If ever a scenario could capture the awkwardness and peculiarity of these golfing times, then consider Cameron Smith’s sartorial anxiety upon arriving at Augusta National on Monday morning.
He is a LIV golfer, of course. Maybe he is the best of them. And as he explained, the rebels of Greg Norman’s merry band are contractually obligated to carry the logos of their new gig wherever they play, which in the context of this week at the Masters might be viewed a provocative gesture.
But therein lay a situation and an uncertainty: at a sporting venue where items of clothing are afforded higher status than any other, so much so that the ultimate prize is a jacket, would that be allowed to fly?
He didn’t know, as no one had informed him whether it would be a breach in this hilly land of rules, order and tradition, and so it was with some trepidation that Smith packed his bags for Georgia. He detailed the dilemma, saying: ‘I had another set of clothes made up this week without them. We haven’t really heard much from Augusta National about the logos, and for me personally, I’m really proud of where I’m at and what I’m doing. But unless it’s a problem for these guys, I’m going to wear it.’
He was then asked if the fear was for a tap on the shoulder by a member and a request to get changed. ‘Basically, yeah.’
Cameron Smith explained that LIV rebels are contractually obligated to wear team logos
The Australian revealed that he has packed a spare set of logo-less tops just in case
So far that has not happened, meaning he has walked the grounds with a Ripper logo on his right sleeve, just as Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed have been seen with their 4Aces insignia and Talor Gooch is displaying an equivalent for the Range Goats. These may carry the whiff of storms in tee cups to those with an eye for bigger pictures in life, but in the great golf war the frontiers are many and varied.
In terms of relations between players, to date Smith has reported peace around the putting greens and driving range, which is a marked difference to the rows in Dubai earlier this year, when tees and words were thrown around with serious intent by Reed and Rory McIlroy. McIlroy, as it happens, fulfils his press duties on Tuesday.
For Smith, the world No 5 and a former runner up here, there was an admission of nervousness when he came face to face with some of those PGA Tour players with whom he once did his work. That there was no hostility is evidence, he said, that the media have drummed this saga into something bigger than it is, which has become a party line among LIV golfers of late. It is a claim that falls down with minimal pushing once one does a quick search into the comments of Greg Norman, McIlroy and many others across the past year, including LIV’s Joaquin Niemann, who spoke last week of the hate felt towards the breakaway contingent by the traditional elements of their game.
‘I just think there’s too much rubbish going on, basically,’ Smith said. ‘For me, I spent an hour out there and I have seen lots of familiar faces, lots of smiles and hugs, and it’s been nice.
‘I don’t think there’s any kind of hatred going on between the players.’
Be that as it may, the LIV issue remains one of the most loaded subplots of this tournament. Norman himself has said the 18 defectors present would stage a mass celebration on the 18th green if one of their number were to win on Sunday. To some in the game that would be unpalatable, but it is difficult to assess the likelihood of such an outcome when the LIV group is coming in to the season’s first major on the back of only three competitive outings this year.
He insisted there wasn’t any kind of hatred between rebels and PGA Tour stars on the range
Smith, the reigning Open champion, is best ranked and has an excellent record at Augusta, including runner up in 2020, but his form in 2023 is poor. Brooks Koepka, a four-time major winner, might be a compelling option having won the LIV event in Orlando at the weekend, but Smith has admitted his new circuit is not yet at the competitive level of the PGA Tour. Whether a Masters champion can be forged in such conditions is a fascinating unknown.
He said: ‘I’m not sure what’s going to happen, mate. I guess we’ll see how the week unfolds. For sure I’d love to see one of us guys get up to the top of the leaderboard and really give it a nice shot.
‘For me it’s frustration when I’m playing like this on any tour. As the LIV Tour grows and the fields get deeper and stronger, it’s just going to be better and better. I can’t wait to see it unfold personally.’
He isn’t the only figure inside and out of his sport watching on with a sense of intrigue.