Smith win highlights world rankings farce
WHEN he held the Australian PGA trophy aloft for the third time on Sunday, it was the fifth time in 2022 that Cameron Smith smiled as a winner.
His 2022 haul is arguably better than world No.1 Rory Mcilroy’s, who won three times and was both the Fedex Cup and DP World Tour champion.
Smith, the world No.3, won both the Open Championship and The Players Championship, which he and others regard as the game’s fifth major, before his move to LIV Golf where he scored yet another win, and then came his victory in Queensland.
But among the sacrifices Smith made when he joined Greg Norman’s Saudi-backed league was giving up the chance to be world No.1.
His plight became clear when he earned just 10 world ranking points for his win at
Royal Queensland – half the points given to John Suh when he won the season-ending event on the Korn Ferry Tour in the US, which is the feeder for the US PGA Tour.
The LIV request to gain world ranking points has continued to meet hurdles given the 54-hole, no-cut events fail two of the key criteria.
It leaves Smith with just six potential events to earn points, including the Australian PGA and Australian Open, plus the four major championships.
World ranking points are crucial for LIV golfers who aren’t exempt for the majors, but Smith and others, including former Masters winners Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Sergio Garcia should be allowed to play at Augusta.
A formal decision on their presence is yet to be made, but Smith said recently the majors should be open to anyone who qualified through established processes.