“Thought it was kind of a joke” - Cameron Smith reveals his first reaction to the PGA Tour-LIV Golf news

Cameron Smith thought the news of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf merger was a joke when he first heard about it.

On June 6, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan announced in a joint statement that the two rival circuits were ending their year-long feud.

Speaking at the pre-event conference of this week's US Open, which commences on Thursday, June 15, Cameron Smith spoke at length about his reaction to the merger.

He said:

"I guess the first reaction was I thought it was kind of a joke that had come out, and then H.E.(Al-Rumayyan) gave me a call and kind of explained what was going on."

Smith referred to Al-Rumayyan as H.E. (His Excellency) in the press conference. He added that players in both groups were anxious about how the future was going to shape after the new agreement.

The reigning Open champion revealed that he received a call from Al-Rumayyan prior to the interview on CNBC last Tuesday, where he and Monahan shared the details about the merger.

"He didn't really explain too much. I think there's still a lot of stuff to be worked out, and as time goes on, we'll get to know more and more," Smith added . "But there's definitely a lot of curious players, I think, on both sides as to what the future is going to look like."

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"I know kind of my US Open record isn't that great" - Cameron Smith is ready for the challenge this week

Cameron Smith during the practice session at the 123rd US Open Championship

Cameron Smith has been one of the better players in golf for quite some time now. Last year, he won two of the prestigious events: the Players Championship and the Open Championship. He has done reasonably well in the Masters and PGA Championships as well. However, the US Open is one event where he has yet to make an impression.

Smith, while speaking to the media on Monday, admitted that the US Open has been tough for him. He explained:

"I know kind of my US Open record isn't that great. For me, the driver has always been the one club where it gets me in trouble in the US Open and probably the PGA, the US PGA. You have to drive the ball strong."

"I think that's where a golf tournament can get away from me, but the driver is starting to feel really good, and I think there's a few opportunities around here to make birdies, so I think that falls into my hands a little bit."

Cameron Smith made his US Open debut in 2015 and finished joint-fourth. Interestingly, this has been his only top-10 finish at the event. In fact, he has failed to make the cut three times in seven appearances. Other than T4 in 2015, he ended at T59, T72, and T38 in 2016, 2019, and 2020, respectively.

This year, the 29-year-old Aussie has had a mixed performance. He has yet to win an event in 2023. After finishing T34 at the Augusta National, he ended up in T9 at the PGA Championship last month. It will be interesting to see how this year's US Open goes for him.