A career-best season has become markedly better for Australia’s Cameron Smith, who just earned his biggest-ever winner’s cheque at the LIV Golf Chicago Invitational: US$4 million (AU$6 million).
What’s even more incredible than both his latest payday and his three-stroke triumph is the fact this is the 29-year-old Queensland native’s second LIV Golf appearance; having only (officially) defected from the PGA Tour last month and debuted at the Saudi-backed rebel league’s Boston event weeks ago, wherein he tied fourth with Lee Westwood and still managed to take home a touch over US$1 million (AU$1.5 million).
“I think I probably had to prove to myself and probably other people that I’m still a great player,” said Cameron Smith after his near-flawless performance at Chicago, shooting 69 to edge out Dustin Johnson and secure his maiden LIV Golf victory.
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“I’m still here to win golf tournaments and I’m proud of myself the way I hung in there today. I didn’t really have my best stuff the first eight or nine holes but stuck it tough and made a few good putts coming in – it was nice.”
The prize money Cameron Smith has received for the LIV Golf Chicago Invitational eclipses the prize money he received for the 2022 Players Championship earlier this year: US$3.6 million (AU$5.4 million). Not only was this the biggest-ever winner’s cheque of his career, but also the biggest winner’s cheque in PGA Tour history. Although this may soon be subject to change.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan recently announced an entire host of financial boosts as a means of de-incentivising any further defections to LIV Golf, including elevated events. Additionally, an expanded Player Impact Program (doubled to award US$100 million to 20 players), guaranteed league-minimum earnings of US$500,000 for full PGA Tour members, travel stipends, and more are on the immediate horizon.
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“The changes, of course, will be funded primarily by exploding PGA Tour revenues thanks to the league’s new media rights deals and secondarily by the ‘Tour reserves,’” explains James Colgan of Golf.
“The reserves, which take a small chunk of the Tour’s annual revenues and are eventually returned in full to players, are footing only a small portion of the bill, according to the Tour.”
“The reserves typically act like a savings account to keep the Tour solvent in the event of a crisis (like, for example, the COVID-19 pandemic), though the commissioner retains the authority to release the money under his own discretion.”
For the time being, however, it’s clear where the big bucks are. And it ain’t with the PGA Tour.
