Jay Monahan has conceded this week's Players Championship will be "awkward" due to the absence of reigning champion Cameron Smith.
The high-profile LIV Golf rebel won last year's competition by a single stroke to claim the biggest payday of his career on the PGA Tour, of which Monahan is the commissioner. Smith, 29, recently teased it "would be pretty funny" if he turned up at TPC Sawgrass as a paying fan, but the American was complimentary of the titleholder despite his unfortunate omission.
“Cameron Smith had a great performance in 2022,” said the PGA Tour boss. “He was a deserved champion. I think as I look to this week and I look at the field that we have here and the strength from top to bottom, I think when we leave here on Sunday night we’re going to crown another deserving champion.
