LIV Golf star takes aim at PGA Tour: 'It was the best decision of my life, I'm much happier'
Former Open champion Cameron Smith admits life on LIV Golf as opposed to the PGA Tour has made him 'a much happier person'.
Cameron Smith has revealed moving from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf was the 'best decision' of his life and one that has made him 'a much happier person'.
Smith, 31, made his feelings be known during an interview with the Herald Sun ahead of competing in four tournaments in his native Australia.
The 150th Open champion is a proud captain of Ripper GC, who won the season-ending Team Championship for the first time last month.
Ripper GC is made up of an all-Australian team, comprising Smith, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones and Lucas Herbert.
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Smith left the PGA Tour to join the Saudi-bankrolled LIV Golf circuit just months after etching his name on the famous Claret Jug on the Old Course at St Andrews in July 2022.
It is understood the Australian accepted a fee in the region of $100m for his services.
Smith has since gone on to amass more than $40m in on-course earnings in just two and half seasons on LIV Golf.
That is nearly $15m more than what he earned in nine previous seasons on the PGA Tour.
But aside from an inflated bank balance, it is the physical and mental benefits of having much more freedom on LIV Golf that Smith has enjoyed most.
"It was the best decision of my life," Smith told Herald Sun of leaving the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf.
"Not only from where the tour is going and where it will end up but also from a life standpoint as well.
"The extra time I get to spend in Australia compared to what I used to means a lot.
"I feel like I am a much happier person now compared to where I was before."
Related: Who is Cam Smith's wife?
Those sentiments were last week echoed by his Ripper GC teammate Herbert.
"I played so much more in 2023, but it's just a perfect schedule now," Herbert said.
"You get your time to get away from the game and get your development blocks to be able to get better, not just from a perspective of hitting balls for three or four days and then go to an event, you can actually really work on your game and elevate your skill set rather than just tune it up.
"So just the knowledge I've been able to zap from my teammates at various stages throughout the year has been awesome, and my game has massively benefited from that."
Herbert said it was also beneficial that travel and accomodation is taken care of with LIV.
"And not on our dollar, which is nice," he said.
Smith is getting ready to play in a quartet of tournaments over the next month in front of his adoring home fans.
The Australian has confirmed his participation in the Queensland PGA (31 October), New South Wales Open (14 November), BMW Australian PGA (21 November) and Australian Open (28 November).
Two of the four events hosted by the PGA Tour of Australasia are co-sanctioned on the DP World Tour (Australian PGA, Australian Open).
While the Australian PGA and Australian Open are contested in 2024, they will in fact form the first two tournaments of the DP World Tour's 2025 schedule.
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