World No.6 Cameron Smith said he has no intention of joining the controversial Greg Norman-backed Super Golf League, just hours after it announced a schedule for its first eight tournaments.
Smith, who has won twice in four starts on the PGA Tour this year, including the flagship Players Championship earlier this week, played the Saudi International last month, where he finished fourth. Saudi Arabian money is behind Norman’s Super Golf League.
Speaking after the Super Golf League unveiled its schedule, Smith said he was committed to the PGA Tour.
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“I haven’t really had time to think about it,” he said.
“I think that the PGA Tour is the pinnacle of golf, and that’s where I want to be.
“I want to be competing against the best guys in the world, and if they’re playing over here, then I want to be playing against them.”
PGA Tour members are required to get a release from the tour’s commissioner to play events that are scheduled at the same time as PGA Tour tournaments.
Jon Rahm and Collin Morikawa, the top two ranked players in the world, have already rejected Norman’s tour, as have Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.
Smith this morning pulled out of the upcoming WGC Match Play Championship in Texas, saying he wants to spend more time with his mother and sister before they return to Australia.
That means his next start will be at Augusta National for the Masters in April, a tournament where the 28-year-old has recorded three top-10 finishes in the last four years.
Coming off the biggest win of his career, he believes he can follow Adam Scott’s lead and become the second Australian to don the green jacket.
“I think this one’s given me a lot of confidence,” he said.
“Obviously to prove myself against 144 of the best guys in the world and come out on top was pretty cool.
“It’s basically our fifth major, everyone treats it like that. Guys are there to win, so there’s no reason why I can’t go on and win one of those big ones.”
Smith was runner-up to Dustin Johnson at the Masters in 2020, and Augusta seems the most likely venue for a breakthrough major victory.
“I think it just allows me to be creative,” Smith said of the course.
“It almost brings out my inner kid.
“I feel like I can hit some shots around there that you typically don’t hit week in, week out and it demands those shots.
“It’s just a place that I just feel really relaxed on, I feel really comfortable and I feel I play my best golf when I’m being really creative. I think that’s why I’ve had a couple of good finishes there.”
Smith also confirmed he’s hoping to play in Australia this summer, with travel restrictions having prevented him from doing so since the pandemic started.
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