ATLANTA – Cameron Smith and at least five other PGA Tour players will join LIV Golf next week, multiple sources have confirmed to GolfChannel.com.
Rumors have been swirling for weeks that Smith, the winner of this year’s Open Championship and Players Championship, is poised to join the Saudi-backed league and his aloof answers to pointed questions about his move to LIV have only fueled the speculation.
“I have no comment to that,” Smith said two weeks ago at the first playoff event in Memphis. “I’m here to play the FedExCup Playoffs. That’s been my focus the last week and a half, that’s what I’m here to do.”
Smith is scheduled to play the fourth LIV event, which is slated for next week outside of Boston.
Sources also confirmed that Mito Pereira, Marc Leishman, Harold Varner III, Cameron Tringale and Joaquin Niemann are also set to join the breakaway league next week. Niemann told GolfChannel.com Friday at East Lake that he was undecided on whether he would join LIV.
This most recent wave of defections will have a devastating impact on the International Presidents Cup team. Smith, Niemann and Pereira were all among the top 8 automatic qualifiers for captain Trevor Immelman’s team.
By playing in a LIV event, Tour members violate the circuit’s regulations regarding competing events and led to multiple, lengthy suspensions. The suspensions include participation in the Presidents Cup.
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