Cameron Smith reveals reality of LIV-US PGA reunion ahead of ‘desperate’ Masters tilt

Cameron Smith is one of the world’s leading golfers set to swing at the Masters, but you wouldn’t know it by his ranking. But, as MICHAEL WARNER reveals, a reunion between LIV and the US PGA isn’t as easy as it may seem.

Don’t ask Cameron Smith where he sits in golf’s world rankings list. He couldn’t even take a wild swing at it.

“I have no idea – could not tell you,” the laconic Queenslander says.

Thanks to golf’s global civil war, players who defected from the US PGA Tour to the Saudi-backed LIV league are unable to accrue official ranking points and have plummeted down the order.

For the record, Smith – a former world No.2 – has fallen to 62, despite winning an Open Championship not so long ago.

“For most of my career it was definitely a kind of thing that you looked at every couple of weeks just to see where you were at, but for us out here (on the LIV tour) it’s kind of lost all meaning, so there’s no reason to really look at it,” Smith says.

Can the powers that be sort it out?

“They could definitely sort it out – it’s not that hard,” he says.

Cameron Smith has slid down the rankings to 62 despite winning an Open Championship not so long ago. Picture: Getty Images

Smith, 30, will head back down Magnolia Lane this week to take care of unfinished business at Augusta National.

Second to Dustin Johnson in 2020 and third two years ago, Smith does not hide his burning desire to win the Masters.

“It would be unreal,” he says.

“The Open at St Andrews is pretty special and to double it up with a green jacket would be unbelievable. It’s just such a cool place and I desperately want to get it.”

“Digging deep” and waiting for opportunities is the key to playing well at Augusta, Smith says.

“There’s definitely a couple of holes out there that can pop up and bite you. But if you can just hang in there it can give a lot of birdie opportunities – that’s generally a pretty good mindset around there.

“It’s just a very hard golf course … and a place that is close to a lot of people’s hearts – not just the players.”

Cameron Smith finished third at the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in 2022. Picture: Getty Images

Two years ago, a triple-bogey disaster drowned Smith’s dreams at Augusta’s graveyard 12th hole.

“It still kind of hurts,” he says of that wayward shot.

“It definitely wasn’t a nice feeling but it’s just a hard hole. I’ve generally played it pretty good in the past, it was just the wrong shot at the wrong time.”

The man who beat him that day, world No.1 American Scottie Scheffler, has stayed loyal to the PGA Tour and become the hottest player on the planet.

Smith said he and the LIV brigade were excited to resume hostilities against their PGA rivals at the year’s first major.

“There’s a lot of guys on both tours who are playing good golf, so it will be a cool week for us all to come back,” he says.

As for the progress of peace talks between the tours and the prospect of LIV players one day returning to play PGA Tour events, Smith has his doubts.

“It’s hard to say. For us guys out here (at LIV) it would be hard to get us to go back to be honest,” he says.

Cameron Smith finished an agonising second at the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in 2020. Picture: Getty Images

“There are a lot of really happy guys out here. Guys that enjoy travelling and seeing different parts of the world. I really don’t know what the resolution will look like but I’m sure there will have to be sacrifices on either side.

“There is a lot of stuff to work out. There’s probably a lot of spectators and fans who want it to happen, too.

“For myself, I’ve probably got another four or five weeks off (a year) and being able to spend more time in Australia, I don’t know if I’m willing to sacrifice being away from my family as much as I have in the past.

“So if it (a compromise deal) means playing more, I think it’s going to be a tough sell. I’m not sure playing more golf would be the answer.”

Getting to know LIV boss and Australian golfing legend Greg Norman has been a bonus of joining the rebel tour, he says.

“I never really spoke to Greg, just kind of here and there – I met him a few times – but the last couple of years have been nice,” Smith says.

“For the guys on our team, he’s obviously a guy that everyone looked up to and wanted to be like, so it’s kind of cool to hang around him all the time.”

LIV Golf CEO and commissioner Greg Norman with golfer Cameron Smith in 2022. Picture: Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Smith expects the 13-strong LIV contingent led by reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm to be welcomed at Augusta.

“I think he (Rahm) will get the reception he deserves, just like any other champion there,” he says.

“Augusta is world-class in everything they do and I wouldn’t expect them to do anything just because he has gone to LIV.”

Smith married his American girlfriend Shanel Naoum in Brisbane late last year and remains based in Jacksonville, Florida.

“The fishing has kind of slowed down (but life’s) the same. I’ve hit the nail on the head, I think. I’ve got a good one,” he says.

Cameron Smith married his American girlfriend Shanel Naoum in Brisbane last year. Picture: Getty Images

Cameron Smith will be among the contenders at the Masters. Picture: Getty Images

Smith recently upgraded his 39-foot boat “Tin City” (as in tins of beer) “to a newer, nicer one”, which makes sense given his $218m LIV sign-on fee.

In a US election year, it’s hard to avoid talk about November’s showdown between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, but Smith’s not going there.

“I try to stay out of it (politics), everywhere actually, in Australia and over here,” he says.

“Given my profession it’s easier just to say nothing and smile and nod.”

He’s also circumspect when it comes to the sport’s ongoing distance debate and talk of rolling back the golf ball.

“There’s definitely a couple of courses that could do with it,” he says.

“I kind of sit on the fence with that one because there is a time and place. It would be cool to see some of those older courses, particularly down in Melbourne, hitting some longer clubs in and having to be creative rather than just hitting driver down there and pitching it on the green.

“But for the amateurs they should definitely leave it where it is.”

Cameron Smith will tee off at a LIV event in Miami this weekend ahead of the Masters, which starts next Tuesday. Picture: Getty Images/AFP

Fresh off a three-week break, Smith is teeing it up at a LIV event in Miami this weekend ahead of the Masters starting on Thursday.

“It’s been a bit of a different preparation, but I feel good,” he says.

“I’ve played a lot of golf at home and not as much time on the range.

“I kind of let it all go, played some different shots and in all types of wind and weather.”

A good showing at Augusta will see him climb back up those pesky world rankings and put him in the frame to secure a spot in the Australian Olympic team in Paris.

“I guess it is more pressure,” he says.

“I know I have to play well to get there and I’ll probably only get three or four shots at it (in the majors) before they make the selections.”

Originally published as Cameron Smith reveals reality of LIV-US PGA reunion ahead of ‘desperate’ Masters tilt