Sign up for our daily newsletter

Latest news, reviews, analysis and opinion, plus unmissable deals for bunkered subscriptions, events, and our commercial partners.

Open champion Cam Smith has finally joined LIV Golf in what was the worst-kept secret in golf.

For months the PLAYERS champion and current world No.2 had been widely expected to join the Saudi-backed breakaway tour, fuelled by his refusal to answer questions over his future.

In recent weeks he as good as admitted he was heading to the rebel circuit, telling Sky Sports he was “ready to cop some heat”.

• LIV Boston: How and where to watch

• OFFICIAL: Cam Smith joins LIV Golf

And now his signing has been confirmed in a deal worth a reported $100million.

Smith claimed his decision was as much to do with his desire to spend more time at home in Australia as it was the lucrative contract – but it’s fair to say the response to the news was mixed.

While some criticised the Champion Golfer of the Year, others were more sympathetic.

Take a look for yourself…

Disappointing about Cam Smith. We expected it but it’s still a shock that he’s gone. He could be the player of his generation and leave a true legacy in golf history. Does money outweigh the desire to compete at the highest level in meaningful events? Advisors have failed him.

— Tony Johnstone (@TonyJohnstone56) August 30, 2022

Cam Smith is a great golfer but what Rory did on Sunday is what pulls in golf and non golf fans alike. Liv can’t do that — they have no platform, no media partner, no competitive golf, no reach.If these players think this $$ brings them relevancy then ask Bryson how that’s going https://t.co/fUW2TZxeTb
— Julia M. Payne🇺🇸🦅 (@jmpayne24) August 30, 2022

Cam Smith going to play exhibition golf where tournaments are meaningless.. Utter waste of which should have been a cracking golf career..
He'l regret this big style eventually

— Stevie Marshall (@scubasteve903) August 30, 2022

https://twitter.com/houstonmartian/status/1564608306907422728

I’ll never understand Cam, Niemann leaving…In the prime for Smith and not even yet in his prime for Niemann, and now they head into golf irrelevancy

— Mike Weston (@themcw40) August 27, 2022

Cam Smith was going to be the poster boy for Aussie golf for the next decade. At very best we have to watch him on YouTube and have bittersweet feelings when we see him in the majors. He has taken the cash, which is fine. But he could have been a legendary figure in Aussie golf
— Jon Ralph (@RalphyHeraldSun) August 30, 2022

Could tell that it wore on Cam Smith to not be able to see Australian family & friends the last few yrs in his interviews. Lot of that was Covid crap & hopefully that is all over. Still, I get that being able to be in his homeland part of the year was a factor in his decision.
— Ron Lee (@ronlee1975) August 30, 2022

The crowd that refers to players that leave the Tour as “not that big of a loss” need to find a new bit. I do think that The Tour has changed for the better, but they have lost a lot of young and veteran talent that you cannot easily replace.
— Smylie Kaufman (@SmylieKaufman10) August 30, 2022

Smith’s move makes him the highest-ranked player yet to join LIV, and came amid a signing spree which also included his close friend and fellow Australian Marc Leishman.

• Pro rips Woods and McIlroy’s PGA Tour changes

• Rory McIlroy launches fresh attack on LIV

Cameron Tringale, Harold Varner III, Anirban Lahiri and Joaquin Niemann were also revealed to have joined the breakaway tour.

All six will go into the field for this week’s LIV event at The International in Boston.