Greg Norman lavished praise on new Open champion Cam Smith yesterday to increase the chances of his fellow Aussie becoming the highest-ranked player to join LIV Golf.
New world No.2 Smith shot a fearless 64 to win the 150th Open at St Andrews and equal the Major scoring record of 20-under par. He also became only the second player after Jack Nicklaus in 1978 to win The Players Championship and The Open in the same year. And the Aussie was also congratulated on his “unbelievable” performance by the Golden Bear.
But Smith pointedly refused to rule out joining the Saudi-backed rebel tour in his winner’s press conference. And Norman, the last Aussie champion in 1993, tweeted to his fellow Queenslander: “Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi! A spectacular final round mate. A triumph for you and for Australia as the first Australian to win in 29 years. You’re in good company. Enjoy every moment of your Open victory.”
European Ryder Cup captain Henrik Stenson and former Masters champions Hideki Matsuyama and Adam Scott have also been closely linked with LIV Golf. Signings are usually announced before LIV events, and the next is at Trump Bedminster in New Jersey on July 29.
But Smith, who could wait to play until after the PGA Tour playoffs next month, would be the first top-10 player to sign up. And his charismatic, swashbuckling style would be a big plus for LIV Golf - and a loss for the PGA Tour. The 26-year-old's Kiwi caddie, Sam Pinfield, said: "He has got a big set of balls. He is just a real battler and bulldog. He loves to fight,”
But Pinfield insisted Smith is also “a pretty calm customer” - and he showed that after blowing the lead during his rocky, third-round 73 to start the final round four shots back. “Don’t worry,” joked Smith. “We needed to give them a head start anyway.”
Smith also had to silence the strong home support for Rory McIlroy. Former Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger said: “You had to feel like 95 per cent of the folks were pulling for one man. That's something to overcome.
"Jack [Nicklaus] had to overcome it against Arnold [Palmer]. Anyone that would ever try to beat Tiger [Woods] down the stretch would have to battle the crowd as well. Cam Smith did that and boy, he has got a lot of heart, a lot of guts.”
Viktor Hovland said: “I've played with Cam a lot. He's obviously super impressive. He doesn't have that wow factor when you look at him. It's just unbelievable how he's able to just get the ball in the hole. He'll hit a bad shot and [it] just doesn't seem to bother him because he knows that he's going to hit a great next shot. That's what golf is all about. He's a worthy champion for sure."
