Google News Cameron Smith on the phone call with Rory McIlroy: "He definitely wanted to..."
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One of the biggest golf stars, Cameron Smith, spoke to The Sydney Morning Herald about his decision to play at LIV Golf even though many wanted him to stay on the PGA Tour. Even the great Rory McIlroy tried to 'dissuade' Smith from the decision, but...
"I’ve always had respect for Rory and I’ve liked what he says on the golf course,"-Smith said, as quoted by golfmonthly.com. "He said, ‘congrats’. There were maybe a couple of little jabs in there. He was happy I played well and it was a good tournament.
Then we talked about the PGA Tour and LIV. There was a bunch of stuff he wanted me to know before I made my decision. I wouldn’t say he tried to directly talk me out of it, but he definitely wanted me to stay." At the time, Smith was quite angry about the rumors about LIV Golf.
His focus was on the PGA Tour. "I just won the British Open, and you’re asking about that. I think that’s pretty not that good."- Smith said so at the time.
Cameron Smith on his decision
It was not easy to make such an 'unpopular' decision.
Smith thought for a long time. However, he chose what he thought was best for him. "It felt like I didn’t sleep for a few months. I was constantly thinking, ‘what will other people think?’ That was a really big factor for me.
I feel like I do most things by the book and to be one to step away... was really tough for me." Smith also talked about PGA Tour politics. He is frustrated that there are no PGA events in Australia "For me, the PGA Tour is a great place.
It’s a great Tour that does really good things. But as you look back, Adam (Scott) has been one of the best golfers in the world for 20 years and I just think it’s really weird for them (PGA Tour) to not have an event (in Australia) just because of him,” Smith said.
"Then you have Jason (Day), Marc (Leishman), there’s a bunch of guys they could have done so much for. The Aussie crowd gets around it so much... But I just don’t think it’s that profitable for them and that’s kind of the reason behind it all."
