19th Hole

Major champ urges Cam Smith to turn down reported mammoth offer to join LIV

Published

3 years ago

Jul 19, 2022

Two days after winning the 150th Open Championship, speculation is ramping up as to the potential for Cam Smith to join the LIV Golf Series.

Related: Cam Smith’s dad reveals what likely contributed to his son’s sensational short game

The 28-year-old has the potential to become one of his country’s most decorated golfers, with the green jacket well in reach after being runner-up, third, fifth and 10th in his last five attempts around the hallowed turf.

Now ranked No. 2 in the Official World Golf Rankings, Smith would be the catch of the year for the Greg Norman-led series. Indeed, rumors of an offer of around $100 million to join the Saudi-backed tour is reportedly on the table for the Aussie.

What makes the episode more enthralling was Smith’s response during his winner’s press conference.

When a reporter asked Smith whether he was considering joining the rebel league, the answer was less than convincing:

“I just won the British Open and you’re asking about that? I think that’s … not that good.”

To make matters worse, when pressed to answer if he was in talks with LIV, Smith was very inconclusive:

“I don’t know, mate. My team around me worries about all that stuff. I’m here to win golf tournaments.”

The LIV Golf question everyone is tweeting about. Cam Smith with the death shot "i think thats… pretty, not that good" pic.twitter.com/Jn5FGtOUSf

— Let's Get Topical (@LGTopical) July 17, 2022

Of course, he’s just won the biggest tournament in the calendar, and on one of the great historic occasions, so he is easy to forgive. However, it hasn’t stopped him from dominating this week’s headlines.

Whilst Smith’s coach, Grant Field, insisted, “The sky is the limit for Cam. I can see more majors in his future if he puts the work in,” fellow Aussie Open winner, Ian Baker-Finch, pleaded with Smith to reject any further advances from the rebels.

The 61-year-old, winner of the Open at Royal Birkdale, said he understood the appeal for both sides, telling the Australian radio station 3AW that:

“I know that they’re talking to him and to many others. I hope he doesn’t (accept) because I think he can leave a great legacy by winning major championships and becoming the best player in the world.”

On the huge money that is reputed to have been offered, the CBS Sports analyst admitted that, “I don’t think he needs the money. I don’t think it’s going to be something he should do. It’s his decision – he’ll be a $100 million guy or more if he did go.”

Baker-Finch didn’t seem convinced by the way Smith answered questions, commenting:

“Does he want to win more majors or does he want the money?” before putting up the case to stay on the main tours.

“I’m hoping that he stays (on the PGA Tour). Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy and a lot of those guys that still compete and play well in majors and want to win majors and want to leave a legacy. They’re the guys I would be following.”

In a more general swipe at the way the LIV program is being advertised, Baker-Finch again hopes for a change in the way younger players look at the series.

“The guys who go join LIV are going to miss out on the grind, what it takes to be a champion, to play in the great tournaments against the great players,” he said.

“It’s hard work. And you’re not going to be a better player by going and playing 54-hole exhibition matches and getting paid 150-grand to finish last.”

‘Don’t think I’ll sleep well tonight’ – LPGA pro offers candid take following rough AIG Women’s Open finish

Published

3 weeks ago

Aug 4, 2025

Gianni Magliocco

An opening round of 77 left LPGA pro Jenny Shin with a mountain to climb at last week’s AIG Women’s Open.

However, fighting back with rounds of 69 and 67, Shin found herself six shots off the lead and just outside the top 10 heading into Sunday as she went in search of her first major victory.

Shin, who won the US Girls’ Junior at just 13, couldn’t back those rounds up on Sunday, though, and after playing her opening nine holes of the final round in level par, she then bogeyed three holes coming home to slip down the leaderboard and eventually finish T23.

Taking to X following the final round, Shin offered a frustrated and honest take on how she was feeling, posting: “Don’t think I’ll sleep well tonight. What a crappy way to finish.”

Don’t think I’ll sleep well tonight. What a crappy way to finish

— Jenny Shin (@JennyShin_LPGA) August 3, 2025

Shin has made 11 cuts in 13 starts on the LPGA Tour this season, but has been plagued by frustrating Sunday finishes throughout the year. Shin ranks 102nd on tour this year out of 155 for Round 4 scoring in 2025.

Miyu Yamashita won the 2025 AIG Women’s Open with a composed final round of 70 to win her first major of her career by two strokes.

19th Hole

How a late golf ball change helped Cameron Young win for first time on PGA Tour

Published

3 weeks ago

Aug 4, 2025

Gianni Magliocco

Cameron Young won the Wyndham Championship on Sunday for his first victory on the PGA Tour.

Young dominated all weekend at TPC Sedgefield, running away from the pack to win by six strokes and put himself in contention for a Ryder Cup pick in September.

Ahead of the event, the 28-year-old switched to a Pro V1x prototype golf ball for the first time, following recent testing sessions with the Titleist Golf Ball R&D team.

Interestingly, Young played a practice round accompanied by Fordie Pitts, Titleist’s Director of Tour Research & Validation, at TPC Schedule early last week with both his usual Pro V1 Left Dot ball and the new Pro V1x prototype.

Per Titleist, by the second hole Young was exclusively hitting shots with the Pro V1x prototype.

“We weren’t sure if he was going to test it this week, but as he was warming up, he asked to hit a couple on the range,” Pitts said. “He was then curious to see some shots out on the course. Performance-wise, he was hitting tight draws everywhere. His misses were staying more in play. He hit some, what he would call ‘11 o’clock shots,’ where again he’s taking a little something off it. He had great control there.”

According to Titleist, the main validation came on Tuesday on the seventh hole of his practice round. The par 3 that played between 184 and 225 yards during the tournament called for a 5-iron from Young, or so he thought. Believing there was “no way” he could get a 6-iron to the flag with his Left Dot, Young struck a 5-iron with the Pro V1x prototype and was stunned to see the ball land right by the hole.

“He then hits this 6-iron [with the Pro V1x prototype] absolutely dead at the flag, and it lands right next to the pin, ending up just past it,” Pitts said. “And his response was, ‘remarkable.’ He couldn’t believe that he got that club there.”

Following nine holes on Tuesday and a further nine on Wednesday, Young asked the Titleist team to put the ProV1x balls in his locker. The rest, as they say, is history.

Check out Young’s winning WITB here.

19th Hole

Rickie Fowler makes equipment change to ‘something that’s a little easier on the body’

Published

3 weeks ago

Aug 1, 2025

Gianni Magliocco

Rickie Fowler fired an opening round of one-under par on Thursday at the Wyndham Championship, as the Californian looks to make a FedEx Cup playoff push.

Fowler is currently 61st in the standings, so will need a strong couple of weeks to extend his season until the BMW Championship, where only the top 50 in the standings will tee it up.

Heading into the final stretch of the season, Fowler has made an equipment switch of note, changing into new iron shafts, as well as making a switch to his driver shaft.

The 36-year-old revealed this week that he has switched from his usual KBS Tour C-Taper 125-gram steel shafts to the graphite Aerotech SteelFiber 125cw shafts in his Cobra King Tour irons, a change he first put into play at last month’s Travelers Championship.

Speaking on the change to reporters this week, Fowler made note that the graphite shafts offer “something that’s a little easier on the body.”

“I mean, went to the week of Travelers, so been in for, I guess that’s a little over a month now. Something that’s a little easier on the body and seemed to get very similar numbers to where I was at. Yeah, it’s gone well so far.”

Fowler has also made a driver shaft change, switching out his Mitsubishi Diamana WB 73 TX for a UST Mamiya Lin-Q Proto V1 6 TX driver shaft in his Cobra DS-Adapt X, which he first implemented a couple of weeks ago at the John Deere Classic.

However, according to Fowler himself, the testing and potential changes are not done yet.

“Probably do some more testing in some different weight configurations with them once I get some time. Yeah, I feel like we’re always trying to search, one, to get better but are there ways to make things easier, whether that’s physically, mentally, whatever it may be. So yeah, I thought they were good enough to obviously put into play and looking forward to doing some more testing.”

Fowler gets his second round at TPC Sedgefield underway at 7.23 a.m ET on Friday.