Cameron Smith's absence from The Players has provided an uncomfortable backdrop to the PGA Tour's flagship event at TPC Sawgrass this week.
World No.5 Smith is unable to defend the title he won at the 2022 weather-delayed event after his shock defection to LIV Golf last year.
The Australian is indefinitely suspended from the PGA Tour after the ditching the American circuit for the riches of the Saudi-funded breakaway on the back of his first major triumph at the Open in St Andrews last July.
And Smith - a local Jacksonville resident who has joked he might walk the Stadium Course as a paying punter instead - is the first ever winner not to defend his Players crown for non-injury reasons.
Smith would almost certainly have been fighting for the world number one spot alongside Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm this week had he not been tempted by a lucrative offer from LIV last year.
And PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan admitted that Smith's glaring omission from a field made up of the world's best players was "awkward."
But while McIlroy would have preferred the defending champion to be competing at the $25m Sawgrass showpiece, the four-time major winner insisted the ramifications of Smith's LIV switch were made abundantly clear.
“Would it be better if the defending champion was here this week? Absolutely,” McIlroy said. “But he made a decision that he felt was the best thing for him, and he knew that decision was going to come with consequences, and one of the consequences is right now not being able to play on the PGA Tour.”
World no.1 Rahm shared McIlroy's view: "I feel like as defending champion you've earned a right, but we're talking about a very unique circumstance in the world of golf," the Spaniard said.
Rahm continued: "Some players made a choice of going to a different golf league knowing that they weren't going to be allowed to play here. Yes, this is a massive event. It is very close to major quality event, but it's still a PGA Tour event. So, with that regard, no."
