Is 2022 champion Cameron Smith playing The Players Championship this week? All you need to know

Cameron Smith, the winner of The Players Championship 2022, will not compete in the 2024 edition of the tournament, scheduled to take place this week.

The prestigious PGA Tour event will kick start with its opening round on Thursday, March 14, and will run through the weekend, with the final scheduled for Sunday, March 17, at the TPC Sawgrass' Stadium Course in Florida,

The tournament boasts a stellar field that includes some of the top-ranked PGA Tour players in the world. However, Cameron Smith will not be part of the competition.

Smith won The Players Championship in 2022 after defeating Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri by one stroke. However, they both will miss the competition in 2024 as they have been banned from competing on the PGA Tour.

In 2022, Smith defecated from the Tour to start his new journey with LIV Golf. Later that year, Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan banned LIV players from competing on the PGA Tour.

Cameron Smith at the 2022 THE PLAYERS Championship - Final Round

However, Smith is not the only big name missing this week's competition. Former World No.1 Jon Rahm will also not play in the event, as does last year's runner-up Tyrrell Hatton.

Rahm and Hatton have joined the Saudi-backed series ahead of the start of its third season and are not eligible to be part of the tournament. Additionally, Tiger Woods, who won the Players Championship twice, will miss the event.

Nonetheless, The Players Championship 2024 will be graced by some well-known names in the golf world. Defending champion Scottie Scheffler will tee off this week to secure his title against the likes of former Players champion Rory McIlroy, two-time Major winner Justin Thomas, and 2023 FedEx Cup winner Viktor Hovland.

This week's PGA Tour event features a regular full-size field of 144 golfers to compete for the winner's share from the purse of $25 million.

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When will Cameron Smith tee off next?

Cameron Smith plays on LIV Golf and no Saudi circuit event will be held this month. He will next be seen gracing the greens in April. Next month, the Saudi circuit players will tee off for the LIV Golf Maimi event, which will take place from April 5 to 7 at the Trump National Golf Course.

Cameron Smith will return to compete at the tournament, which is scheduled to be held just ahead of The Masters. Smith has played in four LIV golf tournaments so far, and his best finish was recorded at the Hong Kong event.

He finished third in the tournament. Prior to that, Smith was placed 10th at the Mayakoba event and 20th at the Las Vagas event. He had also played at the Jeddah event but struggled with his game and finished in 43rd place.