Cameron Smith to drive investment in Australian golf’s next gen through his LIV Golf franchise
Junior golfers around Australia are set to sport Cameron Smith’s famous mullet, in honour of their hero, as the champion Aussie golfer uses his LIV franchise to create a groundbreaking partnership for the next gen.
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Cameron Smith’s famous mullet won’t just be seen on the fairways of Augusta National or St Andrews – it will now be seen all over Australian courses in kids playing golf.
Smith, the 2022 British Open champion and Australia’s most recognisable golfing star, has used his LIV Golf franchise, Ripper GC, to inspire the next generation of kids to take up the sport.
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From July 1, Ripper GC will partner with Australia’s official junior introductory program, MyGolf.
The groundbreaking partnership comes with a significant financial investment aimed to help as many kids follow in Smith’s footsteps as possible.
The popularity of golf has soared since Covid, with the sport one of the few that was able to be played safely at the height of the pandemic.
More than 40,000 MyGolf registered players took to a course during the 2024-25 financial year, a 10 per cent increase on the previous 12 months.
The number of girls participating jumped 20 per cent.
Kids aged between five and 12 who sign up for MyGolf will now be known as Little Rippers.
“The long-term vision of the partnership between MyGolf and Ripper GC is to get as many Aussie kids playing golf as we can,” Smith said.
“Golf is definitely on the rise at the moment and everyone at Ripper GC and Golf Australia want to see it grow even bigger in the future with more kids with clubs in their hand.”
Smith is head of the all-Australian Ripper GC franchise featuring Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert and Matt Jones, the quartet playing worldwide events on the LIV Golf circuit, including its most popular in Adelaide.
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The quartet won last year’s LIV Golf teams’ championship and have passionately spoken of wanting to increase the profile of the sport in Australia.
Smith will tee it up at the British Open at Royal Portrush next month alongside at least seven other Australians hoping to win his second major championship.
Australia’s best female golfer, Minjee Lee, created history when she won the Women’s PGA Championship in Texas last weekend. It was her third major win, with Karrie Webb (seven) and Peter Thomson (five) the only Australian golfers to boast more major wins.
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Originally published as Cameron Smith to drive investment in Australian golf’s next gen through his LIV Golf franchise
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