Cameron Smith: "LIV Golf doesn't get the respect we maybe deserve"

Cameron Smith says LIV doesn't get the "respect from the golfing world that we maybe deserve" as he became the latest player to weigh in on the world ranking points debate. 

Smith, 32, was among the first players to be recruited by the Saudi Arabia-backed tour in 2022, three months after he was crowned the champion golfer of the year at the landmark 150th Open at St Andrews. 

At the time, LIV's reported $100m signing was ranked second to American Scottie Scheffler in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) but these days the Aussie is currently languishing in 227th. 

Given his talent, Smith is likely to move up the ladder this season after the sports global rankings body finally gave LIV Golf the green light for its players to receive points last week. 

It was a decision that has been heavily criticised by LIV and some of their players - including Jon Rahm - because it came with restrictions. 

Rahm said the OWGR's decision to only award points to the top 10 finishers in LIV events "wasn't fair", explaining that there are other events with smaller fields that receive full points. 

English tour pro Eddie Pepperell disagreed and stated LIV should "be grateful". 

"Jon is not a stupid guy, he's quite smart, so yeah these guys are really blinded by their position on LIV," Pepperell said. 

As for Smith, the Ripper captain agreed with Rahm that "it's a work in progress". 

"That's been a long time coming, so it's nice to get the recognition," Smith said. 

Smith added: "It's so hard out here. I don't think we get the respect of the golfing world that maybe we respect sometimes because of what it is and how we play.

"I think it's a work in progress, but it's a step in the right direction, nonetheless. It was good for Elvis last week. He loves it."

Smith was referring to his new teammate Elvis Smylie, who last week became the first player since Henrik Stenson to win a LIV Golf event on their debut. 

Smylie has now jumped inside the top 100 in the OWGR and, if he keeps up his good form, could potentially play his way into the top 50 and earn an invite to The Masters. 

Smith wasn't the only LIV captain to be asked about the OWGR situation ahead of their annual event this week in Adelaide. 

Former Masters champion Sergio Garcia said "time will tell" if it's fair. 

"It doesn't feel like it's totally fair," said Garcia. "With time, obviously. 

"Now the first few weeks obviously when one of us is winning, that guy is going to make a jump in the rankings, which is great, but then every time you finish 11th or worst you're getting a zero and you're getting an extra event on your divisor. 

"So that in the near, a little farther future, it can hurt a lot. But like I said, it's a step forward, so it is positive. 

"I think that at the end of the day, it's going to help some of these kids performing well to move up the rankings. Hopefully they play really well.

"But unfortunately only 10 guys can finish in the top 10. Well, unless there's a couple of ties.

It would be nice if it was expanded a little bit farther as we probably think it should. But hopefully it'll come soon."