Cameron Smith has been in the search for a trophy recently. His motives have led him to a number of PGA Tour Australia events and the opener of the DP World Tour 2024-25 season. Unfortunately, the LIV Golf player has not been able to grab any victories during these exploits.

But that has not discouraged the Australian golfer a bit. Because at the end of the day, Smith can still go back to LIV Golf. The 31-year-old has often promoted the Saudi-based league speaking fondly of his experience being a part of it.

Cameron Smith has been in the headlines ever since he switched from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf in 2022. The former British Open winner was a big-star signing of the PIF-funded circuit. The possibility of Smith joining LIV Golf excited Greg Norman. They ended up offering him $100 million to motivate him to complete the switch.

Smith has enjoyed his life so far in LIV Golf. He recently spoke about his journey since leaving the PGA Tour and the relationship he shares with Greg Norman. Cameron Smith joined Mark Bouris a few days ago for a one-on-one interview on the latter’s YouTube channel. Smith was sharing how the conversation between him and Greg Norman began. That’s when Mark inquired, “Did you know Greg Norman before that?” Smith immediately responded, “I met him a few times. I wouldn’t say I knew him well.” After sharing that he has a great relationship with Norman now, Smith stated, “He’s been great for us.”

Mark shared a few examples of athletes who have made major switches in their career before asking, “What sort of emotional challenges do you go through when you’re trying to work out ‘Should I jump [ship]?’ apart from the fact that they are offering you a nice paycheck? Did you ring your dad up?” Smith agreed to the last question before adding, “I spoke to a lot of people.” He then went on to share his major concerns during that time as he said, “It was still up in the air, and was my career as a golfer going to be secure was the main question.” Coming back to his conversations with the people he spoke to, Smith said, “The answer was yes from everyone.”

Mark questioned if Cameron Smith was referring to financial security when he talked about his concerns. The LIV Golf pro replied, “No. I mean, am I going to be able to play golf professionally? It was so fresh at the start, we didn’t know whether it was going to be a year or… [before they played professional golf]” Smith continued to explain, “Second was playing less golf; spending more time in Australia which was obviously really important. Third was the business decision. It’s a pretty big number to knock down and I get to play golf for the rest of my life.”

Speaking about his plan after joining LIV Golf, Smith added, “Do what I love in Australia. Support junior golf and golf in Australia.” His last reason was him being able to spend more time in his home country as he said that his decision to join LIV Golf was “a no-brainer.”

Mark questioned Smith about the importance of having Greg Norman support him through his journey. The 6X PGA Tour winner replied, “I watched a lot of Greg growing up. I idolized him as a kid,” as he shared how he admired Greg Norman. Speaking about how grateful he was for being approached to join LIV Golf, Smith said, “To be speaking to him is one thing and for him to want you to come over and be on his team was another thing.”

Smith ended with, “It was a really big decision. There was a lot of harsh comments at the start. Through time, all of that has dwindled down.” They continued to converse about how Smith dealt with the negative reactions and learned to move on.

It’s interesting to see how Greg Norman helped Cameron Smith make up his mind to join LIV Golf in the end. So how did he react when he heard rumors about Greg Norman being replaced?

Cameron Smith’s views on Greg Norman getting replaced

The rumors of Greg Norman getting replaced as the CEO of LIV Golf have been circulating for the past few days. However, Cameron Smith was surprised by the rumors as he said, “I definitely was not aware of it,” while speaking to the Herald Sun. Explaining why he overlooked the reports, Smith said, “I think he has been under a lot of (public) scrutiny for a few years. They had said he was going to go and he hasn’t.”

“I would not be surprised if it was all just a rumor. But by the same token I am not in the loop as to what is going on on the tour,’ said Smith as he hinted that the change might not happen at all. World no. 3 Rory McIlroy had a different opinion regarding the situation as he said, “I think Greg needs to go.” 

What do you think about Cameron Smith’s views on LIV Golf? Considering his priorities, do you think Smith made the right decision by leaving the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf? Share your views in the comment section.