Adam Scott: Aussie LIV Golf players knew sacrifices before leaving PGA Tour

Former World No.1 Adam Scott said it would be "unfortunate" if players such as Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman would be ineligible to play in the 2024 Olympics in France.

Matt Chivers

11 Jan 2023

Adam Scott: Aussie LIV Golf players knew sacrifices before leaving PGA Tour

Former Masters champion and World No.1 Adam Scott has stated Cameron Smith knew the sacrifices and risks involved with moving to the controversial LIV Golf Tour.

Speaking to the media ahead of the Sony Open in Hawaii, Scott said it would be unfortunate if Smith, Marc Leishman and Matt Jones became ineligible for the Australian golf team at the Olympics in 2024.

However, the 42-year-old admitted that his fellow countrymen knew that major championship and big event participation were in jeopardy by moving to the tour commissioned by Greg Norman, as well as giving up Official World Golf Rankings points for a sustained period.

Smith will line up at The Masters in April with Scott, but there is uncertainty over the other three major events to come. That being said, he is The Open champion so we can expect to see him tee off at Royal Liverpool in July.

"I think it would be unfortunate; however, again, like everyone said, they've made their decisions and some of those decisions - well, that decision may come with some sacrifice in the short or long-term," Scott said.

"In the short-term, it was sacrificing the ability to have world ranking points. If they didn't know that, then they're realising that's the case at the moment. So I think it would be unfortunate, yes, for Australia and their team.

"But, you know, it's not - Cam also made these decisions as did Leish and Matt Jones and any other Aussie who has gone on there. There may be some sacrifice. Seems like they're okay with living with that mostly, at least the Aussies seem that way."

Scott, who became just the seventh player to reach the $60 million mark in PGA Tour earnings at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, also weighed in on the OWGR debate.

Jon Rahm was once again left frustrated last week. He won his eighth Tour title and his third victory in his last five starts but since the first of this sequence at the acciona Open de Espana, he has only risen one place from 6th to 5th.

This has raised questions over the points weighing at each event and the consideration of quality and quantity in the field. One stark comparison was made with the RSM Classic and the DP World Tour Championship at the end of 2022.

The event in Dubai had seven of the world's top 25 players, albeit a smaller field, and there were fewer ranking points on offer than the RSM Classic which had no top 25 players involved.

"I don't think it's correct. Well, I don't think winning last week is getting awarded potentially enough. I shouldn't say that because I don't actually know who was all in the field, but the weight at the top of the points I don't think is enough," Scott added.

"Like I shouldn't get many. I beat about four people last week, so I shouldn't get a lot of points. But Jon Rahm beat a field of champion players on the PGA Tour and apparently the best 30 players on the tour for the year, so I think that's worthy of some points.

"At the top of the world rankings, too, there are a lot of points going on, so moving can be hard. Doesn't just mean he just goes to No. 1. I'm not saying he should.

"But he should get the points that he deserves, and I think somewhere in the world rankings like there always has been, although they tried to mathematically solve to this time, there has to be some kind of weighting, and that's going to be - I don't think that could be actually mathematically solved."