Following his victory at St. Andrews, Cameron Smith switched to Greg Norman's LIV Golf on a deal reportedly worth $140 million.
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Cameron Smith of Australia will be defending his Open Championship title after the tournament organizers decided to allow LIV Golf players to participate. The Open, which will be contested from July 20 to 23 at the Royal Liverpool Golf Course, has announced that golfers competing in the contentious Saudi-sponsored breakaway league are eligible to compete. This decision follows those made by the US Open and the Masters tournament, making it the third major competition to accept their eligibility.
Following his victory at St. Andrews, Smith, who scripted history by becoming the first Australian to win the British Open in over 30 years, switched to Greg Norman’s LIV Golf on a deal reportedly worth $140 million. Although they are not authorized to compete on the PGA Tour, LIV golfers were permitted to compete in the British Open last year. Henrik Stenson of Sweden, Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa, and Phil Mickelson of the United States, all LIV Golf competitors, will also be eligible for The Open as the previous champions.
Smith began playing golf at the age of just two at Wantima Country Club, a small golf course in Brisbane’s northern suburbs. Smith competed on the PGA Tour of Australasia after turning professional in 2013. He has claimed six PGA Tour victories, four DP World Tour triumphs, and three PGA Tour of Australasia wins. Following the Tour Championship at the end of August 2022, it was revealed that Smith has joined LIV Golf. Since The Open, there were rumors of the move, but he continually hesitated to confirm or deny them.
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Speaking to the monthly golf magazine, Golf Digest, the Royal & Ancient Golf Club (R&A) chief executive Martin Slumbers mentioned that banning LIV Golf players from The Open was “not on the agenda”. “We’re not banning anyone. We are not going to betray 150 years of history and have the Open not be open. The name says it all, ” he said. He further added, “The Open needs to set itself aside from what’s going in terms of disagreements and make sure we stay true to our principle, which is to have the best players in the world competing.”
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The LIV Golf Invitational Series is notably controversial because it is majorly funded by the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the PIF, is accused by critics of being used for Sportswashing. Golfers who sign up for the LIV Golf Invitational Series face exclusion from PGA Tour and DP World Tour events. As a result, Greg Norman, the CEO and commissioner of LIV Golf, was not invited to the 2022 Open because the R&A felt that his presence would be a distraction. Norman criticized the R&A for their “petty” decision to not invite him to participate in the Celebration of Champions or attend the Champions’ Dinner, last year. The Aussie won in 1986 and 1993 but was not allowed to play in the four-hole challenge competition at St. Andrews with other former champions.
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