While there have been more well-known names that joined LIV Golf, there is an argument to be made that Cam Smith was the biggest loss to the PGA Tour when he decided to jump ship.
The Australian was very much on the up in his career, winning his first major at The Open last summer. He had also been triumphant at The Players Championship a few months prior to that, and considering that he was only 28-years old at the time, he was beginning to establish himself as one of the most popular players on tour.
Of course, he would up sticks and move to the Saudi-backed venture soon after his victory at St Andrews. It was reported at the time that he had been handed a deal worth in excess of $100million in order to the switch across the line.
Smith is set to come up against many of his former PGA Tours for the first time since the switch this week, where he will compete at The Masters.
Cam Smith makes admission about LIV Golf quality
Cam Smith seems to be a very straightforward guy and has been reasonably straightforward about his reasons for moving to LIV Golf. Whereas many other players spouted nonsense about 'growing the game', he admitted that he changed tours in order to benefit himself.
Cam Smith answers the question "Why did you go to LIV?" 💬pic.twitter.com/4ZoLuJ0QOr
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) April 3, 2023
Those reasons may not go down well with everyone, but at least he was being honest.
He swayed away from the LIV party line once again at Augusta this week.
Whereas many of their golfers have claimed that the quality on show on their tour is just as good as their more traditional competitors, Cam Smith admitted that this simply wasn't the case.
🗣️ “I’ll be the first to say. The fields aren’t as strong.”
Cam Smith admits he thinks the LIV Golf field isn't the strongest, and that it's important that the ones eligible for The Masters can play in the tournament. pic.twitter.com/jP0kh6TVzm— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) April 3, 2023
I think it's just important for the LIV guys to be up there, because we need to be up there. There's a lot of chatter about 'these guys don't play real golf, these guys don't play real golf courses'.
For sure, I'll be the first one to say that the fields aren't as strong, I'm the first one to say that. But we've still got a lot of guys up there that can play some serious golf.
I spent about an hour out on the range this afternoon, it was good to see some familiar faces and have some laughs, lots of handshakes. It was really nice.
I wasn't sure what to expect walking onto the range, but it was good to see some familiar faces and lots of smiles.
While this would be an obvious observation for any those who compared the fields in LIV Golf and the PGA Tour, it has rarely been admitted in such a frank manner by someone from within the breakaway organisation.
You'd imagine that the remarks might not necessarily go down all that well with Greg Norman an co.
SEE ALSO: Greg Norman Warns To Expect Some Wild Scenes If LIV Golf Player Wins The Masters
