Why Cam Smith has shown up other LIV Golf stars at this week’s Queensland PGA Championship

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Aussie LIV Golf star Cameron Smith is back on home soil at this week’s Queensland PGA Championship at Nudgee Golf Club’s Kurrai Course.

Smith, who helped Ripper GC win the LIV Team Championship in Dallas, is six under after the third day’s play, three shots back of leader Phoenix Campbell.

The 2022 Open Championship winner was paired with Australian teenagers Wesley Hinton and Kayun Mudadana, his 2024 scholarship recipients, during the first two rounds, and Smith’s eagerness to participate in Queensland deserves praise.

Cam Smith sets LIV Golf example at Queensland PGA Championship

• READ MORE: Winless LIV Golf player has outperformed Scottie Scheffler’s approach play in 2024

Smith returning to his home state and competing alongside some of the country’s brightest young prospects is the definition of ‘growing the game’, something several LIV Golf players continuously mention to justify their decision to move to the Saudi-backed breakaway venture.

However, only a handful of LIV stars have actively sought change.

Smith’s presence at this week’s Queensland PGA, coupled with the work done during LIV Golf’s Adelaide event, will do wonders for Australian golf in the future.

After the likes of Adam Scott and Jason Day set the tone for those down under in the early 2010s, there’s no doubt Smith is the man to take Australian golf to new heights.

Phil Mickelson and Ian Poulter should follow Cameron Smith’s example

Phil Mickelson and Ian Poulter are just two LIV Golf players who could learn a thing or two from Smith’s actions.

“I just see that the game of golf is going to grow on a much more global basis because of the excitement and the presence that LIV Golf has,” Mickelson told Bloomberg.

Unfortunately, Mickelson, apart from the odd YouTube video with Bryson DeChambeau, hasn’t emulated Smith. Unlike a number of breakaway league players, the six-time major winner hasn’t been seen at any DP World Tour or Asian Tour events.

Poulter was another who pledged to grow the game after making the LIV move. “For me, the chance to grow the game and broaden its appeal to those who wouldn’t normally watch represents a new chapter. And that part is just starting,” the Englishman told GQ.

Instead, the former European Ryder Cup star hasn’t featured in a DP World Tour event since 2022 and has been confined to LIV Golf since he decided to quit the PGA Tour.