Cam Smith was one of the players who may not have been particularly thankful to Brooks Koepka, after his departure from LIV Golf left the spotlight on those who also had the opportunity to return to the PGA Tour.
The PGA Tour launched the Returning Members Program to ensure that Brooks Koepka could come back swiftly. The program ensured that any LIV Golf player who had won a major or The Players Championship since the start of 2022 could come back under certain conditions.
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Cam Smith, Bryson DeChambeau, and Jon Rahm were the three players who could follow Koepka. So understandably, there was plenty of focus on what the trio would do next.
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Publicly, all three pledged their allegiance to LIV for the upcoming season. But with contracts to consider – Koepka reportedly had to pay $30 million just to leave LIV – there is always the potential for the players to keep their cards close to their chest for the time being.
Smith always appeared to be the least likely player to return. LIV has had success in Australia, with Adelaide emerging as its flagship event.
And speaking on The Rick Shiels Golf Show after recently filming with the Ripper GC captain, Rick Shiels insisted that Smith does not appear to be hiding his true feelings about the idea of returning to the PGA Tour.
“All I know from him is he absolutely loves LIV. He loves being a captain of his team. He loves the lifestyle. He loves the fact he can spend more time at home with his family. He’s only 31 years old, but he strikes me as someone much more mature,” he said.
“He’s very invested in the growth of Australian professionals, growth of the sport of golf in Australia, loves going to Adelaide where the event is in a few weeks. I got no indication off him at all that he was not happy. He is a very, very, very happy man. And his golf shows that.”
LIV need to see a lot more from Smith after a nightmare 2025 season
It is inevitable that there are going to be world-class players who are not driven by the idea of winning the most prestigious events on the biggest tour. And that should be absolutely fine.
While it is more than fair enough to dislike LIV Golf, you can understand why a number of the players did decide to make the jump. The PGA Tour was far from perfect.
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Nevertheless, it is a shame that Smith’s game does not appear to have benefited from signing with LIV. He was at the peak of his powers when he made the jump having just won The Open Championship.
But Smith was the only player to miss all four cuts in the majors last year. He also finished 18th in the season standings on LIV, with just one top five finish.
His performance at the Australian Open was encouraging ahead of 2026. But clearly, LIV will want a lot more from Smith if he is going to stay for the foreseeable future.
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