Tag: Cameron Smith

Cameron Smith wins for second time at LIV Golf London; Patrick Reed leads 4Aces to team title

Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces claimed another team title at Centurion Club.

Popular names dominated the leaderboard at LIV Golf London as Cameron Smith claimed the individual title while Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces claimed the team title Sunday.

The 29-year-old Aussie claimed his second win since joining the Greg Norman led and Saudi Arabia-backed circuit, this time by just a single shot at 15 under over his Ripper GC teammate Marc Leishman and Patrick Reed of the 4Aces. Smith made bogey on the par-5 18th to sign for a 3-under 68, opening the door for Reed (65) who failed to take advantage and made par. Leishman (66) made birdie to tie Reed at 14 under with Louis Oosthuizen (68) in fourth at 12 under and Johnson (67) rounding out the top five at 10 under.

Photos: LIV Golf London at Centurion Club

Smith’s late bogey doomed Ripper to second at 33 under, one shot behind the 4Aces who claimed the win at 34 under. Oosthuizen and his Stinger GC finished third at 29 under.

The league returns to action next month with LIV Golf Greenbrier, Aug. 4-6, at the Old White at The Greenbrier.

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Cameron Smith says ‘team golf is here to stay’ ahead of LIV Golf London

“It’s good to see. It’s unique. I don’t think it’s going anywhere.”

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Cameron Smith remembers turning on YouTube and watching the first livestream of LIV Golf’s inaugural event last year at Centurion Club in London.

Smith, who a few weeks later would go on to win the Open Championship, had been involved in plenty of conversation and rumors about him leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf, and those ended up being true. But his interest started watching YouTube streams.

“I think it’s definitely a different style of golf to watch, and there’s definitely a lot more stuff going on with the teams,” Smith said. “It’s interesting to watch. I actually love watching it.”

Now, Smith is an integral part of the circuit in its second season, and on Friday, it returns to Centurion Club for the ninth event of 2023. Smith joined LIV Golf after the Tour Championship last year and won the event in Chicago.

Smith, ranked seventh in the world, hasn’t won this year but admitted he got off to a slow start. He finished T-9 at the PGA Championship and then solo fourth at the U.S. Open. He’s a fan of links-style golf and will be one of the favorites at the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool in two weeks.

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Smith’s move to LIV is also significant after last month’s announcement of the agreement between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which is the main financial backer of LIV Golf. There’s no known plan forward yet with rumors circulating about the future of LIV, but Smith is happy with where he’s at.

“I think we’re going to see how stuff unfolds. It’s probably still a little bit early to assume, but yeah, I felt I made the right decision for multiple reasons,” Smith said. “I think the last few weeks is another tick in the box for all us (LIV) guys.”

Last year, LIV had eight events and moved to 14 this year. In addition to the reported signing-bonus money and boosted purses, a lighter schedule is why numerous pros said they left the Tour for LIV.

Smith agrees. He’s a fan of a lighter schedule.

“Exactly like it is this year would be perfect for me, 14 and four majors, I’d take that for the rest of my career,” Smith said.

Then Smith was asked about comments Nick Faldo made last week about whether LIV would survive in the future and remain part of the golf ecosystem. Safe to say he’s confident in the future of the league.

“I really can’t see LIV Golf going away. I think team golf is here to stay, and if you asked every one of us out here, all the 48 guys, I think everyone has such a good time and everyone enjoys what they’re doing out here, they love the competition. That team element really brings three or four guys really close that perhaps weren’t before.

“It’s good to see. It’s unique. I don’t think it’s going anywhere.”

How each LIV Golf player fared at the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club

The trend of LIV golfers contending at majors continued at the 2023 U.S. Open.

LOS ANGELES — The trend of LIV Golf players contending at majors continued this week at the 2023 U.S. Open.

Fifteen players who took their talents to the upstart circuit led by Greg Norman and financially backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund were in the 156-player field, and 10 made the weekend cut. Cam Smith and Dustin Johnson were both within striking distance of the leaders on the weekend, and both earned top-10 finishes.

Earlier this year three LIV players finished in the top six at the Masters, and of the 16 players who competed at the 2023 PGA Championship, 11 made the weekend cut.

Check out how each of the LIV Golf League players fared this week at the 2023 U.S. Open.

MORE: U.S. Open leaderboard

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History on the line: Players who can add their name to the record books at the 2023 U.S. Open

Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and more can make a little history this week at LACC.

LOS ANGELES — Major championships don’t need a lot of extra juice, and this week’s 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club is no different.

The field of 156 players is filled with some of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s best, like Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Smith and Phil Mickelson, as well as a handful of players who survived the 36-hole marathon that is final qualifying.

While the players mentioned above may currently compete on different tours, they all have one thing in common this week: a chance to etch their name into the record books.

Here’s a look at some of the history that can be made this week at the 2023 U.S. Open.

U.S. Open: Leaderboard, tee times, hole-by-hole

Cameron Smith dishes on PGA Tour-Saudi Arabia news, explains why he’s a good fit for a different test at the 2023 U.S Open

“I guess the first reaction was I thought it was kind of a joke that had come out.”

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LOS ANGELES — Like the rest of us, Cameron Smith’s initial reaction to the bombshell news of the PGA Tour and Public Investment Fund’s plan to partner and form a new global golf entity was disbelief.

“I guess the first reaction was I thought it was kind of a joke that had come out,” said Smith on Monday ahead of the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, “and then (PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan) gave me a call and kind of explained what was going on.”

Al-Rumayyan – often referred to as His Excellency, or H.E. – made a short-and-sweet phone call to Smith around 10 minutes before his joint interview with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan on CNBC last Tuesday, but the details were sparse.

“He didn’t really explain too much. I think there’s still a lot of stuff to be worked out, and as time goes on, we’ll get to know more and more,” Smith continued. “But there’s definitely a lot of curious players, I think, on both sides as to what the future is going to look like.”

Talk about an understatement.

The bombshell news sent shockwaves through the golf world, and the topic of discussion will assuredly dominate the first few days in L.A. But much like last week at the RBC Canadian Open, when the tees are in the ground and the balls are in the air for Thursday’s first round, the golf will take the leading role and what a scene it will be.

U.S. OPEN: How to watch/stream the action

After a “pretty cruisey flight over,” Smith played seven holes on the front nine Monday morning but was surprised with the setup. This week at LACC may not have as much of that thick, signature USGA rough that players and fans have come to expect.

“It’s a little bit different here. I think the Bermuda rough, I think you can get kind of lucky or unlucky,” explained Smith. “There’s patches out there where they’re actually quite thin and you can get away with kind of a bad shot and other patches where if you’re in there it’s no good at all. I think that’s a little bit different.”

“I think the way you go through the hills there a few times, there’s lots of shots where you almost have to work the ball into the hill. It’s a really good challenge,” he added. “But I think that Bermuda rough is definitely a little bit different. Typically we’re playing in the northeast and get that really dense kind of wet rough.”

2023 U.S. Open
Cameron Smith plays a shot during a practice round prior to the 123rd U.S. Open Championship at The Los Angeles Country Club on June 12, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

In other words, this week could play to Smith’s strengths. The former world No. 2 joined the upstart LIV Golf after a 2022 season that featured marquee wins at both the Players Championship and Open Championship at St. Andrews. The 29-year-old Aussie is a big-time player who often rises to the occasion, but that said, his past history in the U.S. Open isn’t anything to write home to Brisbane about. After a T-4 in his first U.S. Open appearance in 2015, Smith has since finished T-59, cut, T-72, T-38, cut, cut, but does boast six top-10 finishes, including three at the Masters.

“I’d like to think that I play my best golf around kind of tough golf courses. I know kind of my U.S. Open record isn’t that great. For me, the driver has always been the one club where it gets me in trouble in the U.S. Open and probably the PGA, the U.S. PGA. You have to drive the ball strong,” explained Smith. “I think that’s where a golf tournament can get away from me, but the driver is starting to feel really good, and I think there’s a few opportunities around here to make birdies, so I think that falls into my hands a little bit.”

As the reigning Champion Golfer of the Year at the USGA’s flagship championship, Smith was briefly stumped when he was asked to distinguish the difference between the USGA and the R&A before he filled the room with laughter by answering one is in the U.S. and the other the UK.

“The courses are definitely set up a little bit different for sure. I think for a long time, the USGA had in mind that par was going to be the winning score, and it’s definitely a bit of a brutal test,” he said of the each governing body’s approach to set up a championship. “For me personally, I love a golf course that sets up really difficult, but you can still go out there and shoot 5- or 6-under par and the winning score 10- to 15-under I think is a really good number.”

With little to no rain in the forecast for the week, Smith might just get his wish.

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How many LIV Golf players should we expect at the 2024 PGA Championship?

As it currently stands, five players are in the field for the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla.

Of the 156 golfers in the field for the 2023 PGA Championship last week, 18 played for the LIV Golf League. Eleven players made the weekend cut – including winner Brooks Koepka – and five went on to finish inside the top 20.

With Rochester, New York’s Oak Hill Country Club in the rearview and Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, faintly on the horizon, how many LIV players should we expect to see at the 2024 PGA Championship? As it stands now, not many.

Major championships can change their qualification criteria at their discretion, which golf fans recently witnessed with the USGA-Talor Gooch debacle. For the sake of this exercise, we’re going to assume the PGA of America will use the same 13 qualification criteria (and special invitations) for 2024 as it did for 2023.

Here’s how it shakes out:

Former PGA champions

Phil Mickelson and Koepka have lifetime exemptions, so get used to seeing them.

Winners of the last five U.S. Opens

Bryson DeChambeau won the 2020 U.S Open, making him exempt to the PGA until 2025.

Winners of the last five Masters

Dustin Johnson also won in 2020, so he’s also exempt in the PGA until 2025.

Winners of the last five Open Championships

Cameron Smith is in until the 2027 PGA after his performance last summer at St. Andrews in the Open.

Winners of the last three Players Championships

Smith is also double-dipping with his Players win last spring.

Top 3 on the Official World Golf Ranking International Federation Ranking List

Sihwan Kim, perennially at the bottom of the LIV leaderboards, is currently third on this list via his Asian Tour status. LIV has invested $300 million in the Asian Tour and created its International Series, where a certain number of LIV players are required to compete. Don’t expect more than one player to qualify this way.

The current Senior PGA Champion

Richard Bland, Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood are LIV’s only members of the 50-and-over club, and none will be in the field for this week’s KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, May 24-28, at PGA Frisco in Texas.

The low 15 scorers and ties in the previous PGA Championship

Players could have qualified via this exemption, like club pro Michael Block, but the three who qualified inside the top 15 (Koepka, DeChambeau, Smith), are already qualified for 2024. Just missing out were Patrick Reed (T-18), Mito Pereira (T-18) and Harold Varner III (T-29)

The 20 low scorers in the last PGA Professional Championship

LIV players won’t compete in this event. Next.

The 70 leaders in PGA Championship points list

The list is based off official money earned on the PGA Tour since the previous PGA Championship. If you haven’t been following closely, a few lawsuits are ongoing that will keep this from happening.

Members of the most recent U.S. and European Ryder Cup Teams who are inside the top 100 of the OWGR one week before the PGA Championship

Because of the struggle to earn qualification points, LIV players are almost assuredly going to have to be captain’s picks if they have any shot at making the U.S. or European teams for the upcoming Ryder Cup later this fall in Italy. Future sure-fire captains such as Westwood, Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter recently resigned their DP World Tour memberships, removing them from consideration to represent Team Europe.

Any tournament winner co-sponsored or approved by the PGA Tour since the previous PGA Championship

LIV’s antitrust lawsuit against the Tour and the Tour’s countersuit almost assuredly won’t be decided by next spring, so this criteria is also a wash.

Special invitations

That means using last year’s criteria and this year’s event, just five players – Koepka, DeChambeau, Smith, Johnson and Mickelson – are currently slated to make an appearance at Valhalla in 2024. The PGA Championship could create a category for LIV Golf players to qualify, but as it stands now, the only chance other players have to qualify is with a special invitation, by winning one of the next three majors or the Players, making a 2023 Ryder Cup team or via the International Federation Ranking List.

A player like who qualifies for next year’s PGA could take his talents from one of the tours to LIV Golf between now and next spring, similar to Thomas Pieters this year. That said, the rumor mill for defections to the Saudi Arabia-backed league has gone silent this season.

For now, we wait and see.

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Dustin Johnson birdies first playoff hole to beat Cameron Smith, Branden Grace at LIV Golf Tulsa

It’s the second LIV victory for Johnson.

It took an extra hole, but Dustin Johnson did just enough to earn his second LIV Golf victory.

Johnson, the two-time major champion, birdied his final hole in regulation to get into a playoff with Cameron Smith and Branden Grace, and then he birdied the par-4 18th again to win LIV Golf Tulsa at Cedar Ridge Country Club.

Johnson knocked in his putt from just off the fringe, and he was the second player to go. Grace putted first, also from the fringe, and his narrowly missed to the left. Smith was the closest of the three, and his putt was off from the start, missing right.

It’s Johnson’s first victory since winning LIV Golf Boston last year. He led after 36 holes in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, at 14 under, and his 3-under 67 on Sunday was enough to get him in a playoff at 17 under.

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Johnson joins Talor Gooch, who has won the past two events, and Brooks Koepka as golfers to win twice in LIV’s first 14 events.

Smith shot a 9-under 61, tying the lowest round in LIV history, which Grace set Friday. Harold Varner III also shot 9 under on Sunday, placing fourth overall at 13 under.

In the team competition, it was Louis Oosthuizen’s Stinger GC with a one-shot victory over Johnson’s 4Aces GC. Stinger finished at 40 under. RangeGoats GC placed third at 35 under.

The next LIV event is in Washington D.C. at Trump National in two weeks.

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The leaderboard at LIV Golf Singapore remains loaded, as Talor Gooch and Sergio Garcia pace the field with 18 to go

Talor Gooch is 32 under in his past five rounds. 

There have been plenty of big names who have hoisted a trophy through the LIV Golf League’s first two seasons, like Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Cameron Smith. But there hasn’t been a leaderboard as good as the one we’ve got in Singapore with 18 to play.

Sentosa Golf Club has provided great theater through two rounds of LIV Golf Singapore, as last week’s winner in Adelaide, Talor Gooch, and Sergio Garcia are tied for the lead at 13 under. Koepka, the only two-time winner on LIV, is a shot behind. Then there’s Smith at 11 under and Phil Mickelson, who at one time held the lead early in the second round after a hole-out eagle, at 10 under.

“Obviously the caliber of players here, it just shows,” Garcia said of the packed leaderboard. “On a day like today where there wasn’t much wind the course was gettable. We were able to pick the ball up on the fairway, so that always probably makes it one or two shots easier.”

Preferred lies were in play during round two because of wet course conditions. And Garcia, Gooch and others took advantage.

Garcia fired a bogey-free 7-under 64 to move into a tie for the lead. His best finish since moving to LIV Golf are a pair of fourths last season in Jeddah and Chicago.

Meanwhile, Gooch is looking to join Koepka as a two-time winner and the first back-to-back winner. He carded seven birdies and a lone bogey, signing for 6-under 65 to remain tied for the lead.

LIV Golf Singapore: Photos

“Sergio and I had a bunch of fun out there and Cam as well,” Gooch said. “Our group played really well again, and we were just kind of feeding off each other the whole day. It felt like Cam kind of got off running, and then I kind of came running in the middle, and then Sergio got it going on the back.”

Gooch is 32 under in his past five rounds.

Koepka shot 65 for the second straight day to sit a shot behind and earn a final-group tee time on Sunday. Mickelson was 5 under thru 5 holes and finished his day at 5 under for the round, but he’s solo seventh. Scott Vincent and Cameron Tringale are tied for fourth at 11 under with Smith, who is finding his form after a slow start to the season.

The second round will air on the CW from 1-6 p.m. Saturday. However, final-round action gets underway at 8 p.m. ET Saturday in the United States. The final round will also air on tape delay Sunday.

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Cam Smith, Bryson DeChambeau chug a beer out of a shoe at LIV Golf Adelaide

When in Australia …

When in Australia. That’s how the saying goes, right?

This week, the LIV Golf League is Down Under for its event at Grange Golf Club in Adelaide. Through 36 holes, Talor Gooch owns a 10 (!!) shot lead after posting consecutive 10-under 62s.

However, the most note-worthy trend happening at the tournament might be the “shoeys.” Don’t know what those are?

Well, it’s when you pour a beer into a shoe and chug it.

Wouldn’t say it sounds very tasty, but it is very funny to watch someone else do it.

A few players have taken part in the tradition so far this week, local Aussie Cam Smith and Bryson DeChambeau.

Smith did one while attending a DJ set put on for the fans attending the tournament, while DeChambeau polished one off at the range.

Would you do one of these?

Cam Smith

Bryson DeChambeau

@countryclubadjacent

Australian golf hits different @brysondechambeau golf australia fypシ countryclubchronicles

♬ original sound – Country Club Adjacent

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LIV Golf’s Greg Norman talks about his ‘legacy,’ sidesteps sportswashing, calls for resolution with PGA Tour and DP World Tour

“My legacy of what I’m doing with LIV will be my legacy because it’s the right thing to do,” said Norman.

LIV Golf officials like to refer to 2022 as its beta season and 2023 as its true first season.

However you want to differentiate between the two years so far, LIV Golf CEO and Commissioner Greg Norman hasn’t been nearly as vocal this year compared to last. That changed on Thursday when the two-time major champion was joined by Cam Smith and South Australia Premier Peter Malinauskas for a press conference ahead of LIV Golf Adelaide, the upstart circuit’s first event in Australia.

Norman doubled down on previous comments and claims that the rebranded LIV Golf League will be around for the long haul and that, despite ongoing legal struggles with both the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, that the entity financially backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund wants to “coexist within the golf ecosystem.”

“I do hope there gets to a position where there is resolution to this, because the game of golf doesn’t need to suffer,” said Norman on Thursday at the Grange Golf Club, the site of his first professional win. “These guys don’t need to suffer.”

“PGA Tour has got a great tour. We’re happy for them. I’m happy for them. I grew up on the PGA Tour. So did Cam. We grew up playing on the European Tour,” said Norman. “I hope they exist and keep existing, but it’s their choice of what they want to do, and if they want to keep putting up road blocks, we’re not going to go anywhere. We’ve got a great product. We’ve got investment dollars there today, investment dollars into the future that will continue to be there because of guys like this.”

To the point of those investment dollars, LIV Golf is financially backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and has long been criticized as a way for the Kingdom to sportswash its controversial human rights record. Saudi Arabia has been accused of politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners. Members of the royal family and Saudi government were accused of involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist.

Asked about sportswashing on Wednesday, Bryson DeChambeau said he thought that topic was “kicked that to the curb” after answering questions on the subject last year. When asked why he’s never had a conversation with anyone from the PIF about Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, Norman rolled out the company line: Golf is a force for good.

“Because I’m the chairman and CEO of LIV Golf Investments, and that’s where I focus. I focus on golf. I stay focused on golf. My job is to build out LIV and the product we have on a global front,” said a perturbed Norman. “I’ve been involved with golf, like I said, as a player, as well as golf course design.

“I’ve built some golf courses in third-world countries. I’ve built golf courses in Communist countries. Golf is a force for good,” he continued. “It goes everywhere with the right platform because it delivers the right message, from education to hospitality to employment to tourism. Everywhere you go, golf is a force for good.”

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Malinauskas defended Australia’s decision to host LIV based on the potential economic impact the event may have on the region and touted how Australia and Saudi Arabia share a $3 billion trading partnership.

“But LIV is not a representative of Saudi Arabia. LIV is a golf tournament. LIV is a golf tour, and it’s shaking things up, and I think that’s a good thing,” said Malinauskas, who insinuated sportswashing is only mentioned as a last line of defense to LIV’s market disruption.

“LIV Golf is here exclusively in its capacity putting on a high-quality and elite golf tournament.”

The phrase “elite golf tournament” could be challenged, especially after Smith, who was seated next to Malinauskas, said at the Masters that LIV’s fields “aren’t as strong” as those on the PGA Tour. After acquiring some of professional golf’s biggest, boldest characters, the offseason additions for this season left something to be desired as just two top-50 players (at the time) made the move in Thomas Pieters (No. 35) and Mito Pereira (No. 50).

Norman boasted that a number of players are still waiting to join LIV, but as for those who didn’t make the 2023 cut over the likes of Pieters, Pereira, Sebastian Munoz and Brendan Steele, those players may add depth to LIV’s 48-player fields, but wouldn’t move the needle.

“There is an incredible amount of interest. We’re full,” said Norman. “Our goal is to build those franchise values out.”

Norman and those at LIV truly believe in its franchise model and that its 12 teams can be profitable, so long as the league is given time to grow and establish its place in golf.

“My legacy of what I’m doing with LIV will be my legacy,” added Norman, “because it’s the right thing to do.”

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