Cameron Smith makes his first start of 2023 at the Asian Tour’s flagship event in Saudi Arabia this week, with the 150th Open champion entering the tournament as World No.4.
Smith came close to reaching the top of the rankings last year, peaking at number 2, and he might have managed to become World No.1 for the first time had he not joined LIV Golf. His ranking has slipped a little compared to others who defected, but he is set to continue sliding down the list with the 14-event LIV Golf League, still without OWGR points, getting underway next month.
The Australian joined the Saudi-backed series following the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs, and he has only played in two OWGR-sanctioned events since. World No.1 Rory McIlroy has played six OWGR-sanctioned events since the Playoffs, with No.3 Jon Rahm playing eight.
Asked about how he feels about his OWGR slide, Smith said it “hurts” and also claimed the rankings were becoming more “obsolete.”
“I mean, I’ve tried to take it not that badly, to be honest,” he said at this week’s Saudi International. “I think when you rock up to a tournament, you know who you have to beat, whether there’s a World Ranking or not. There’s generally seven or eight guys that are in that field that you know are going to put up a pretty good fight.
“For sure it hurts. I feel as though I was really close to getting to No.1, and that was definitely something I wanted to tick off, but kind of the longer that this stuff goes on, I think the more obsolete those rankings become.
“That’s just the long and short of it, I think. Do we need them? It would be nice, but like I said, you know who you’ve got to beat when you get on the golf course.”
Smith headlines a field this week that includes the likes of Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson among many other LIV players. He, just like all LIV players, remains suspended by the PGA Tour following his move to the Greg Norman-fronted circuit.
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