Cameron Smith has revealed life as a LIV Golf player is 'unreal' as the Open champion gets set to head back to his homeland to compete in Adelaide next week.
Smith became one of the marquee names to make the controversial move last summer, as the Australian star jumped ship just weeks after his famous maiden major win at St Andrews. The Aussie was no doubt a big loss for the PGA Tour, having been ranked second in the world and the Champion Golfer of the Year at the time.
Unsurprisingly 29-year-old Smith faced a host of criticism after making his controversial move to the Saudi-backed series last August.
Eight months on though the Brisbane-born star seems more than happy with the decision he made. Smith was given the opportunity to captain the all-Aussie LIV team Ripper GC ahead of the 2023 season, teaming up with fellow countrymen Marc Leishman, Matt Jones and Jediah Morgan.
And for Smith, the team aspect of the Saudi-funded setup is a big plus. "You know, when we‘re here at the golf course we’d like shadows, we don’t leave each other’s side, other than playing the golf,” he said per Fox Sports.
“I definitely don‘t regret anything that I’ve done. This is unreal out here.” The 29-year-old earned quite the compliment from LIV CEO and fellow Aussie Greg Norman, after the former world No. 1 lauded him 'the best thing that happened to us'.
Discussing how he lured in the Open champion, Norman said: "I have a lot of respect for all these guys making the decision they made. They made the decision on the presentation that we gave them, the offer we gave them, you respect them for doing that. I respect anybody for making the decision when they know the facts.
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“When I started talking to Cam, I didn’t want to push it. These guys have got to find their own way, knowing what is out there. To get from the offer, to signing it, to get to that point, you’ve got to go through a lot. It’s no different to when I signed on as CEO. So when I did the presentation to Cam I sat back and let it go and I didn’t I push it at all.
"We had a couple of conversations. And then when the time came, he was ready. He found the way he found the way down that path of the journey he wanted to do. When he came on board. It was like 'oh my gosh', the best thing that happened to us to be honest with you.”
