Greg Norman has been accused of ruining the potential great career of Cameron Smith by signing him for his Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour.
Smith, 29, has long been touted to mix it with the best before his maiden major win last year. The Australian produced a scintillating final round at the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews to overhaul Rory McIlroy and claim the Claret Jug.
But just weeks later, Smith then defected to Norman's rebel venture, delivering a seismic blow to the PGA Tour in the process. Considered the first high-level player to make the switch in the prime of his career, the Brisbane-born star received a reported £116million fee for his move.
But there have been consequences, with Smith falling away from the battle to be world No 1, with LIV tournaments not recognised by the OGWR system. And with rebels currently barred from PGA events, defending champion Smith will be notably absent from this week's Players' Championship at TPC Sawgrass - long dubbed the 'unofficial fifth major'.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has admitted the development has been 'awkward' for organisers, but former golfer and now pundit Brandel Chamblee had no doubt as to who was to blame. “It’s ironic to me that it might possibly be an Aussie that will keep another Aussie in Cameron Smith possibly from ascending to a spot where he’s considered the greatest player of all time (in Australia),” he told the Golf Channel.
“Supplanting Peter Thomson, he had that kind of talent. Norman didn’t get there but (Smith) could have easily supplanted Greg Norman as the second-best player of all time from Australia. That’s at least in my view where Cameron Smith was headed."
Smith initially argued that the prospect of more time off attracted him to LIV, who only play 54-hole events, but Chamblee believes the star has been badly misguided. “That’s what he’s turned his back on and a lot of it has to do with Greg Norman, and Cam Smith got a lot of bad advice from his agents and other people in the game around him trying to suck him into LIV," he added.
Smith didn't take long to settle into the new format, winning on his second outing in Chicago last September. He's previously admitted he would still be following the Players' Championship this year, even hinting he may yet turn up as a spectator.
"I think it’s a great event to watch," he said. "I grew up my whole childhood watching the event and yeah, I’d love to get out there. I don’t know how it would be received but even getting out there and watching, walking around in the crowd might be pretty funny.”
