The worst-kept secret in golf is official: world No.2 Cameron Smith is quitting the PGA Tour for LIV Golf, and he’s being joined by fellow Aussie Marc Leishman.
LIV Golf today announced the field for its fourth event of the year, the LIV Golf Invitational Boston, teeing off September 2-4 at The International. The field includes six players making their LIV Golf debuts, including 2022 Open Champion Cameron Smith, world No.62 Leishman, world No.19 and top Chilean golfer Joaquin Niemann, Americans Harold Varner III (No.46) and Cameron Tringale (No.55) and India’s top-ranked pro Anirban Lahiri (No.92).
“LIV Golf is showing the world that our truly global league is attracting the world’s best players and will grow the game into the future for the next generation,” said Greg Norman, chief executive and commissioner of LIV Golf.
“The best and the brightest continue to embrace the excitement and energy of LIV Golf and what we’re building: a tangible league for team golf that will connect with new audiences all over the globe. We can’t wait to tee off this week at The International and deliver another memorable event experience for fans.”
Also making his first LIV Golf appearance is two-time Masters champion and former world No.2 Bubba Watson, who will debut as a non-playing captain and will make on-air contributions to live event coverage.
After much speculation, Smith becomes the highest-ranked player to compete in a LIV Golf event. Winner of the 2022 Open Championship in July at St Andrews, the 150th playing of golf’s oldest Major, the Queenslander has eight professional wins including the Players Championship earlier this year. Smith has amassed 48 additional top-10 finishes and is a consistent contender in the Majors, including finishing T-4th at the 2015 US Open – his first Major start – and earning four top-10 finishes at the Masters (T-5th 2018, T-2nd 2020, T-10th 2021, T-3rd 2022). A two-time Australian PGA Championship winner (2017-2018), Smith has also represented his home country in international team competitions including the 2018 World Cup, the 2019 Presidents Cup and the Tokyo Olympics.
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Smith’s move to LIV Golf is now expected to automatically rule him out of next month’s Presidents Cup, much to the angst of Internationals Captain Trevor Immelman. Smith was the International’s No.1-ranked player but it’s been widely reported that LIV players will be banned by the PGA Tour and become ineligible to play in the Presidents Cup, which will tee off from September 22-25 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“The timeline is barrelling down on us now,” Immelman told Australian Golf Digest earlier this week. “I feel we are close to getting a lot of clarity around who is going to be at Quail Hollow.”
Not helping Immelman’s stress levels this week is news that 23-year-old Niemann has also jumped ship. The current world No.19 golfer has two professional wins, 26 top-10 finishes, and represented Chile as part of the International Team in the 2019 Presidents Cup and the Tokyo Olympics.
Fellow International Team lock Leishman has 13 professional victories and an additional 64 top-10 finishes, including three notable showings at the Masters (T-4th 2013, 9th 2018, T-5th 2021) and The Open Championship (T-5th 2014, T- 2nd 2015, T-6th 2017). A former Rookie of the Year who has been ranked as high as No. 12 in the world, the Australian is a consistent competitor on international stages, including the Tokyo Olympics, two World Cups (2016, 2018) and four Presidents Cups (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019).
Varner III, currently 46th in the world, is a two-time winner as a pro including the 2015 Australian PGA Championship and the 2022 PIF Saudi International presented by Softbank Investment Partners. The memorable Asian Tour event featured a thrilling finish, where Varner sunk a 92-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole to defeat fellow LIV Golf competitor Bubba Watson by 1 stroke. Consistently a fan favourite, Varner has 24 top-10 finishes over his professional career, which began in 2012 following a successful collegiate career at East Carolina University where he earned honors as Conference USA Player of the Year.
For more than 80 consecutive weeks, American Cameron Tringale has been ranked among the world’s top 100 players. The California native has 30 top-10 finishes in his career and was a three-time NCAA All- American at Georgia Tech.
Lahiri, a two-time Olympian for India, has amassed 18 wins and an additional 55 top-10 finishes throughout his professional career and is a huge coup for the start-up league, which will be looking to secure lucrative TV rights deals in key markets across the globe for 2023 and beyond. Runner-up at the 2022 Players Championship to winner Smith, Lahiri has twice represented the International Team at the Presidents Cup (2015, 2017), is a three-time representative for Asia in the EurAsia Cup (2014, 2016, 2018), and is a two-time competitor in the World Cup (2013, 2018).
The Boston field will showcase seven No.1-ranked players within their respective countries, 12 Major champions with a combined 22 Majors, and four former world No.1 players. The global field has 13 Olympians, represents 14 different countries, features 20 players with 10 or more professional wins and includes current and future stars of the game who have earned NCAA National Championships and US Amateur Championships among their accomplishments.
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The 48-man field will play across 12 teams of four players each. Teams will be announced in the coming days.
“The LIV Golf Invitational Boston offers opportunities for golfers from around the world including the Asian Tour, DP World Tour, PGA Tour, Sunshine Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia and Japan Golf Tour, as well as leading players from The International Series, which launched in Thailand in March, and top finishers from the LIV Golf Invitational Series,” a LIV Golf spokesperson said via a media release. “LIV Golf will continue to reward players that compete and perform well in LIV events, with a broad spectrum of exemption categories designed to ensure it delivers new opportunities for international golfers, as well as pathways for amateurs and the next generation of leading players, into elite professional golf.”
The LIV Golf Invitational Series launched June 9 to a worldwide audience showcasing its new, innovative format with 12 teams, 48 players, shotgun starts and no cut. Building on LIV Golf’s successful start and the incredible feedback received from players and fans, it was announced on July 27 that the LIV Golf League will officially launch in 2023 with 12 established team franchises competing in a 14-tournament schedule. The full slate of events will be announced at a later date and is expected to expand LIV Golf’s global footprint across North and Latin Americas, Asia, Australia, the Middle East and Europe.
Complete, live coverage of LIV Golf tournaments is globally available direct to consumers on LIVGolf.com, YouTube and Facebook. LIV Golf event broadcasts are also aired live on a global roster of leading premium and free-to-air broadcasters providing coverage in over 180 territories around the world. The list of global networks covering the LIV Golf Invitational Series is available on LIVGolf.com.
– MORE TO COME
