Us Open: Cameron Smith claimed that he originally mistook the news of golf’s merger for a joke until he received a phone call from Yasir Al-Rumayyan describing the scenario.
The news last week of an arrangement between the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sponsor of LIV Golf, surprised many in and out of the sport.
Smith, who switched to LIV after winning the Open Championship at St Andrews last year, confessed he had no idea it was happening and didn’t believe it until PIF governor Al-Rumayyan approached him.
“I guess my first reaction was that it was some kind of joke that had come out, and then [Al-Rumayyan] called me and kind of explained what was going on,” Smith said during a news conference ahead of the US Open this week.
“He didn’t go into much detail. I believe there is still more to be worked out, and as time passes, we will learn more and more. But I believe there are a lot of inquisitive players on both sides about what the future will look like.
“I believe he was probably calling a few different players, so the call was brief.” He didn’t really explain much, I think, but simply what was going to happen that day, and there was still a lot of stuff to figure out.”
Since the partnership was revealed, one of the major discussion points has been how LIV Golf, with its 54-hole no-cut events and team structure, can fit into the calendar and if it really has a future.
Jimmy Dunne, a PGA Tour policy board member who helped arrange the agreement, has recently recommended that commissioner Jay Monahan have the authority to disband the dissident series and punish any players who return to the PGA Tour.
Smith, who leads the all-Australian Ripper GC squad in the LIV series, maintained he knew nothing more than anybody else.
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