LIV Golf’s Cameron Smith teases Players Championship appearance after PGA Tour ban

The Australian took victory at the tournament in 2022 before joining LIV

LIV rebel Cameron Smith has teased he could make a surprise appearance in the crowd at the Players Championship this weekend.

Smith is ineligible for the showpiece PGA Tour event in Florida after electing to join the Saudi-backed LIV Series last year.

The Australian took victory at TPC Sawgrass in 2022, and lives just around the corner on the coast next to Jacksonville.

The 29-year-old has hinted that he may consider showing up as a fan over the four days of competition that start on Thursday.

“I’m a little bit unsure,” Smith said to GOLF.com when asked what his plans were for Players Championship weekend.

“That’s where I live now. I don’t know - I’ll definitely be watching on TV, it’s a great event to watch. I grew up my whole childhood watching that event.

“I’d love to get out there. I don’t know how it would be received but maybe getting out there watching, walking around in the crowd, might be pretty funny. I don’t know if I could do heckling!”

Smith was one of LIV Golf’s highest-profile recruits during the inaugural season of the breakaway series and was subsequently stripped of Sawgrass playing privileges.

The Brisbane-born golfer elected to join LIV in August soon after securing his maiden major title at The Open at St Andrews.

The second season of the Saudi-funded series continues in Tuscon, Arizona next weekend with Smith again captaining the all-Australian Ripper GC team.

He is only the fourth golfer to be unable to defend their Players Championship title for any reason, with Jerry Pate (1983), Steve Elkington (1998) and Tiger Woods (2014) the others absent a year after securing victory.

Five of last year’s top ten at the tournament now ply their trade on the LIV series, including runner-up Anirban Lahiri.