Cameron Smith is already “a very cashed up bogan from Queensland” according to his coach Grant Field, having pocketed over $14m in prize money this year. But the working class hero world No 2 will earn around 10 times that amount now he has become the moustache-twirling villain of golf by officially joining the rival LIV Golf series.
The decision, fresh off his first major win at the Open in July, will appall traditionalists. Smith, 29, was closing on the No 1 ranking, a feat only three Australians have achieved, and has the game to rattle the history books. Instead he will risk his future and legacy, to tee up against lesser players on poorer courses on golf’s version of a gap year.
