Cameron Smith could show up at The Players as a paying punter this week - and a box-office grouping featuring the three best players in the world is tantalising viewing even for the frozen out Australian.
The world no.5 will become the first champion not to defend his title on the PGA Tour's flagship event through non-injury reasons at TPC Sawgrass. There has been a considerable fall from competitive relevance for Smith, arguably the worlds best when he ousted Rory McIlroy to win the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews last July.
His defection to LIV Golf has forced him to not only give up his PGA Tour card, but also his playing and practising membership privileges at the iconic Stadium Course just around the corner from his Florida home.
While his Australian flag will fly high next to the clubhouse recognising his epic one-shot win over Anirban Lahiri in the weather-delayed 2022 event, he will not be teeing it up at Sawgrass after choosing the riches on the Saudi-funded rebel LIV circuit.
"I grew up my whole childhood watching the event and yeah, I’d love to get out there," Smith told Golf.com. "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.”
Smith's presence at Sawgrass would no doubt cause quite the stir, but who could blame him for wanting to catch a glimpse of McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm all playing together?
The three major champions all vying for the world number one spot will tee it up in a fascinating grouping at The Players. McIlroy recently compared the world no.1 ranking to a "hot potato" being thrown around between the trio because they are all playing such "great golf".
The Northern Irishman and Masters champion Scheffler both came up just short at last week's Arnold Invitational and arrive at The Players in ominous form. Current world no.1 Rahm, meanwhile, has been an explosive winning machine on the PGA Tour of late. The esteemed triumvirate will begin their opening round at 12:56pm on Thursday in a field that includes 19 of the top 20 in the rankings, excluding only Smith.
There are plenty of other fascinating groupings with close friends Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas playing alongside an emerging future US Ryder Cup teammate in Max Homa. Meanwhile, Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland and Shane Lowry make up a strong European grouping at Sawgrass.
A penny for the thoughts of the one glaring omission, however. Smith would have no doubt have been part of this epic number one battle had he remained loyal to the PGA Tour. Instead he has taken the guaranteed riches on offer at LIV, at some cost.
