Cam absence ‘awkward’
CHAMPION’S OMISSION CAUSES DISQUIET
THE emergence of LIV Golf has made for some uncomfortable situations over the past 12 months but few compare with the absence of defending champion Cameron Smith from The Players Championship this week.
It was a fact acknowledged by PGA Tour boss Jay Monahan, who conceded it was “awkward” that Smith, banned from playing after his defection to the start-up tour last year, wasn’t in the field.
But it’s not just Smith who isn’t playing.
Five of last year’s top-10 finishers at TPC Sawgrass have since moved to LIV Golf, including runner-up Anirban Lahiri, Dustin Johnson, Paul Casey and Harold Varner III.
While Rory McIlroy said it would “absolutely” be better for the defending champion to play in the showpiece $37m event, considered by many to be the “fifth major”, he basically said Smith in particular had made his bed and had to lie in it.
“Would it be better if the defending champion was here this week? Absolutely,” he 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 Jon Rahm said normally a defending champion should always play, but this was different.
“Some players made a choice of going to a different golf league knowing that they weren’t going to be allowed to play here,” he said.
“And yes, this is a massive event. It is very close to a major, but it’s still a PGA Tour event. So with that regard, no, I don’t think just him should be allowed to be here.”
For his part Monahan, who has announced a sweep of changes to the PGA Tour in direct response to LIV’s emergence, conceded it was hard to escape the disquiet among many that Smith was not at the tournament.
“Listen, Cam Smith had a great performance in 2022. He was a deserved champion,” he said. “To answer your question directly, yes, it’s awkward. But you know, ultimately that’s a decision he made, and we’ve got an unbelievable field here this week.”
Amid rumblings about a potential shift to allow LIV defectors back on the PGA Tour, Monahan was blunt, declaring his position “had not changed”, meaning it was unlikely.
“Our position, to answer your question directly, has not changed,” he said.