LIV guns including Cam Smith blocked from Presidents Cup again

LIV gun Brooks Koepka played his way into last year’s Ryder Cup, but the door has been shut on his Aussie rivals hoping to make the Presidents Cup team.

Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith at the 2019 Presidents Cup. Picture: AAP Image/Rob Prezioso

The blows keep coming for the Australians on the LIV Golf tour, with Presidents Cup International team captain Mike Weir confirming they “won’t be eligible” for this year’s clash with the USA in September.

As it was confirmed LIV boss Greg Norman had abandoned attempts to get world rankings points for players on the Saudi-backed tour, Weir confirmed there would be no shift in thinking for the Presidents Cup.

That means Australian gun Cameron Smith and countryman Lucas Herbert, who joined LIV this year, won’t play at Royal Montreal Golf Club.

But it will also deny Chilean star Joaquin Niemann, who won the Australian Open in Sydney last November and has won twice on the LIV tour already in 2024 as one of the hottest golfers on the planet, the chance to be on the team.

The International team hasn’t won the Presidents Cup since 1998, at Royal Melbourne, and a tie in South Africa in 2003 is the closest they have come to victory since.

Cameron Smith after taking down Justin Thomas at the 2019 Presidents Cup. Picture: AAP Image/Tim Carrafa

A team devoid of Smith, Marc Leishman and the likes of Niemann and South African guns Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel, who all joined LIV, was easily defeated in 2022.

Despite that, and even after LIV gun Brooks Koepka was picked for the US Ryder Cup team that lost to Europe in Italy last year, Weir said he wouldn’t be changing his selection philosophy.

But he did leave the door open for potential change in the future.

“They are not going to be eligible,” Weir told Golf Digest, having discussed it with the PGA Tour, which runs the Presidents Cup.

“I guess the flip side is they knew that when they left that they weren’t gonna be part of that. I think some of that’s one of the reasons some guys struggled with going because they loved it so much and they want to be part of it.

“Certainly, I want the best players internationally to be playing in this. Hopefully, we come to a point that they are. It’s just an unfortunate situation that we’re in right now.

“Maybe in Chicago in 2026, they are … It’s a shame, but I like our team. Our team looks great right now.”

First Presidents Cup incoming for @Minwoo27Lee? 🇦🇺#IntlTeampic.twitter.com/TSrwvvcOoM

— Presidents Cup International Team (@IntlTeam) January 19, 2024

That team should include Aussie star Min Woo Lee, who achieved a career-high ranking of 31 after finishing second in Florida last weekend, as well as potentially Jason Day, now 19th in the world.

Veteran Adam Scott, who has played 10 Presidents Cups, is also 11th in the selection standings for the International team, ahead of Cam Davis, who made his event debut in 2022.

None of the LIV players are eligible for the USA team.