Cameron Smith’s transfer to LIV Golf is a blow however have PGA weathered the heaviest storm?

Cameron Smith is the newest high-profile identify to maneuver to LIV

While PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan will not be dropping an excessive amount of sleep over the defections of Marc Leishman, Harold Varner III, Cameron Tringale and Anirban Lahiri, two of the brand new LIV Golf rebels are vital: Cameron Smith and Joaquin Niemann.

Smith’s transfer is vital for plenty of causes.

He’s the present world No 2 and on the very top of his powers. Up till this level, LIV’s acquisitions have largely been gamers approaching the tip of their careers or whose video games are on the wane.

He’s the reigning champion of The Players, the PGA Tour’s flagship occasion, and the 2023 championship will now need to proceed at TPC Sawgrass subsequent March with out its defending champion, a supply of embarrassment for the Tour. One of the explanations he was such a well-liked winner again in March of this 12 months is as a result of he lives simply across the nook from Sawgrass, and certainly PGA Tour headquarters.

He’s additionally the one reigning main champion to have made the leap, though Monahan shall be reassured that the opposite three – Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas and Matt Fitzpatrick – are all fiercely loyal to the PGA Tour and have been outspoken in public on this matter.

Smith additionally opens up the massive Australian {golfing} marketplace for LIV. Australia boasts a few of the most excellent programs on the earth, however for years many Aussie golf followers have felt ignored by the PGA Tour.

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Rory McIlroy says he hates what LIV Golf is doing to the sport and says it is going to be onerous to abdomen developing towards a few of the gamers at Wentworth in a couple of weeks time.

LIV Golf, nevertheless, are taking a match to Australia, they usually’ll achieve this with the nation’s best participant in tow. You can wager your backside greenback that at this very second, preparations are busily being made for a photoshoot in Boston this week, with Greg Norman and Smith – Australia’s two most up-to-date Open champions – arm in arm and posing proudly while clutching the Claret Jug.

Niemann’s defection is critical as a result of, like Smith, he is younger, at the moment taking part in the most effective golf of his life and has the world at his ft with a lot he may doubtlessly obtain within the recreation.

He too opens up an enormous market – the Latin American market. Unlike Smith, nevertheless, he has no exemptions into the main championships.

His present world rating of 19 will plummet within the coming months, and whereas he should nearly be clinging on to prime 50 standing by the point The Masters rolls round subsequent April, whether or not Augusta National will even invite LIV golfers to start with continues to be an enormous unknown.

It’s my understanding that of all LIV’s newest recruits, Niemann was essentially the most conflicted. At one stage he’d seemed nailed-on – he is a part of the identical administration steady as Bryson DeChambeau, Paul Casey, Abraham Ancer, Louis Oosthuizen and Sergio Garcia who, particularly, is a big mentor for the younger Chilean.

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Newly-crowned Open champion Cameron Smith wasn’t too completely happy at being requested about his potential involvement within the LIV Golf Series following his victory at St Andrews.

I’m informed that his fellow South American Camilo Villegas, nevertheless, then succeeded in speaking Niemann out of the transfer, just for LIV to up their provide and finally handle to prise him away.

Niemann was one of many 23 gamers in a lodge assembly room in Delaware as lately as two weeks in the past, as Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy laid out their imaginative and prescient for the way forward for the PGA Tour. There was unanimous settlement and reportedly palpable pleasure within the room afterwards at how vibrant the longer term seemed.

It shall be a blow to 22 of the lads in that room that one in every of them has now carried out an about-turn and is taking with him privileged data of the discussions that occurred inside these 4 partitions.

While in the long run Smith and Niemann are unquestionably losses for the PGA Tour, within the quick brief time period spare a thought for the captain of the International Team at subsequent month’s Presidents Cup, Trevor Immelman. His tenure has felt cursed. It’s been eventful and disturbing to say the least and while he is laughed a variety of it off on social media, I do know for a reality his cellphone has barely stopped ringing in latest months as he offers with the newest fireplace that must be put out.

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Rory McIlroy would really like gamers to be told on the choice they’re making earlier than becoming a member of the LIV Golf Tour. The Northern Irishman additionally spoke glowingly about working alongside Tiger Woods for the advantage of the PGA Tour.

Even on the evening Smith gained The Open in such memorable vogue at St Andrews final month, I perceive Immelman – together with one in every of his assistant captains Ernie Els – spent over an hour on the cellphone with the champion making an attempt in useless to speak him out of a transfer to LIV.

Already up towards it given the relative energy of the 2 sides and the actual fact this 12 months’s Cup takes place on US soil – in Quail Hollow, Charlotte in simply three weeks’ time – Immelman now has to make do with out 4 of the 9 highest-ranked internationals; Smith, Niemann, Ancer and Oosthuizen.

The different 4 gamers to have left for LIV – Leishman, Lahiri, Varner and Tringale – don’t signify vital physique blows for the PGA Tour though there may be some irony to the truth that Tringale is the participant with essentially the most profession earnings ($17,319,281) and not using a victory on Tour.

One of the axes Phil Mickelson needed to grind with the PGA Tour was that the highest gamers weren’t financially sorted sufficient, whereas middle-ranking journeymen had been rewarded above and past.

The prime instance of that may now be plying his commerce with LIV, the place he will definitely be assured so as to add to that sum with out having to do an excessive amount of.

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Jay Monahan say he’s ‘impressed by our nice gamers and their dedication’ as he outlines 4 key objects to enhance the PGA Tour.

And while the losses of Smith and Niemann will damage the PGA Tour, they are going to breathe a sigh of reduction that two others closely rumoured to be contemplating the transfer – Hideki Matsuyama and Cameron Young – are staying put… for now.

LIV Golf see themselves as disruptors. And it’s simple that snaring the Champion Golfer of the Year, the person who stood on essentially the most well-known inexperienced in golf and lifted essentially the most iconic trophy in golf simply final month, is a massively symbolic coup and an actual fly within the ointment for the ‘institution’.

Just as securing the companies of Henrik Stenson and forcing Ryder Cup Europe into an unprecedented and humiliating stripping of the captaincy, extensively thought-about the best honour that may be bestowed upon a European golfer, was an enormous feather of their cap. Indeed, LIV Golf can now boast the winners of 12 of the final 26 main championships. That is extraordinary and can’t be dismissed frivolously.

And but, there’s a feeling that this now could also be nearly as good because it will get for LIV Golf. With the PGA Tour having outlined a transparent technique shifting forwards, with elevated occasions and the highest gamers higher rewarded financially, the gradual trickle of gamers might have been nipped within the bud.

The heaviest of storms might have already got been weathered. Who, realistically, can LIV now tempt to leap ship? The ‘golden geese’ – McIlroy, Thomas, Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth, Scheffler – are all dedicated to the PGA Tour.

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Rory McIlroy apologised to Scottie Scheffler’s household after he dramatically edged out the American to seal a shocking FedExCup victory.

And whereas these gamers, amongst others, will proceed to play for tournaments with historical past, that means and status – incomes these massively vital world rating factors within the course of – LIV golfers will watch their world rankings proceed to nose-dive, the main appearances (for some) start to dry up and, nearly inevitably, the already paltry YouTube viewing figures drop additional nonetheless.

Finally, it is price noting Cam Smith’s reply when requested simply over a 12 months in the past what he would possibly do with the $15m on provide to the winner of the FedEx Cup.

“I’m pretty set, to be honest. I’m good. I’m good with what I’ve got. I don’t know what I’d do, to be honest. Maybe buy some more fishing equipment”.

Twelve months on it could seem he wasn’t “good with what he’d got”, however as a substitute determined for extra.

The Shark has managed to hook Smith, a hell of a catch and unquestionably the most important fish of their small pond.