given he is ranked at No.2 in the world and coming off a win at the Open Championship. His defection has been in the works for several weeks – he will make his first appearance for LIV Golf at the tour’s next event, to be held at The International golf course in Boston later this week.

He joins Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed in pledging their future to the rebel tour, which has sent shockwaves through the sport and pitted the game’s biggest stars against each other.

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Aussie stars Cam Smith and Marc Leishman have joined the LIV Tour.

Smith told Australian Golf Digest that his decision to join LIV Golf wasn’t just about money.

“[Money] was definitely a factor in making that decision, I won’t ignore that or say that wasn’t a reason,” Smith said.

“It was obviously a business decision for one and an offer I couldn’t ignore. The biggest thing for me joining is [LIV’s] schedule is really appealing.

“I’ll be able to spend more time at home in Australia and maybe have an event down there, as well. I haven’t been able to do that, and to get that part of my life back was really appealing.

“I’ve lived over here seven years now, and I love living in the US, but just little things like missing friends’ weddings, birthday parties and seeing your mates having a great time at rugby league games has been tough.”

FedEx Cup winner Rory McIlroy was among those who tried to convince Smith to stay loyal to the PGA Tour but his words fell on deaf ears after the Australian accepted a deal reportedly worth in excess of $US100 million to cross the sport’s widening divide.

Norman had targeted forming an all-Australian team and Leishman will be part of that group as well. However, he appears to have missed out on his other target after News Corp revealed that Adam Scott attended a meeting of PGA Tour professionals a fortnight ago, where Tiger Woods led the charge on behalf of the PGA Tour.

News Corp was told that LIV Golf held talks with Scott but the former Masters champion opted to remain loyal to the PGA Tour at a time when the sport is being ripped apart by infighting.

Smith is only a matter of weeks removed from the biggest moment of his career but his move to LIV Golf will attract its share of negative headlines given the tour has been accused of using sport to wash clean Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record.

Pleas to Smith to shun the LIV tour fell on deaf ears.

Norman, however, was crowing on Tuesday night as he celebrated arguably the biggest moment yet for LIV Golf.

“LIV Golf is showing the world that our truly global league is attracting the world’s best players and will grow the game into the future for the next generation,” said Norman.

“The best and the brightest continue to embrace the excitement and energy of LIV Golf and what we’re building: a tangible league for team golf that will connect with new audiences all over the globe.

“We can’t wait to tee off this week at The International and deliver another memorable event experience for fans.”

Norman has seemingly taken great delight out of having fun at his critics’ expense, using social media to antagonise PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and accuse him of plagiarising LIV Golf’s plans for the sport.

Working within the ecosystem :-) https://t.co/ArDaihbXaw

— Greg Norman (@SharkGregNorman) August 24, 2022

PGA of Australia chair Rodger Davis acknowledged the decision by Smith and Leishman to move to LIV Golf — both have confirmed that they will also return to Australia at the end of the year to play in the Open and PGA tournaments.

“Currently, world golf is in somewhat of a state of flux and the PGA of Australia is doing all it can to navigate through this disruptive period, whilst squarely maintaining our focus on our core constituents,” Davis said.

“As a collective Australian golf ecosystem, we will keep investing in supporting our young Aussie women and men touring pros as they work their way through their golfing journeys”

The likes of Woods and McIlroy have led the charge for the PGA Tour and they now find themselves at odds with Smith, who will now become the posterboy for LIV Golf.

The defection of Smith and Leishman will likely strengthen plans for LIV Golf to host an event in Australia next year. Norman has made no secret of his desire to return to his homeland as he targets a tournament in Sydney early next year, most likely in April.

Smith, Leishman and former Australian Open champion Matt Jones would likely lead the local contingent in a field that could also include the likes of Mickelson, Johnson, DeChambeau and Reed.

Leishman and Smith aside, Joaquin Niemann, Anirban Lahiri, Cameron and Harold Varner III have all made an immediate switch to the LIV tour.