FORMER World No. 2 Cameron Smith said he has been given “every assurance” that LIV Golf will continue beyond 2026 as the league works to secure new funding sources.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced last month that it will not continue its financial support of the league beyond this season.
Smith signed with the breakaway league in 2022, receiving a contract reportedly worth US$140mil.
He is also the captain of the all-Australian team Ripper GC. LIV Golf’s Adelaide event has been among the league’s most popular stops, and he told Australia’s 10 News that the goal is “definitely” to have the event return in 2027.
Smith, along with fellow LIV Golf stars Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, turned down an offer to return to the PGA Tour earlier this year, saying in January that “I am here to stay, I’m here to support LIV.”
LIV chief executive officer Scott O’Neil has stated confidence the league will survive in a “multi-partner” format.
Whether that comes to fruition and what impact it would have on the league’s makeup remains to be seen.
“Since joining LIV, I’ve learned to live with, you know, speculation,” Smith said, while laughing at the notion that he might retire if the league folded. “I’m 32, so I’ve got a while yet.”
Smith has struggled to maintain his form while playing for LIV. His missed cut at the Masters last month was his sixth consecutive at a major. Despite LIV golfers earning some world rankings points for the first time in 2026, Smith sits at No. 235, having posted only two top-10 finishes through the first six events of the season.
However, Smith said his competitive fire remains strong as he prepared for LIV Golf Virginia ahead of next week’s PGA Championship.
“I want to win tournaments, I want to win majors,” Smith said. “It’s been a while since I’ve been, you know, truly competitive at the top of the leaderboard. So, the fire is really burning at the moment.
“It feels like I’m getting a lot of confidence back out in the golf once again, which I’ve struggled with.”
In another development, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews in Scotland has appointed amateur player Claire Dowling as the first woman captain in its 272-year history.
The club, based at the “Home of Golf” on the east coast of Scotland, only opened its membership to women 12 years ago.
Dowling will serve as club captain from September after she was nominated by previous holders of the office.
The Dublin-born golfer represented Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I) in the Curtis Cup on four occasions and was a member of the 1986 team that secured a first victory over the United States on American soil.
She captained the losing GB&I Curtis Cup team at Ganton, in northern England, in 2000.
Dowling was one of the first women to join the Royal and Ancient Club and has served on several committees.
The Royal and Ancient clubhouse, situated behind the first tee of the famed Old Course at St Andrews, is recognisable to golfers worldwide.
The club has a worldwide membership of around 2,500.
It previously had a major role in the administration of the rules of golf but devolved responsibility to a newly formed group of companies, known as the R&A, in 2004.
