Cameron Smith has won two events in the past two months and had two top-10 major finishes in 2023 but it set to drop out of the world’s top 10 as the LIV Golf fight for world ranking points continues to enrage.
Victor Hovland’s win in the second event of the PGA Tour playoffs boosted the Norwegian to fifth in the world but Smith, who was a winner of the LIV event in New Jersey just last weekend, got no rankings reward for his efforts.
Smith’s victory came after winning the LIV event in London in July before he finished in a tie for 33rd defending his British Open crown at Royal Liverpool.
In the other events Smith was eligible for world ranking points, he finished fourth at the US Open, tied for ninth at the PGA Championship and tied for 34th at the Masters.
After winning the most recent LIV event, Smith’s Ripper GC teammate, former Australian Open winner Matt Jones, said the Queenslander was equal to world No.1 Scottie Scheffler by most measures and needed to be recognised as such.
“Everyone talks about Scottie Scheffler having a finish of top 12 every week. Cam does it every week out here, and he wins these two events,” Jones said.
“If there’s talk about Scottie, there’s got to be talk about Cam in the same breath. That’s all I have to say.”
Smith demolished a field that included former world No.1s and a slew of major champions including PGA winner Brooks Koepka in a seven-shot win in New Jersey.
That came after 2020 US Open champ Bryson DeChambeau shot a record round of 58 to win the previous LIV event. He’s ranked 113th in the world, having been in the top 10 12 months ago.
Koepka is the only other LIV player inside the world top 50, ranked 13.
Having lodged a request for LIV events to get world ranking points more than 12 months ago, it’s understood the “competitive integrity” of the 54-hole, no-cut events remains the greatest hurdle for acceptance.
Players have routinely said the current world rankings system would soon be “obsolete” and the recent deal done between the US PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which backs LIV Golf, could yet have an impact on the breakaway tour.
For his part Smith, who could have been world No.1 if he had not joined LIV for a reported $140m, conceded missing that opportunity “hurts”, but he had zero regrets about his move.
“For sure it hurts. I feel as though I was really close to getting to No.1, and that was definitely something I wanted to tick off,” he said recently.
“But kind of the longer that this stuff goes on, I think the more obsolete those rankings become.“