LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman has insisted it is ‘too late’ for the top PGA Tour stars to make the switch to the controversial series amid rumours Open champion Cameron Smith is set to join.
The lucrative LIV Golf series is funded by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and it has divided golf, leaving the PGA and DP World Tours fractured after the new series poached some of the sports biggest names. Several of the world’s most prominent players have decided to switch to LIV Golf, including the likes of Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, and Dustin Johnson.
Amid heavy rumours linking reigning Champion Golfer of the Year Smith to the Saudi-backed tour, Norman has insisted the door is closed on those who now want to join the breakaway circuit. The Australian believes it is ‘too late’ for any more names to switch, although this will likely not be before the acquisition of Smith.
LIV Golf can boast a roster of stars ahead of the series becoming a 14-event league in 2023, and Norman does not want the field to get too crowded with Smith reportedly set to join. He said: “There will be more player announcements before [the FedEx Cup Playoffs]. But we’re set on the maximum amount of players.
“It’s interesting, we’re still getting calls from agents of top-40 players in the world wanting to join LIV but it’s too late now. What it tells me though, is what we’re doing is very appealing to the world’s best players.”
Norman has lured a number of players to LIV Golf since it rose to prominence over the last few months, and Smith appears to be the next in line. The Australian remained coy over his links to LIV after he claimed the Claret Jug at the 150th edition of The Open - but compatriot Cam Percy admitted it was a done deal.
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“Unfortunately, yeah, they’re gone,” Percy told RSN when asked about Smith and Marc Leishman switching to LIV Golf, before he criticised the Saudi state.
“The more and more you look into it, some people don’t care – some people have got a conscience and do care. They’re not the nicest people in the world. Do you just look past that and go, ‘oh well, I’m rich. I don’t really care’.
“It’s a tough one, it really is.”
The Telegraph confirmed Smith’s move to LIV is done, but the 28-year-old continued to avoid denying or confirming rumours at his press conference ahead of the St Jude Classic - the first of the PGA Tour’s end of season FedEx Cup play-offs. Smith said: “I have no comment to that. I’m here to play the FedExCup Playoffs, that’s been my focus for the last week and a half.
“If there’s something I need to say regarding the PGA Tour or LIV, it will come from Cameron Smith and not Cameron Percy.”
It remains to be seen when Smith would link up with the LIV Golf series, where former Europe Ryder Cup captain Henrik Stenson won the third event - which took place in Bedminster - to earn a £3.37 million payout.
The prize money was substantially more than the £2.08 million awarded to Smith for securing the coveted Open title last month.
