LIV GOLF
A Controversy Coming Down Under
A. M. Bailey
“From the moment I met him eight years ago, I knew he was different gravy, He has a look in his eye that tells you he’s going to stand and deliver.” Stand and deliver is exactly what Cameron Smith did at the 150th Open Championship, which was played at the Old Course in St Andrews. To finish off an unbeatable day for the Aussie, he remarked after capturing the Claret Jug, ‘I’m definitely going to find out how many beers fit in this thing’. He did just that, ending the night that he will never forget with the comment, “I guess everyone’s been asking how many beers fit in the Claret Jug, it’s pretty much exactly two”. Little did we know that would be one of the last times we would get to see Smith’s type of Australian vernacular on the PGA stage.
Since the dawn of competitive golf, the PGA has been the trademark for individuals to pave their name in golfing history. With a solid foundation of colleges linking with Korn Ferry Tours and then to the big stage, golf was finally starting to become a way of living for individuals good enough to play the game. However, with the introduction of the LIV backed by the Public Investment Fund, the conversation around LIV golf worsened after several players bagged hefty paychecks to participate in the series. Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Kevin Na, Dustin Johnson and Sergio García are among the athletes that defected to the Saudi-backed league.
Now after the conditions between the LIV and the PGA have begun to cool off, as the public has come to realisation that for some golfers playing in America is hard to make a name for themselves and even harder to make a living. The LIV Golf Tour and Australian superstar Cameron Smith, are planning to come down under sooner rather than later, with Adelaide becoming the reported spot for an event in 2023.
9News Adelaide further supplied evidence of the situation and reported that the South Australian government had “all but done” a deal with LIV to bring an event to Grange Golf Club in April. “We’ve made it clear that we think that golf needs a bit of a shake up, particularly in an Australian context, and that’s something we keep an eye on,” Premier Peter Malinauskas said. When asked if an announcement was imminent he contradicted his statement and replied, “we’ll see how that plays out”. According to the report, Greg Norman is now also set to fly into Australia next week to confirm the tournament is taking place.
LIV will host 14 events between February and September of next year, with 48 contracted players to travel down under. A greater focus will be placed on team competition with the addition of a franchised league to run within the tour. Australians will have the chance to watch Smith and fellow Aussie Marc Leishman – as well as American superstars like Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, and Bryson DeChambeau.
Ultimately, all the competitive players believe that any way of growing the popularity and awareness of the sport is incredibly positive for the game. “I think the fans love LIV Golf a lot which is really important for our sport because it gets a lot of people playing golf,” Smith said. “Even if it is just for a whack here or there and having a beer. The more eyes on golf the better.”
Top image credit: Sky Sports