It isn’t necessarily bold or even controversial to say that the amount of money in professional golf has gotten out of control in recent years. Purses have consistently increased, no-cut events have become a part of the routine, guaranteeing gargantuan paydays, and it’s not exactly easy to justify.
It is, however, easy to point to what has gotten the sport to this overexposed spot in rather rapid fashion: LIV Golf.
With the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) signing several players to reported nine-figure contracts while also playing limited, no-cut events beginning in 2022, it forced the PGA Tour to react with increased purses as well, and that ripple effect has only intensified over the last four years.
One player who quickly jumped ship from the PGA Tour to LIV in 2022 was Cameron Smith.
The Aussie reportedly signed a multi-year contract with the breakaway circuit for $140 million. Despite accruing generational wealth, that hasn’t stopped him from speaking about the money in professional golf getting out of hand, although it probably should.
“This has been an awesome four or five years for us golfers, for everyone around the world. It’s changed a lot of things, but I think realistically, it’s time for everything to come back to the way it was,” Smith told the Daily Mirror.
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Smith’s response was regarding a question about the expectation of LIV Golf having to rein things in financially with the Saudis officially pulling funding at the conclusion of the 2026 season. However, that doesn’t make his comments easier to digest, especially for the superstar players who remained loyal to the PGA Tour and didn’t receive contracts of over $100 million.
It’s worth pointing out that Smith hasn’t won a LIV event since 2023 and has missed the cut in six of his last seven major championships. He’s consistently been noncompetitive in recent years, but was still rewarded with a nine-figure payday, which is ironically the most obvious issue when it comes to money jumping the shark in professional golf.
In Smith’s defense, he wasn’t among the many players who joined LIV Golf and issued the bogus claim that “growing the game” was the reason he came to the decision. He explained that it was a business decision and an offer he simply couldn’t ignore.
Smith took advantage of the current circumstances and offer presented to him — you can’t fault him for that — but he hasn’t exactly earned credibility to be any sort of spokesperson about the finances in the sport.