The Open Championship winner Cameron Smith has opened up about his fear of being excluded from Masters events in 2023 after joining the lucrative LIV Golf breakaway group.
The sport’s four majors all have different entry criteria, and being in the World’s Top 50 is one of main ways to qualify for the Masters, the first major of 2023.
With officials so far refusing to award rankings points to LIV Series events, that could rule some notables out of a trip to Augusta National in April.
Many others, including Australia’s World No.2 Smith, still qualify on exemptions earned with past major wins, unless rules were to change.
Having won the Open Championship and The Players Championship, Smith will qualify for the three American majors for the next five years.
He also can play the Open Championship until he is 60, unless rules change.
And Smith admitted it would be ‘heartbreaking’ if his reported $140 million move to LIV Golf stopped him from competing at Augusta.
“I hope (I can play). Obviously, I can’t speak for them (Augusta). I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to get back there,” Smith told ABC Radio.
“It’s a place I love, and I’ve got a pretty good record around there, too. So it would be pretty heartbreaking if I couldn’t get back there.”
