LIV Duo Cameron Smith & Marc Leishman Welcome To Play In Australian Majors

LIV Golf’s Australian players such as Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman will be “welcomed home” and allowed to play in both the Australian PGA Championship and Australian Open.

PGA of Australia chief executive Gavin Kirkman says that their Tour regulations allow for the likes of Smith and Leishman to participate in their home championships regardless of their LIV Golf involvement.

The two events are co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and take place at the end of November and start of December – and Kirkman says that Smith, Leishman and fellow LIV Golf Australians Wade Ormsby and Matt Jones will all be welcome to play.

Kirkman added that any full PGA Tour of Australasia member will be allowed to play in the big events regardless of their LIV Golf involvement – and says he respects their decisions to join Greg Norman’s Saudi-backed outfit.

“Both the tours have made their decisions on sanctions or penalties, but our current regulations and policies for our members are about playing in a conflicting event,” Kirkman told Australian Golf Digest.

“Our position is they were always going to be welcomed home. If they’re a full member of the PGA Tour of Australasia, and they enter in an event, our current regulations deem that we can’t stop them from playing. Our Australian players who are playing LIV golf, we respect their decision.

“I won’t say I wasn’t disappointed to (no longer) see them flying the Australian flag on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and other global tours and even in the Presidents Cup.

“But they are their own brands and they’re still very much engaged in Australian golf and they’re coming home to support us this summer, so I wasn’t going to disrespect that decision.”

The PGA Tour has banned players who have made the move to LIV Golf, with several lawsuits over that impending, while the DP World Tour did similar but a tribunal put that on hold – a Sports Resolutions UK hearing in February will rule on that.

While the arguments continue to rage, there’s a calmer relationship with LIV Golf Down Under, with Kirk admitting they held talks with Norman in the early stages about a possible link-up, but the PGA of Australia’s main aim remains to provide a pathway to the two major tours.

“We did initially (talk to LIV Golf) but we haven’t had any in the last six to 12 months. Greg was very open with his plan and he was respectful in that discussion,” Kirkman said.

“My job with the PGA of Australia and our tour is to create player pathways which is why we’ve got our strategic alliance with DP World Tour to the PGA Tour; our board is confident we’ve made a decision in the best interest of our membership.”

The Australian PGA Championship takes place on November 24 at Royal Queensland, with the Australian Open following on December 1 at Victoria GC and Kingston Heath GC as both the men’s and women’s events will be staged at the same time.

Kirkman is delighted that Smith is planning to play as having the current Open champion taking part will be a huge boost to the events.

“It’s going to be an incredible summer of golf with obviously Cam Smith bringing the claret jug down with him and playing the PGA and Open,” Kirkman said.

“There’s also Minjee Lee who is the reigning US Women’s Open champion and a lot of other top players like Adam Scott, who always supports our tour, and Lucas Herbert, Cam Davis, Hannah Green, Min Woo Lee and others. It’s going to be special.”