Jon Rahm’s arrival on the LIV tour in 2024 raised the bar for the other competitors according to Aussie star Cam Smith, debunking any sense of a drop in desire amid monstrous sign-on cheques for so many players.
Smith has returned to Adelaide for the second instalment of an event he called the best of 2023 and which set a benchmark for the fledgling tour in terms of crowds and atmosphere that left the Queenslander and his LIV playing cohort excited rather than daunted by the prospect of an 18-hour flight to Australia.
Getting home more was a key reason for Smith’s own nine-figure move to LIV and a lengthy trip to Australia last summer included playing in three events, the Australian PGA, the Australian Open and even the emerging Cathedral Invitational in Victoria’s high country.
Straight after another bold showing at the Masters last week, Smith headed to Queensland where he took in a rare Brisbane Broncos game last Saturday before heading to Adelaide to begin his preparation to go better than his tie for third at the inaugural event at The Grange.
But he said one of the “learnings” from last year was to take it a bit easier when his clubs were down, having famously done a “shoey” with DJ Fisher at the post-play on-course party, among other activities, which didn’t allow him to give his best.
“That’s one of the things I took away from last year. I’m probably not going to do that as much,” Smith said.
“We learnt a lot, particularly in the preparation of last year. We were pretty busy and we were probably pretty drained by the time the tournament started.
“We learned a lot from that and a lot of prep has gone into making sure we have no excuses this year, and we can try and lift that team trophy at the end of the week.
“That has definitely been the goal since the start of the year – this is our big one.”
LIV wins have been harder to come by for Smith in 2024 after capturing two in 2023.
Before jetting to Adelaide, he said the arrival of the likes of two-time major champ Rahm and English Ryder Cup gun Tyrrell Hatton had forced the established players to lift.
Defying golfing great Nick Faldo’s call that those on LIV were playing “resort courses in their shorts”, Smith said the competitive instincts had to lift as the talent on tour increased year on year.
“Not only him (Rahm) but a few more guys really setting the benchmark really high and you can even tell just with people’s prep and what they are doing before tournaments that everything is kind of a bit more keyed in this year,” Smith told NewsCorp.
“People just want to play better and beat each other. It’s definitely a different atmosphere out here this year.”
Despite lengthy delays in ongoing merger talks between the US PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the money behind LIV, Smith said the previous tension had evaporated.
Ongoing rumours about potential player shifts, the latest being Rory McIlroy, which he quickly extinguished, continued to have off-course talk taking away from on-course deeds.
But ahead of what he said would be a “magic week” in Adelaide, Smith sensed the mood had shifted, and there was a growing want to embrace the quality of golf on show on the LIV tour.
“That’s the way I have seen it from my perspective and how do we make this the best that it can be and you’ve got the players trying to be the best they can be,” he said.
“We are just doing our stuff and our tour is definitely stronger this year and it will keep getting stronger.”
Source Agencies
