LIV Golf chief Greg Norman has hailed the signing of Cameron Smith as "the best thing that happened to us".
The Saudi-backed series has driven a huge wedge through the world of golf, providing competition to the PGA and DP World Tours by offering huge sums of guaranteed cash to those who join. It has seen a host of players, many of whom are now in the twilights of their careers, move over.
It was the capture of Norman's compatriot Smith however, that caused the world to take note. The Australian had reached a career high of world No.2 after winning the Open at St Andrews, which came after his victory at The Players, meaning he'd made the jump whilst at his peak.
Norman knew it was a very personal decision to jump ship for every player, so was overawed when he convinced Smith to make the switch. He said: “I have a lot of respect for all these guys making the decision they made. They made the decision on the presentation that we gave them, the offer we gave them, you respect them for doing that. I respect anybody for making the decision when they know the facts.
“When I started talking to Cam, I didn’t want to push it. These guys have got to find their own way, knowing what is out there. To get from the offer, to signing it, to get to that point, you’ve got to go through a lot. It’s no different to when I signed on as CEO.
"So when I did the presentation to Cam I sat back and let it go and I didn’t I push it at all. We had a couple of conversations. And then when the time came, he was ready. He found the way he found the way down that path of the journey he wanted to do. When he came on board. It was like 'oh my gosh', the best thing that happened to us to be honest with you.”
Smith is the only LIV member to hold a spot in the top 10 currently, with the likes of Rory Mcilroy, Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas and Colin Morikawa all remaining loyal to the PGA.
Smith's decision to move over ridded him of the chance to retain his Players Championship title, with Scheffler instead claiming his first victory at TPC Sawgrass. Several LIV rebels also recently saw a court side against them after they contested major fines imposed by the DP World Tour for making the switch.
There was LIV presence at the Masters last weekend as Brooks Koepka went into the final round at Augusta as the leader, only to be beaten by Jon Rahm. He became just the second man after Norman himself to be sat on 12 under through two round at a major, but fail to win.
