World rankings becoming ‘obsolete’, says LIV’s Smith
RIYADH: British Open champion and LIV Golf rebel Cameron Smith claimed on Wednesday that the world golf rankings are becoming “obsolete” as a consequence of the sport’s civil war.
The 29-year-old Australian joined the controversial breakaway series last year after rising to No.2 in the world.
That followed a series of spectacular performances, including winning the 150th British Open at St Andrews, the Players Championship, the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii and the Australian PGA Championship. He has, however, slipped to number four in the rankings.
The Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) Board received an application from LIV Golf in July last year, but is yet to make any announcement.
In the meantime, former world No.1 Dustin Johnson has fallen to 46, Bryson DeChambeau has slipped from 24 to 96, while Phil Mickelson is 254th compared to 38th at this time last year.
“I’ve tried not to take it that badly, to be honest,” said Smith on Wednesday as he prepared to play the Asian Tour’s US$5 million season-opener, the Saudi International which features a host of LIV players.
“I think when you rock up at a tournament, you know who you have to beat, whether there is a world ranking or not. There are generally seven-eight guys that are in that field that you know are going to put up a pretty good fight.
“For sure, it hurts. I feel as though I was really close to getting to No.1, and that was definitely something I wanted to tick off. However, the longer this stuff goes on, I think the more obsolete those rankings become.”
Smith said it would be difficult to replicate a season like 2022, but he is hoping he can make a similar start like last year when he won the Tournament of Champions with a record score of 34-under par.
“I think 2022 probably would be a really tough one to back up,” said Smith, who started his professional career with a season on the Asian Tour before securing his card on the PGA Tour.
“It’s just about keeping the same processes going, really digging deep, working hard on my game. I think that is really what I need to do. Everything becomes easy when you’re playing good golf.”