Cameron Smith scooped the biggest prize of his career when landing the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews with a stunning and sublime final round. But is the Champion golfer now on his way to pastures new?
The engraving on the claret jug was barely finished when Australian Smith was asked about his future with rumours circulating that he is about to jump ship from the PGA Tour and accept a big-money move to join LIV Golf.
The controversial new Saudi Arabia-backed tour, with Smith’s fellow Aussie at the helm in Greg Norman, has already attracted over the likes of major winners Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed, Brooks Koepka and Charl Schwartzel. Could Smith be next?
Rumours abound that Smith has been offered a contract of between $90 million and $110 million by LIV Golf to join the series and be in the field for the third event at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster on July 29.
He was quick to play down questions in the aftermath of his victory at St Andrews, stating: “I just won the British Open and you’re asking about that. I think that’s pretty…not that good.”
It has done little to quell the speculation that Smith is set to join the LIV Golf ranks, which also looks likely to include Henrik Stenson after the Swede was stripped of the captaincy of the European Ryder Cup team for 2023 this week.
If Smith is to make the switch, it would cap a remarkable couple of weeks for the 28-year-old from Brisbane after he came from four shots behind to win the Open in the most spectacular of fashion in Scotland.
Smith shot a closing round of eight-under par to surpass overnight leaders Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland and beat playing partner Cameron Young by a single shot.
The man with the hottest putter on the PGA Tour found his best on the putting greens at St Andrews as he holed crucial putt after crucial putt to claim the Open title.
The odds on Cameron to win from betting sites in Australia had not indicated that he was favourite to do so ahead of the final round. He started four shots back and the 12/1 (+1200) odds were fair to say the least. But he ripped up those odds and some with a glorious display of golf.
It was the sixth win of Smith’s career and his third of the year. Having won the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January in a record score of 34-under par, Smith then scooped his biggest title in the Players Championship in March.
The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass is regarded as the unofficial fifth major of golf, but the Aussie didn’t have to wait too long – only another four months – to get his hands on an actual major at the Open.
It was perhaps a bit of karma for Smith after he had choked when in contention for the Masters at Augusta in April. He did the complete opposite at St Andrews and got his just rewards.