Fellow Aussie: Brit champ going to LIV

LIV Golf has claimed another PGA Tour member, perhaps its most prized acquisition.

British Open champion Cameron Smith will join the Saudi-backed league, according to fellow Australian golfer Cameron Percy.

Just last month, Smith got agitated when asked about his PGA Tour future right after his masterful Open performance at St. Andrews, where he edged out Rory McIlroy and Cameron Young with a birdie on the 72nd hole to hoist the Claret Jug and claim his first major.

“I just won the British Open and you’re asking about that? I think that’s pretty not that good,” Smith said.

When questioned futher, the 28-year-old remained evasive.

“I don’t know, mate. My team around me worries about all that stuff, I’m here to win golf tournaments,” Smith said.

It seems Smith will now be taking his winning ways to LIV Golf. Percy informed RSN Radio that Smith, the No. 2 ranked golfer, and fellow Aussie Marc Leishman have all but officially left the PGA Tour.

“[It’s] unfortunate, yeah, they’re gone,” Percy said.

Smith’s departure raises questions about his presence at the FedEx Cup playoff opener this week, which he is scheduled to attend. Three LIV defectors — Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford and Matt Jones — are engaged in court hearings as the PGA Tour attempts to bar them from competing in the event.

Percy said he has seen LIV Golf ’s expansion on the horizon for quite some time.

“I had a long conversation with Adam Scott, and he was very interesting talking to about it, just where it is,” Percy said. “He said he met with these guys [LIV] in 2017 [and] they were ready [to] do all this. So, the tour has known for a long time that this stuff ’s in the works.”

Percy criticized those who have defected to the new league, harping on the funding LIV Golf receives from the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia.