Cameron Smith makes shocking LIV Golf revelation on eve of 2023 Masters

LIV Golf League player Cameron Smith admitted he misses the PGA Tour on the eve of the 2023 Masters, but the Aussie insists he's sleeping well at night.

Ben Smith

03 Apr 2023

Cameron Smith makes shocking LIV Golf revelation on eve of 2023 Masters

Cameron Smith joked if there was a plan for LIV Golf players to storm the 18th green at Augusta National should a 'rebel' player win the 2023 Masters then he was left out of the discussions.

The last time Smith, 29, faced the media at a major championship he was trying to deflect questions about joining a 'Saudi-backed' golf tour led by Greg Norman after he won the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews.

"I think that's pretty not good mate," Smith sniped as he sat alongside the Claret Jug, firing back at the reporter who asked if he was going.

Now we know the answer. Smith signed a deal said to be north of $100m to join the breakaway tour and now captains the all-Australian Ripper side.

He's tasted victory on the circuit, last year in Chicago, but this week will mark the first Masters played since the sport was splintered.

Smith met with the media on 3 April where - as you would expect - he was asked about the presence of LIV at this year's Masters.

There is reportedly a plan hatched by Norman to raid the 18th green should a LIV player slip on the green jacket.

Norman said the idea gives him goosebumps.

As for Smith, he said:

"There definitely hasn't been a conversation with me. If there was one, I definitely got left out of that one (laughter).

"I'm not sure what's going to happen, mate, I guess we'll see how the week unfolds.

"For sure I'd love to see one of us guys get up to the top of the leaderboard and really give it a nice shot."

He added:

"I think for me, I'm just trying to play the best golf I can. For me it's frustration when I'm playing like this on any tour.

"As the LIV Tour grows and the fields get deeper and stronger and all that stuff unfolds, it's just going to be better and better. I can't wait to see it unfold personally."

Smith was asked if he he misses the PGA Tour.

Brooks Koepka has admitted he misses competing against Rory McIlroy and reigning Masters champion Scottie Scheffler.

The Aussie said:

"Yeah, for sure there's been a couple of tournaments that I really have enjoyed in the past that I feel like I've missed out on.

"But at the same time, I've made my bed and I'm happy, very, very happy where I am. I'm happy to sleep in the bed I'm in basically."

So what about possible tension between the players this week?

Smit said:

"I wasn't really sure to be honest. Yeah, I was just kind of letting it all kind of happen naturally. [I] went out on to the range and did my stuff, and did my work and yeah, it was just a really nice experience.

"I don't know -- I didn't want to expect too much but at the same time, I kind of wanted that, not only for myself but just for the game of golf.

"I think there's a lot of stuff going on at the moment that doesn't need to be going on, especially in the media.

"I think it's definitely wound up a little bit too much."

It was put to Smith that he's potentially playing in a league that is 'commensurate' to his talents.

Lest we forget Smith also won the 2022 Players Championship. It was off the back of winning in Hawaii with a record-low PGA Tour score.

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Smith said:

"I think the competition's there. I just don't think it's as deep. Like I said before, we have lots of good guys that have won lots of really prestigious tournaments, majors.

"There's definitely lot of guys that keep you on your toes, and I don't think that's a problem. I think I'm just not playing really good golf at the moment, and I'm trying to fix that."

Smith also confirmed he has brought Ripper-branded clothing with him this week. But he packed non-branded gear just in case he was asked not to wear it.

He added:

"I think it's just important for LIV guys to be up there because I think we need to be up there. I think there's a lot of chatter about these guys don't play real golf; these guys don't play real golf courses.

"For sure, I'll be the first one to say, the fields aren't as strong. I'm the first one to say that.

"But we've still got a lot of guys up there that can play some really serious golf, and we compete against each other hard week-in and week-out and we're trying to do the same things that we did six months ago.

"It's nice. It's a good feeling to have that competition, and it's good to see Brooks win last week. He's playing some really good golf again."

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