Former world No 2 would like golf to \u2018go back to old times\u2019 if LIV folds<\/p>\n
\u2018I\u2019d hate to see it go away,\u2019 Australian says of rebel tour<\/p>\n
Cameron Smith wants LIV Golf to survive but if it doesn\u2019t, he would \u201c100%\u201d return to the PGA Tour.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, if it was the only option, I think that\u2019s where everyone would want to \u2060be for sure, 100%,\u201d the Australian former world No 2 said ahead of this week\u2019s LIV Golf New York event. \u201cIt would go back to old times.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Smith made it clear \u2060he would strongly prefer that \u2060the current times with LIV \u200bGolf can continue.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want it to work, really, to be honest. It\u2019s great fun out here. The team that we\u2019ve got, I feel like we make each other better, better people and better golfers as well,\u201d \u2060Smith said. \u201cYeah, I\u2019d hate to see it go away. We\u2019ll see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia\u2019s Public Investment Fund announced in April that it will not continue its financial support of the league beyond this season. Smith signed with the breakaway league in \u20602022, receiving a contract reportedly worth $140m.<\/p>\n
Smith is the captain of the all-Australian team Ripper GC.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019ve been able to do for golf in Australia is \u200breally quite important to me, junior golf, the Little Rippers, the event \u200cthat we have down there, the people it \u200cbrings out to showcase our great league,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be a shame for all that to go away, and I feel like \u200cwe\u2019ve worked really hard over the last three or four years to kind of make that all happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
LIV Golf\u2019s Adelaide event in February was among the league\u2019s most popular stops this season and set records for golf in Australia. More than 115,000 fans attended across the week in Adelaide, making it the highest-attended golf event in the country\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
\u201cAustralian golf is important to me. I think it [LIV] improves it,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI think all the numbers are up. The memberships are up. Social play is up. I think that\u2019s in part because of us. So I think it would be a \u200cshame for Australian golf if it did go away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though multiple reports say the LIV Golf Team Championship scheduled for late August in Michigan will be canceled amid the league\u2019s financial troubles, the players have reportedly been told to prepare as if it\u2019s \u200bon schedule, and Smith said he\u2019s doing just that.<\/p>\n
Our picture editors select their favourite sporting images from the past week, from the spectacular to the powerful, and with a little bit of fun thrown in<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a great year there last year in Detroit, and we\u2019re hoping we get back there,\u201d he said of the season-ending event set at Saint John\u2019s Resort in Plymouth, a Detroit suburb.<\/p>\n