Greg Norman’s Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit has landed its biggest blow with world No.2 Cameron Smith joining fellow Australian Marc Leishman in signing with the Saudi-backed circuit.
The Open champion Smith, who has been linked with the mega riches of the rival tour for months, will be announced as the highest-ranked player to join LIV Golf before the $35 million event in Boston this week.
Sources told The Age and the Herald an official announcement will take place on Tuesday night (AEST).
Smith and Leishman will join two-time Australian Open winner Matt Jones in defecting to LIV Golf, which has sent employees to Australia in recent weeks to scout potential venues for a tournament Down Under in 2023.
While Norman has taken a host of high-profile players from the United States’ PGA Tour such as Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau, he’d yet to prise away a player from the world’s top 10 until the Smith scalp.
Speculation about the 29-year-old linking with Norman had been rife since his historic The Open win at St Andrews, in which London’s The Telegraph reported he had agreed to a $140 million deal to join LIV.
More to come …
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