19th Hole
Cam Smith reveals his primary reasons behind decision to join LIV Golf
LIV Golf made their monumental signing of Cameron Smith official this morning, which still feels enormous despite how long the rumors have been circulating.
The number two ranked player in the world initially sent shockwaves throughout the golf world when he refused to shoot down rumors of his joining LIV Golf after his victory at the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews.
In an interview with Golf Digest, Smith detailed his reasoning for making the jump to LIV.
The Australian admitted that money was a major factor in his decision process saying,
““[Money] was definitely a factor in making that decision, I won’t ignore that or say that wasn’t a reason,” he said. “It was obviously a business decision for one and an offer I couldn’t ignore.”
Smith has earned $27 million in his eight year career on the PGA TOUR, so the fact that the reported $100 million guaranteed was a motivating influence shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.
In addition to the massive financial incentive, the 29-year-old spoke about some other factors that impacted his decision, including the ability to spend more time in his native Australia.
“The biggest thing for me joining is [LIV’s] schedule is really appealing,” Smith told Golf Digest. “I’ll be able to spend more time at home in Australia and maybe have an event down there, as well. I haven’t been able to do that, and to get that part of my life back was really appealing.”
Smith had moved to the United States when earning his PGA TOUR card, but is a proud Australian who misses many things about being home.
“I’ve lived over here seven years now, and I love living in the U.S., but just little things like missing friends’ weddings, birthday parties and seeing your mates having a great time at rugby league games has been tough,” he said.
The opportunity to play along Marc Leishman in a LIV event in Australia, who was also announced to be joining LIV Golf today, certainly made things easier for Smith as well.
“I’m sure with Leish and I playing it’ll be appealing for LIV [to take an event there],” Smith said.
Australian Golf Digest reported that there will be a 2023 LIV event in Australia, which Smith would look forward to competing in.
In addition to being able to spend more time at home, the team aspect of LIV was also appealing for the Champion Golfer of the Year.
“For me personally, I love teams golf, and it’s something I wish I could have more often,” Smith said. “I love the four-person teams aspect [of LIV]. Even when you’re out of the tournament, there’s something else to play for.”
Representing his country is of great importance to Smith, and being able to create an Australian team for LIV certainly grabbed his attention.
Smith will be making his LIV Golf debut at The International outside of Boston starting on September 2.
More from the 19th Hole
- Justin Thomas slams Will Zalatoris’ mentor for ‘egregious and aggressive’ tweets attacking NBC duo
- LPGA blasted over ‘outright offensive’ provisions at Q-School event despite scorching heat
- Controversial ESPN host says he’s ‘disgusted’ by Tiger Woods in unpopular rant
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19th Hole
Brandel Chamblee has a surprising new take on the PGA Tour-LIV stand-off
One of the more outspoken analysts throughout the LIV Golf vs. PGA Tour saga has been Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee.
This week, Chamblee reversed course, saying he believes the PGA Tour should strike a deal with Saudi Arabia’s Private Investment Fund (PIF).
Golf Channel Brandel Chamblee in his biggest about-face since the Framework Agreement on June 6, now says that making a deal with the PIF "is the better end of the bargain."
He says:
"The PGA Tour is in this pickle like it or not, but, do you want to compete with someone (LIV… pic.twitter.com/XDZaC1I6B8
— JCAGOLFReport (@JCAGOLFReport) May 10, 2024
“The PGA Tour is in this pickle like it or not, but, do you want to compete with someone who’s not going to go away, who can outspend you”.
“Every move they make that makes their tour better deletes your tour and causes more division within the tour. So the time is now, to Rory’s point about making a deal, I wouldn’t have said that a year ago… but it is the better end of the bargain.”
Chamblee’s new stance seems to be in line with that of Rory McIlroy, who reportedly wanted to rejoin the PGA Tour board with hopes of pushing a deal with the PIF closer to the finish line.
Chamblee will be in the booth for next week’s PGA Championship which has 16 LIV players in the field.
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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19th Hole
Xander Schauffele explains free drop ruling during round one of Wells Fargo Championship
During Thursday’s opening round of the Wells Fargo Championship, Xander Schauffele blasted his tee shot in the woods to the right of the fairway on the par-4 8th hole.
The ball was almost not found, but Xander’s group managed to track it down just before the three-minute time limit was reached.
When the ball was found, it was just beyond the penalty area close to a fence. In the moment, it seemed incredibly unlikely that Schauffele would be able to hit the ball through the trees towards the green.
However, through the woods and above the fairway, there was a hanging wire from a ShotLink tower that Xander claimed was in his way. He was then granted relief, and two club lengths from the spot positioned him all the way out of trouble. He played his ball onto the front of the green and two-putted for par.
Here is the full video of the interaction between Schauffele and the rules official.
??? #WATCH — The full video of the Xander Schauffele #DropGate situation ?
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) May 9, 2024
After the round, Xander said he “got really lucky.”
“Got really lucky multiple times, on 1 with Wyndham finding it, 2, being able to move the rocks, and 3, the ShotLink tower being in like my only shot line possible. To walk out there with sort of a no breeze 4 with what I thought was almost out was a really good break.”
“Yeah, I hit it in the trees. My ball was probably like a foot, two feet from the fence. If I — ball was here, fence was kind of here, hitting back this direction.
“If I went towards the green, the fence kind of worked this way so I had what I could hit, a 4-iron or something low and just kind of run it through. If it gets stuck, I’ll just kind of hit my next one out. But I brought the rules official in there with me because I was like, you’ve got to be OK with this because this is literally the only shot I can hit.”
“So Austin [Kaiser] and I moved two massive rocks that weren’t embedded and then I got relief out of the junk and then hit a pretty good shot on the green from there. What was a very stressful moment turned into a pretty stressless par.”
Schauffele finished the round at seven under, which gives him a three-shot lead going into Friday’s second round.
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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19th Hole
Report: Tiger Woods voted against Rory McIlroy returning to policy board; Will be the only player negotiating directly with Saudis
According to a report from The Telegraph, the relationship between Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy has soured.
Last week, reports surfaced that McIlroy, who was a member of the PGA Tour policy board during most of the past few years, was looking to rejoin the board, presumably taking Webb Simpson’s seat.
However, on Wednesday, McIlroy revealed that he will not be rejoining the policy board, due to people on the board being “uncomfortable” with that “for some reason.”
Here's Rory McIlroy talking about the PGA Tour policy board and the "subset of people on the board that were maybe uncomfortable with me coming back on for some reason." pic.twitter.com/0skNOwtWxz
— Patrick McDonald (@pmcdonaldCBS) May 8, 2024
The Telegraph has reported that Tiger Woods was among the players who voted against McIlroy returning to the policy board.
The divide is apparently due to McIlroy pushing for the game of golf to unify, whereas Woods, reportedly, believes the PGA Tour is in a fine position where it currently stands.
The Associated Press added another wrinkle to the situation, reporting that Woods is the only player who will be negotiating directly with the Saudis.
The other members of the committee are PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, board chairman Joe Gorder, John W. Henry of Fenway Sports Group, and Joe Ogilvie, who was a former PGA Tour player.
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